Teen Life in France Compare French teenagers with American teenagers and you will notice that they are much more alike now than they once were. This is due to a general Americanization of French teenagers. In France, the average teenager has just begun avidly using the Internet. Because we have always had a system called Minitel, which is similar to the Internet, there has never been a real demand for World Wide Web. But now, teenagers have begun frequently using their e-mail and some have even begun using instant messenger programs such as AOL Instant Messenger or ICQ. This is very important because it has opened French teenagers up to many more exciting things, such as Mp3’s and other technologies that have boomed here in the United States.

The Internet has also introduced many French teens to things that can be considered part of the American pop-culture. The Internet is only part of an overall process that has led to the Americanization of French youth. A lot of English words have found their way into spoken French and have become part of the slang that young French people use when talking to each other.

As far as school goes, due to the fact that the French public system is one of the strongest in the world, most teens are very academically challenged. Contrary to the United States, in France you go to private schools if you cannot keep up with the public school system (unless you go for a religious or special reason).

The discipline in French schools is also much more severe than the USA. However, lately, schools have begun to be used as places to meet and traffic drugs. Schools nearer to large cities have had recurring problems of drug deals going down on campus and even at times there have been gang-related stabbings that have occurred on school campuses.

Despite the fact that violence in schools is rising, there have never been events like Columbine. Crime is rising among teens; however, because France abolished the death penalty in 1984, there is no threat of capital punishment for criminals. When teens go to hang out, most often it is done in the urban centers similar to the United States. One of the chief differences is that French teens walk and don’t really need a car. This is because the French transportation system is very good and in cities such as Paris there is a metro station just about everywhere. Also, most high school students CANNOT drive because the driving age in France is 18.

Most of the youth hang out in places American youths would hang out. Places like movie theaters, Pizza Hut, and McDonald’s. Many teens also go to watch soccer games or rugby games of their local club and participation in organized sports in France is very high. A huge difference between the American teens and French teens is that among French teens there is a much larger consumption of tobacco products such as cigarettes. This is because as a teen, one can get cigarettes almost anywhere because the restrictions (if there are any) are not enforced at all.

Alcohol is not that much of an issue because of the fact that most French teens have already learned to drink responsibly because the law allows you to consume alcohol at any age as long as you have your parents’ consent. This has made it so that the teens do not crave alcohol as much as U.S. teens do. The main drug that is consumed by French teens is marijuana. A lot of French teens smoke marijuana, especially those who come from the inner city. As for the future, French youth have already showed that they are ready to combine their culture and heritage with that of other nations.