Teens look for new places to hang and belong without adult suspicion

Ask Calgary teens where they hang out these days and you'll get a whole range of answers riding the bus just to explore the city, paying $15 to use an indoor skate park, or just hanging out at a local mall.

They're finding their own spaces, but often with a sense of uncertainty.

"When you're a teenager, the most you really do is walk around and try to go places," said Maya Kallo.

"Even if you go into a McDonald's, you get stared at or eventually get told to leave because you're a teenager. Or even walking around shops and everything, you have four staff members on you because our age group is the problematic one."

It's the same challenge faced by other generations in their younger years. But some teens, researchers and community groups are calling for Calgary to take the challenge more seriously now, especially post-pandemic.

CBC Calgary asked participants about this at our recent Young Calgary launch, held in partnership with the Calgary Public Library.

Kallo's friendssaid they feel the weight of adult expectations a lot when they're out.

"Like Maya said, we're kind of seen as a problematic group," said Jayla Pearson.

"I feel like when I go to the mall, older generations kind of have their eye on us. And they're just like, 'all those teenagers, they need to go home and calm down.'"

"COVID most definitely ruined it for a lot of us," she added. "I don't know how to put this into words, but I feel like I lost a bit of my childhood. I feel like now in high school that I have to act a certain way and hide who I truly am. And then especially with few targeted areas for teenagers to hang out, I feel like it's hard."

Calgary's all-ages music scene doesn't have a permanent home. Eagle-eyed fans can find shows to go to, there's a Facebook page dedicated to them, but venues that routinely allow minors to stay for a show can be hard to come by.

'Archaic' liquor laws get in the way

Sled Island executive director Maud Salvi says the indie music, film and arts festival tries to include an all-ages lineup, but every year finding venues gets harder.

"I honestly often wonder where do young people go to see live music?" she said.

Salvi says Calgary doesn't have many venues that host teens regularly. A lot of the time, that comes down to a business decision. Selling liquor helps keep the doors open, and the risk of losing a licence can be a factor, too.

"Often the ticket price is certainly not enough to cover your expenses," Salvi said. "To me, that's really something that should be subsidized. To me, it's a public service. It's, yeah, it's educating young people, just like school educates people."

On their all-ages venue lineup, some bars have a witching hour of sorts, where suddenly the venue isn't fit for kids at 9 p.m., according to their liquor licence.

"In my opinion, we have archaic liquor laws that are really not moving with the times," Salvi said. "It's kind of segregated, right? And that's really unfortunate because while young people are the future young people tend to be excluded."

A hub in the neighbourhood

Teens need unstructured hangouts, too. Marie-Pier Dube-Hazell, a mentor co-ordinator at Big Brothers Big Sisters, says the youth she's connecting with need a place close to home, maybe with some free programming and snacks.

"Like more hubs in neighbourhoods," she said. "Drop-in times at their community centres or things like that for youth to come and hang out or play ball games or whatever. I think there would be value in that."

That's how the Calgary Public Library sees its role. Librarian Lindsay Banting says they came to recognize the role libraries play as teen spaces, especially during the pandemic.

When the library shuttered locations and put programming online during the pandemic, teens were there at online creative writing cafs and using other services virtually. When health restrictions began lifting, these kids were some of the first library users to return to physical locations.

According to the library's teen engagement strategy, teens and tweens use library services at a disproportionately high rate compared with other groups.

"Teens are one of our super users," said Banting.

The library network welcomes teens. Besides the engagement strategy, it aims to partner with organizations that help put on programming. The Central Library has a whole section, complete with video games, board games and a teen lab, dedicated to "messing around" and "geeking out."

"As new technology comes out, some of that technology or even gaming is unattainable for some families," Banting said.

"So we love to monitor trends, keep on top."

Banting says they are now rolling out the tech lab at other locations literally, on carts. The goal is to create a mobile experience at community branches, where there may not yet be permanent infrastructure.

With teens comes the stereotype that they are rowdy or up to no good. It's something that is playing out in some libraries.

According to a report from January's board meeting, some bad apples are bringing down the vibe at some community library locations.

"Several community libraries are experiencing higher rates of altercations involving teens, with abuse to staff and fights with other teens being more prevalent," according to the Risk Register Update. "Several mitigation measures, such as space layouts and security presence, have recently been instituted and have already shown success."

When asked about the report, Banting said librarians are trained to talk with teens on their level, redirect them, take a friendly approach and try to activate spaces with programming.

Finding spaces critical to youth development

There will be challenges. But Deinera Exner-Cortens, an associate professor in the department of psychology at the University of Calgary, says these hangout spaces are more important than some adults might think.

"Hanging out with peers is a really important part of development for teens," she said. "They develop social skills. They get social support in a way that they can't get from adults who don't understand."

Acting out a bit is pretty normal, too, she says. Risk-taking behaviour is an evolutionary part of entering adulthood. So going out and figuring out what is wrong and right, what they can and can't do.

"They're really starting to explore who they are in terms of more mundane things, like what they want to wear, all the way up to beliefs and values."

Brae Anne McArthur, director of the psychology clinic at the University of Calgary, says her team is surveying 13-year-olds in Alberta to see what they do after school a tool she says could be useful for policymakers and organizations to better serve teens.

In terms of public health, she says, there's a value in facilitating and sustaining gathering places for youth.

'It's the relationships you have'

At the end of the day, it's about who you are with, not where you're hanging out, say many of the high school students who flock to 17th Avenue during their lunch break.

They want informality, says Manessa Redford, a Western Canada High School student.

"Just places where you can hang out with your friends, do kind of fun, dumb things," she said.

Her friends go to trampoline parks, skate parks or just walk around their neighbourhoods.

"It's the relationships that you have with the people that you're hanging out with," added Maverick Singh.

"They mean much more than, like, just a place that you hang out."

Young Calgary

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