“Because We Have Problems Too”

Gael, Isaac, Thomas, Mark, and Kayla are all high school sophomores who have come together to start a podcast in late September of this year. Teenager Therapy is a public recording of a friendship and life as a high schooler. It’s an insightful look at how teens are today. If you’re a teen listening, it makes you look at yourself, assess your problems and ask how you’re dealing with them. If you’re an adult listening, you can get an idea of what the stresses are that teens are dealing with today, and maybe learn something insightful for yourself.

So what’s good about Teenager Therapy? It’s relatable. Listening to it is like having a conversation with your friends about what’s going on in the world and in school. There aren’t many podcasts that are specifically designed to appeal for high school students, and this one fits the bill perfectly. The hosts touch on real subjects that high school students face every day like sexuality, anxiety, family problems, and many others. They talk about personal, heavy subjects without making it too dark and making it feel personal for the listener. Each podcast is laid back and it’s a casual thing to listen to while getting ready, in the car, or while procrastinating the rest of your work. It comes out consistently every week so it’s always something to look forward to and work into any routine.

As many starting podcasts are, not all of it is perfect. Although the laid-back structure of the podcast is nice, sometimes it can get repetitive. Because the podcast is just an audio recorded conversation, that means that sometimes the hosts can repeat what the others said and the conversations can feel like they go on longer than necessary. The lack of structure can also mean some episodes don’t have specific themes that they follow and can sometimes feel awkward. However, the relaxed ambiance of the recording outweighs any repetitiveness it might have. I also find it hard to be able to sit down for the whole length of the podcast, even when I have it playing while doing something else. The length of each podcast varies from thirty minutes to an hour and a half. This leaves me with a lot of half-finished episodes without the time to catch up before the next episode.

Teenager Therapy is a perfect example of who the next generation is, who my generation is. The creators are all thoughtful and innovative teens who are making a difference through their work. By recognizing a market of vulnerable kids just like them and appealing to that audience they have made their listeners feel less alone, and that can mean everything.

You can listen to Teenager Therapy on Spotify, YouTube, and iTunes.