just not the mall...

Teens Love Spending Time with Family, Survey Says
9/10/2007

Try this experiment: Ask a teenager what makes him happy.

"Playing basketball," he might say, or "hanging out with my friends." He might mention his extensive collection of heavy metal MP3s, or boast about the souped-up SUV he got for his last birthday.

But no matter what he tells you about his life's greatest enjoyments, he's probably holding out on you – today's young people have a guilty pleasure that could come as quite a shock.

Recently, the Associated Press and MTV teamed up to conduct a survey of 1,280 youths between the ages of 13 and 24, asking them questions about what aspects of their lives made them the happiest. The truth is, cars, sports, fashion, and all the usual spoils of youth barely made the equation – overwhelmingly, the respondents claimed that spending time with their families was more fulfilling than anything else in their lives.

It looks like the surly teens that lock their bedroom doors and only speak to their parents in monosyllabic grunts are heading the way of the dodo bird: According to the poll, nearly three-quarters of the young people surveyed claimed that they had a good relationship with their parents. And when asked who their heroes were, nearly half of the respondents mentioned their mother or father, rather than a public figure or celebrity.

"My parents came here from the Philippines in the '70s," said 23-year-old Stacy Rosales. "They raised a family and got to where they are from scratch. My mother's now the director of a hospital. I admire them both so much."

So the truth is, despite all the eye-rolling and sarcastic remarks that young adults may give their parents, they secretly love their family time. But if you've got a teenager of your own, don't let on that you know – they'd never admit it to you in a million years.