There is no such thing as the typical teenager and being a teenager is all about establishing your own style.  

Clothes
Amy, an 18 year old from Bolton who has just passed her A-levels, says ‘I like smart yet comfortable clothes so I buy designer labels when I can afford them but mainly jeans, T-shirts and trainers. I’m not really into dresses and high heels but my friends are and don’t care if they are uncomfortable as long as they look good.’

Star Buys
Traditionally girls would spend money on CDs but now they are using the latest technology to get their music cheap, and sometimes free. This has alarmed the powerful music companies who have started prosecuting teenagers for downloading music from the internet. Amy admits she doesn’t really buy CDs and mostly copies them from other people to play while driving. Like most teenagers Amy likes technology, especially ‘dinky’ accessories like her mobile phone, digital camera and MP3 player which are small, neat, useful but stylish. She likes multifunctional gadgets especially, so her new all-in-one printer, scanner and photocopier is a star buy. She is still trying to persuade her parents that a hand held scanner would be vital to her future studies, and it is ‘so dinky!’

Leisure time
Unlike many teenagers who like playing video games and watching TV, Amy prefers watching and playing sport in her spare time. She loves watching football and supports her beloved Bolton Wanderers home and away. She also swims and hopes to play more sports when she goes to university.  

Serious reading
With all her school work Amy has had little time for reading fiction although she has read the Harry Potter books. She says ‘at the moment I am reading a rather large book called Organic Chemistry to prepare for university. As the rest of the books on my reading list seem equally thick it could be some years before I get the chance to read another novel!’

It looks as though Amy’s leisure time will be limited when she goes to ‘uni’.

Valentini, Hilary and Amy
June 2007

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