the starting point of this book is that comparatively modern phenomenon , the 'teenager' of course teenagers have always existed but it is only during the last twenty years or so that, as a group, they have made their existence aggressively evident to other sections of the community, and sometimes in most unpleasant ways. this has resulted in the term 'teenager' becoming now more wiedly used than 'adolescent' ,very often as a label with derogatory connotations.