—Martí, you have blood cancer.

Adolescence is a very complicated stage of development to accompany with serenity and empathy because it requires adults a combination of patience, listening, and constant understanding. The adolescent, submerged in a web of physical, cognitive, psychological, emotional, and social changes, often appears at home irritable and with little desire to share everything that worries or bothers them. An attitude that, far from being a personal rejection, usually reflects the need to protect oneself, to understand oneself, and to find one's own place in the world. In this context, the adult perspective becomes key: interpreting these behaviors calmly and without judgment can make the difference between raising walls or keeping communication bridges open.A family moment when talking to children stops being easy: what arose spontaneously in childhood – explaining how the day at school went, sharing worries, or asking curious questions – progressively transforms into a true odyssey, where managing to exchange more than four words without tension, argument, or anger appearing becomes a challenge that often bewilders and exhausts adults. And it is precisely in these difficult moments when parents' patience and calm can make the difference between building walls or keeping communication bridges open.

For young people, it is positive and necessary to have role models to follow, it helps them to build their identity, imagine different possibilities, find motivations, and know where to go. “The most important thing would be to have several role models, and for them to be human and imperfect, so they become a guide to look up to and not a pressure to imitate”, proposes Sylvie Pérez Lima, a registered psychologist and professor at the UOC. But what are young people's idols like in the digital age? From the 1960s to the 2000s, teenagers' bedrooms were transformed with posters of their youth idols hanging on the walls. “They were young people a bit older than them whom they looked up to, and they idealized their image and identity,” explains Carles Feixa, a professor of social anthropology at the UPF and coordinator of the Youth in Spain Report (INJUVE 2024). In the 1960s, teenagers appropriated their bedrooms for the first time and displayed their idols, especially musical ones, rock’n’roll and rock evolutions. In the 70s, they were revolutionary political idols –Mao Tse Tung, Che, or Fidel Castro–, who, with the crisis at the end of the 70s, ceased to have continuity. Then, consumer idols returned with more commercial music, not so much protest-oriented, and sports idols, especially in football and tennis, who were models of success. It is from the 2000s onwards that digitalization began and more artificial idols emerged, youtubers and influencers, who would go on to occupy an even more intimate space, social media. Lucía (15 years old) does have posters hanging in her room, a couple from one of the Spiderman movies and several of Sadie Sink (@sadiesink_), an actress from Stranger Things: “I follow her on social media and watch all the interviews she does, she's my crush”. What she watches most on TikTok and Instagram are reels of series, music, and especially humor, accounts that make her laugh –“many silly things, falls, and slips”–, Manu Rivas (@manurivasr) or Pablo Vera's (@pablovr11) dances, news channels, and people who explain things like Javi Hoyos's (@javihoyosmartinez) gossip.

At three months old, Pau was rolling over, and by nine months he was already walking. As a baby, he was a chatterbox. We read together a lot, and this, in addition to reinforcing his literacy development, also strengthened our bond, his curiosity, and his imagination. He would run out of the house, his eyes always sparkling.

"There are no more urban tribes, and there won't be any, at least not with the presence and strength they had in the second half of the 20th century," states José Mansilla, an urban anthropologist in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). "In Spain, they emerged with great force in the 1980s as a result of a period of realignment in Spanish society. Now, only a few nostalgics will remain," he asserts.

"To José Manuel, who died in his cabin." This was the dedication of my first book, published in 1982, which commemorated the fourteen-year-old boy who, a few months earlier, had burned to death in his cabin—his refuge—on the outskirts of the city, near where TV3 would later take root. I've been thinking again about this first tragedy of my professional life upon hearing the news of the deaths of five teenagers, also by fire, also in their refuge, now more urban. Although history doesn't repeat itself, I can't help but recall how, decade after decade, teenage boys and girls seek out spaces of supportive companionship and affection, and, especially, how some, lacking other spaces and companions, seek refuge from adult society. It's the adolescent periphery beyond the periphery of the city: young people on the margins of society.

My son has been creating instrumental music on the computer for a year now. It's a quantum leap compared to when I started. At 12, he's doing things I was doing when I was almost 30. The evolution is incredible. He's already listened to a lot of groundbreaking music. He pays close attention to detail, works quickly and intuitively, and focuses on choosing the right sounds to make the song sound interesting. He doesn't consider mixing as a separate element; he does it all at once. He sees it as a whole.

Young people today lack private and shared spaces where they can interact freely and independently without adult intervention. There is the space dedicated to formal education and extracurricular activities, but outside this broad range of organized time, what is left for them? In the physical, analog world, only consumption: streets full of shops and shopping malls. The available parks are designed for toddlers. In a few squares, there are still some ping-pong tables. In any case, there comes a time when children disappear from the city. If we look at the types of people we find on the street, outside of school hours, we see older people or very young children, but it would seem that teenagers don't exist. Where are they? Locked away at home, of course, and, in many cases, in their bedrooms, where all the social life they once had in person, as a real, physical being and not a digital avatar, has been displaced. The virtualization of childhood and adolescence is an unprecedented phenomenon whose long-term consequences are unknown. Currently, the data on mental health problems in this age group are so alarming that they should prompt us to reconsider this social shift, which we have neither decided upon nor thoroughly evaluated. Those of us who had children at the turn of the millennium were later told that we couldn't do anything, that we couldn't oppose the digitization and virtualization of our own offspring. To be against it is to be old-fashioned, technophobic, and practically an internet-bound Amish.

