Ephebiphobia

A group of teenagers is hanging around outside the corner shop, laughing loudly. You cross the street before you reach them, heart thumping, even though none of them has looked your way.

Ephebiphobia means fear of youth, especially teenagers. The word comes from the Greek ephebos, meaning a youth or adolescent, plus phobos, meaning fear. Wikipedia: Ephebiphobia

The word has an unusual history. It wasn’t coined by doctors to describe a personal phobia. Its first use is credited to a 1994 article by Kirk Astroth in the education journal Phi Delta Kappan, and it’s mostly used by sociologists, youth workers, and government agencies. In that world it describes the “inaccurate, exaggerated and sensational characterization of young people,” the way whole societies can treat teenagers as a threat. Wikipedia: Ephebiphobia

We class it as a rare or disputed term. We found no clinical research on ephebiphobia as a personal anxiety condition. If you feel real panic around teenagers, that experience is worth taking seriously, and a clinician would look at your symptoms rather than this label.

Two meanings of one word

People use ephebiphobia in two ways.

The first is social. It describes adults’ distrust or dislike of young people as a group: the belief that “kids these days” are ruder, lazier, or more dangerous than kids used to be. Researchers in sociology and youth studies use the word this way. Wikipedia: Ephebiphobia

The second is personal. Some people feel genuine fear when they’re near groups of teenagers: on buses, in parks, at the mall. They may worry about being mocked, filmed, or hurt. That fear can be strong, and it’s the one the help sections below focus on.

A newer word, juvenoia, has been used in the press for adult distaste or fear of youth culture, often tied to new technology. Wikipedia: Ephebiphobia

People have complained about youth for a very long time

If adults today worry about teenagers, they’re in old company. A 2019 study in Science Advances notes that people have complained about the decline of young people since at least 624 BCE. Science Advances: Protzko and Schooler, 2019

You may have seen a quote about how “the children now love luxury” and have “contempt for authority,” credited to Socrates. Socrates didn’t say it. Quote Investigator traced the words to Kenneth John Freeman, a Cambridge student, who wrote them in 1907 as his own summary of ancient complaints about youth. A newspaper attached them to Socrates in 1922. Quote Investigator Even the famous evidence that people always disliked teenagers turned out to be a mix-up.

Why do the kids always seem worse?

The Science Advances researchers ran five studies with 3,458 American adults to find out why each generation thinks the next one is lacking. They found a pattern tied to people’s own strengths. People who valued authority were more likely to think kids today don’t respect their elders. People who scored higher on an intelligence test were more likely to think kids are getting less smart. People who read a lot were more likely to think kids no longer enjoy reading. Science Advances: Protzko and Schooler, 2019

Part of the reason seems to be memory. People project who they are now onto who they were as kids, so the past looks better than it was. Compared with that rosy memory, today’s youth seem to fall short. Science Advances: Protzko and Schooler, 2019 Children today in the United States are, on average, scoring higher on intelligence tests than past generations did, the authors note, so at least some of the decline people see isn’t real. Science Advances: Protzko and Schooler, 2019

When fear of youth shapes rules

The social meaning shows up in laws and gadgets. Wikipedia’s article lists examples that writers have linked to fear of youth, including Seattle’s former Teen Dance Ordinance and the UK’s Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, introduced in 1998. Wikipedia: Ephebiphobia

One device makes the idea very literal. The Mosquito is a machine that plays a high-pitched sound to stop people from loitering. One setting, around 17.4 kHz, can generally be heard only by young people, because the ability to hear high sounds fades with age. Wikipedia: The Mosquito

What can personal fear of teenagers feel like?

Here’s a made-up example. Imagine a woman in her fifties who was once surrounded and teased by a group of teenagers at a bus stop. Months later she still checks the stop before she walks up. If she sees a group of teens, her chest tightens, her face gets hot, and she waits for the next bus. She starts driving instead, even for short trips, and feels embarrassed about it.

Physical signs of a phobia can include dizziness, a pounding heart, shaking, chest tightness, and feeling sick. NHS: Phobias Some people also notice a strong urge to leave, or they replay the moment for hours afterward.

Is it fear or a phobia?

Being careful around a group that seems hostile is reasonable. So is feeling shaken after a bad experience. A specific phobia is different: the fear is out of proportion to the actual danger, and it leads to avoidance or intense distress. APA Dictionary of Psychology

Signs that the fear may have become a problem:

• you change routes, times, or plans to avoid places where teens gather
• you feel panic even when the teenagers are doing nothing
• the fear has lasted for months
• it’s affecting your job, errands, or social life

Our fear versus phobia guide has more on telling the two apart.

How it connects to other fears

Fear around groups of young people often comes down to fear of being judged. If the core worry is being laughed at, our page on gelotophobia may fit. If it’s the feeling of being stared at, see scopophobia. Phobias often start after a frightening event, and the NHS also notes that being embarrassed about your reaction can make anxiety worse. NHS: Phobias

What can help?

If your fear is personal and strong, the same treatments used for other phobias may help. The NHS lists talking therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), along with other options. NHS: Phobias CBT can help you notice thoughts like “they’re all laughing at me” and test whether they hold up. A therapist may also help you return step by step to places you’ve been avoiding.

If the fear started after you were harassed or attacked, say so. A therapist will want to know, and it may change the approach.

If your “fear” is more of a general belief that young people are worse than they used to be, the research above is worth a second look. Your memory of your own youth may be kinder than the facts. Spending time with teenagers as people, through family, volunteering, or work, can turn a faceless crowd into people with names.

If someone you love is afraid of teenagers

Don’t call the fear silly, and don’t argue them out of it with statistics alone. Ask what happened, if anything, that started it. Offer to walk with them past a place they avoid, at their pace. If the fear is keeping them home or cutting them off from people, encourage them to talk to a doctor. Our guide on supporting someone with a phobia has more ideas.

When to get help

See a doctor or therapist if fear of teenagers is causing panic, making you avoid ordinary places, or keeping you from work or friends. You can simply say “I get very anxious around groups of teenagers and it’s affecting my life.” Our guide to talking to a doctor about a phobia can help you prepare.