EzraS wrote:
One of the points of a teen forum is for younger teens to get advice from older teens. However the teen section here has always had sparse activity. So an adult helping out is perfectly acceptable. I remember an adult really helped me out there once when I was a wee lad.
I suppose it's hard to pinpoint the line between "helpful" and "intruder", especially for us aspies. So I play it safe, and don't post in the Adolescent forum. Heck, I barely even lurk in the Kids' forum, because much of it boils down to "What's your favorite animal?" and such. As it should; kids should never have to worry about serious adult issues, like I did as early as age 8.
Still, it's be nice if I had more social freedom to extend assistance, like I've been doing in the all-ages General forum. Like, if I accidentally stumbled upon a post by a 15-year-old kid saying he's going to therapy, I'd tactfully but firmly warn him that his therapist is his parents' lackey, and is not to be trusted with anything his parents don't already know. Not only that, therapists are so dumb, they think bullying a troubled kid, by cooing at him or pushing his buttons to make him cry, helps his mental health. I was shrewd enough to know this even that age, but other teens might not be. So teaching that 15-year-old some strong comebacks to use on his shrink would help too.
Then again, if that teen wants adult insight, he's totally free to visit the General forum and read posts there. It's totally not my place to be "the intruder", with or without good intentions. I suppose it also makes a difference if I'm posting there at 22 (my age at the time of joining WP) vs. 36.
07 Apr 2020, 9:24 pm