I remember perfectly when, during recess four years ago, a colleague showed us artificial intelligence on his phone. Apparently, he'd heard about it on the radio and, out of curiosity, had tried it out. In front of us, he asked it to compare Modernism and Noucentisme and even to generate a poem in the style of Maragall. Before we'd even finished our coffee, a long and exhaustive piece of work, just as he'd asked, started appearing on the phone screen. The poem too. It was like something out of a magic trick. What was the catch? Who was writing all this? We immediately saw that the tool was fantastic, but also dangerous for the world of education.

We should all get a little more sleep, especially during the week. What's not normal is seeing the faces of some students first thing in the morning. Not to mention those who simply oversleep or arrive late. Many get up alone at home and, in their rush, don't have breakfast and don't have time to get ready for lunch at recess.

"The quiet stage by definition." That's how some manuals and guides describe the stage of childhood between the ages of 6 and 12, which coincides with primary school. Although perhaps it's not as quiet as it seems. "It's a more blurred stage than the others. In fact, most studies and intervention programs focus on early childhood or adolescence, leaving this period in the background. But it's a crucial stage for cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development, and represents a window of opportunity for health promotion and the prevention of future problems." in emotional education, dermatology, and respectful parenting.

My children have all kinds of friends. The ones who are always around. The padel friend. The otaku friend who's always online. School friends. Leisure friends. The children of my friends who are now their friends. The friend who's always making plans. The friend who never calls. The best friend. The only friend. Or the friend we can't stand.

Preadolescence is a stage that, depending on each individual's developmental level, typically extends from 10 to 13 years of age. Therefore, at age 12, they are immersed in a period of change, especially on a psychological and sexual level. While we cannot yet consider young people of this age to be adolescents, we can still refer to them as such. older children That wouldn't be the most appropriate term because, as Núria Casanovas, a child and adolescent psychologist and vice president of the Social Intervention Psychology Section of the Official College of Psychologists of Catalonia, explains, they no longer have a child's brain: "they are in the midst of a transition."

Nile has seen Figaro(rk) and he liked discovering the character of Figaro, the evolution of Figaro influencer until he discovered how to be a revolutionary today. He also liked the songs and the fact that the most famous musical pieces from the three operas starring Figaro were featured in the show. He also liked the scenery, the costumes, and the fact that the lead actor was a young man who performed so well. The play speaks to the importance of the small revolutions that each of us can make.

Nearly half of young Spaniards report having suffered psychological violence in childhood and adolescence. Forty percent also claim to have been beaten and beaten, and three in ten (29%) report having been victims of sexual assault and rape while growing up. These are figures from the first macro-survey on the prevalence of violence among minors, presented this Thursday by the Ministry of Youth and Children in Madrid. This is the first comprehensive snapshot of a reality that, according to Minister Sira Rego, "has been experienced behind closed doors," fostered by "a pact of silence," which the data now predicts.

When entering adolescence, everyone wants to feel accepted and included in the group and, above all, not be labeled as strange or different. Achieving this often involves imitating others, who are usually those with greater leadership skills and from whom behaviors that are "well-regarded and highly valued" are discarded. Therefore, they follow the behavior of the most popular. This is a common behavior in this "transitional" stage of life from childhood to adulthood. As explained by Laura Cerdán, a collaborating professor at thestudies in psychology and educational sciences from the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), is a stage of change and evolution in the emotional, cognitive, and social realms, with "strong social pressure" that encourages imitation of peers. Although each adolescent experiences these changes in their own way and differently, there is consensus that these are years in which friendships gain significant importance, and young people therefore seek to identify with their peers.

"They spend all day in their rooms and aren't interested in doing things with us," laments Pedro, the father of two teenage boys, ages 13 and 15. Both he and his partner, Marta, are getting used to this new stage. "Adolescence has such a bad reputation that you get a little scared, but it's not that bad," admits the mother, although she acknowledges that they are still adjusting.

My children are two little miracles, and to believe in miracles, you have to be devout. Well, maybe all sons and daughters are, but let me say that mine are a little more devout than usual.

The first place adolescents begin to express their identity is in their room. Sometimes they do this by wanting to rearrange furniture. These changes are related to the process of identity construction. The gesture of closing the door signals that the young person begins to seek privacy, to explore and find their innermost being. "It's the beginning of the process of more active identity construction. It usually happens between the ages of 12 and 15, although some young people never need to do it," says Sara Desirée Ruiz, a social educator and psychotherapist specializing in adolescence. What she suggests to families is to observe, and when adolescents begin to close the door, the family should knock before entering.

If you walk into Alex's room today, you might find anything. Any day now, I'll find an Ondas Award under the bed. He's very messy. Plus, he has this strange ability to make you believe things are more or less in their place, but when you open the closet or drawers, you see everything is a mess. Gina's room is tidier, although I think she's slowly picking up some of her brother's bad habits.