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Crazy Kids Today Love Hugging Friends
By
Jen Chung
Published May 28, 2009
Modified May 28, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 28, 2009
Modified May 28, 2009
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Zany teens, what will they think of next? The NY Times has a front page article about how today's teens greet each other with hugs. A Montvale NJ high school junior says, "We’re not afraid, we just get in and hug. The guy friends, we don’t care. You just get right in there and jump in," while a San Francisco alternative middle schooler puts it, "We like to get cozy. The high-five is, like, boring.” And if you don't hug? Pffft-a freshman at Laguardia High in Manhattan explains, "If somebody were to not hug someone, to never hug anybody, people might be just a little wary of them and think they are weird or peculiar." Question: Do the goth kids hug? Apparently some sociologists think this is a result of "growing up in an era of organized play dates and close parental supervision," but one warns, "Without question, the boundaries of touch have changed in American culture. We display bodies more readily, there are fewer rules governing body touch and a lot more permissible access to other people’s bodies." Which is why some high schools, like Hillsdale High in NJ, ban hugs. Related: The Today show on the scourge of high school hugging.
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hug
hugging
hugs not drugs
public school
teenagers
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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