I’ve often wondered why things were so different in my parents’ childhood books, which I often read as a child myself. Teenagers seemed far freer to do things in those days than what I experienced in my youth, as well as far more willing. While part of that might be poetic license and wishful thinking on the authors’ parts, it was too common across too many different authors to dismiss entirely.

Today I discovered this article, and it helps to explain the differences. And it looks like they’ve gotten even worse since I was a child.

I don’t know what could be done about it, or even if anything should be done. To me it looks like a very bad thing, but it could well turn out to be very good in the long run, through some twist that I can’t see at present. I guess time alone will tell.