Every Generation of Teenagers Redefines Pop Culture Through Its Favorite Music, Fads, Movies and Trends

April White | Author, The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier

Add as preferred source Netflix / Everett Collection The United States invented the teenager in the mid-20th century—and then teenagers reinvented the nation, repeatedly. The creation of a new demographic was an accident, really. New Deal policies moved teens from the workplace to the classroom. A booming post-World War II economy gave them disposable income. The rise of the automobile offered unprecedented freedom. Soon companies began to see teenagers as customers. Off in high schools five days a week, teens formed their own communities, proving grounds for generation—defining media, fashion and communications trends. Those obsessions reshaped the social landscape, from the birth of rock ’n’ roll to the rise of emojis. In each era, teens identified themselves by what they watched, listened to and read, where they hung out and how they talked to one another. Here’s a sampling of their favorites.

Rebel Without a Cause: The James Dean coming-of-age classic played into adults’ fear of “delinquents,” and it turned an undergarment, the T-shirt, into a fashion statement when paired with jeans.