Huge increase in large groups of teenagers terrorising the public

[Shopaholic100]

Has anyone else noticed a huge increase in large groups of teenagers terrorising the public? I was in York today and there were huge groups of teenage boys causing havoc, screaming, swearing, shouting and pulling peoples hats off and throwing them on the floor as they walked past. At the same time another huge group of girls were also screaming and kicking full cans of fizzy drinks around so it was squirting everywhere. Milton Keynes a few weeks ago was the same with large groups running round John Lewis causing havoc whilst security were trying to get them to leave. In another part of the shopping centre another group were causing trouble too. I’ve seen the same in London too. I used to see small groups sometimes do silly things, but the size of the groups is much larger and threatening and they seem fearless. Anyone else noticed this?

If you exclude them from school then you are just extending the amount of time they have to roam about the streets causing even more havoc because a lot of pupil referral units don't offer full time education.

Around here it's some parents who whenever their child is identified on FB because film footage was uploaded threaten to sue everyone who does it .

There is actually plenty of things kids can do, the same as for the rest of us. There always was and always will be. As a pp said, some of us come from poor backgrounds and somehow managed not to behave like this.

Sometimes extreme poverty is the cause, and certainly lack of guidance is often an aside. But much of it is mindset, and culture. They all have schools, wherein arts and crafts are still practised albeit rather less than in the past as teachers have to gain ever more qualifications and lose actual skills. Many, especially those with access to big towns like York, therefore have access to libraries where they could, if they chose, find an interest and explore it. Again, granted libraries are not now as useful as they were or could be given the funding problems and attitudes there.

It really isn’t that expensive to pick up basic equipment to learn crafts: woodwork or textiles or mechanics. But the idea will be laughable to many on this thread, because U.K. culture has moved entirely towards consuming culture rather than making and ego and status is to be found only by consuming.

It really isn’t as simple as ‘they’re just bored poor darlings’. They’re primarily bored in the sense that teenagers are bored when they have rejected all the activities on offer.

Also ecology and natural history: if teenagers are travelling to cause trouble, they have the resources to travel to do other things.

Like the Apprentice Mobs of the eighteenth century which terrified upright Londoners. Think they were the reason the Riot Act was introduced? Could be wrong but semi-aggressive mobs of young people are nothing new. I have no idea how to deal with them and have been fortunate not to meet any. 🤞

I'd like to say that for the most-part this isn't true. Most teens are, well, just ordinary confused, grumpy, but otherwise delightful teens. But we have a whole crowd (from one school mostly) who come into the library just to throw food, squeal, have sex in the loos (ask me how I know). They know there is nothing we can do about it and even the security guard can't help. (If we react they'll just film us and put it on TikTok). I hope that once their exams are over they'll forget all about us and go back to doing whatever it was they were doing before they discovered us. But working in the very place where the idiot Mizzy filmed one of his TikToks I suspect they won't.

@RosaGallica, I wasn't thinking so much about arts, crafts, textiles and woodwork. Those are learning activities which should be - and, as you say, used to be - encompassed by schools. The sort of home environment that provides such learning opportunities is not usually the sort our yob mobs enjoy.

Teenagers have a lot of physical and emotional energy to expend. They're naturally confused and often quite belligerent as part of the growing up process - also, as others have mentioned, getting blindsided by sexual urges they need to explore. Steam-letting facilities like skate parks, sports grounds, clubs and dances, 'raves' (remember those?) and festivals have been disappearing for years, made illegal and policed in some cases.

I was a well-brought-up kid who, in addition to weekend tennis and twice-weekly youth club dances, went out clubbing and to the pub with my mates: far less available in these days of photo ID. Even our upper-class youth misbehaves en masse during the summer - at expensive festivals and Cornish surfing villages.

Rather naïve to suggest they just need a few macramé or violin lessons!

I dunno, what do you think inspired A Clockwork Orange (1962)?

Phones are a big problem - they can contact others (hundreds or thousands if they want to) with a txt or twitter or whatever.
Hence the deaths of kids entering the concert in Brixton or street party in Hong Kong. The riots in Cardiff. Someone else is always to blame though.

It's happening a lot in Dulwich/ Herne Hill area. 12-14 y.o. boys targeted by teen gangs in masks in a broad day light on their way to / from school.

Annoyingly the local arcade come bowling ally that would have been ideal to occupy them has gone 18+ on an evening 🤬
Goodness, I wonder why...

Rather naïve to suggest they just need a few macramé or violin lessons!

Thats a gross oversimplification of what I was saying (and viokin lessons are bloody expensive now, I can’t afford them for my teens who are not running riot). Nor do badly behaved teens “need” to explore their sexual urges. They certainly don’t need to do so in public libraries. Nor do they need to attend raves or other concerts.

I’ll repeat, some of us were brought up poor. We didn’t have the finances to explore all these activities you are enabling for the most badly behaved amongst us. We could barely afford food. Declaring that these youngsters need to have the space to let off steam with alcohol is a damned insult to those of us who are forced to manage on far less, and is merely enabling this kind of aimless destructive crap for the sake of destruction.

Violin lessons are bloody expensive now, I can’t afford them - part of the overall point I was trying to make, @RosaGallica . My violin lessons were free, on a local authority grant scheme of the kind that no longer exists (instruments were loaned). There were boxing clubs for fighty boys, most schools had playing fields, there were loads more sports grounds, clubs and the like which are now gone or age-restricted.

I'm not saying better provision for teens eradicates mass yobbery - it clearly didn't and never has. I'm saying I feel sorry for today's kids who, with so many avenues closed, could more or less be expected to take what chances they can. This isn't new by any means, but they have fewer alternatives now.

Neither am I saying all teenagers need to let off steam. You were apparently a much nicer young woman than I was!