Teenagers' sometimes inexplicable choices can be understood as a rational developmental phase when seen through the lens of animal behavior.
, present findings from their five-year study on wild animal adolescence. They uncovered evidence that young folks are hardwired to take risks—and with good reason. Across the animal kingdom, risky behavior helps adolescents develop into safer and more confident adults.
Every year, thousands of adolescent king penguins leave the nest and plunge into the predator-filled waters around Antarctica. Some years, half of them don't make it out alive, the victims of leopard seals, killer whales and starvation. Other years are less deadly, but no matter what, the first days, weeks and months after fledging are exceedingly risky for all penguins.
Predator naive is exactly what human adolescents are, too, when they enter the world with little experience. A predator-naive teen going off to a party or a young adult moving to a new city won't have coyotes or sharks waiting, but the array of dangers they may face are no less lethal: a swerving truck, a drunken hazing ritual, a depressive episode or a predatory adult.
It may be helpful to distinguish between risky situations teens seek out and the naivete that makes them targets. Both, when survived, can offer future protective benefits. Taking risks to become safe is not a paradox. It's actually a requirement for adolescent and young adult animals on Earth.Why would animals ever behave in ways that endanger their lives? Risk behaviors in adolescents who haven't reproduced seems to make little evolutionary sense.
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