The Millennials are not in a hurry to drive. I have been working with teens for over 25 years now and a recent shift in the desire to drive has been perplexing me. I have seen driving age teens over the last few years not care about getting their license to drive. I have been wondering why. It is not fear of driving. It is not parental refusal to let them drive. It is not an amazing desire to ride their bikes everywhere and save the planet from pollution. I believe I have finally figure it out.
When I was a teen one of our main reasons to be able to drive was to meet up with our friends. For boys the phone was hardly used and for girls their use was often limited in order to keep the phone free for others use. Well the Millennials don’t need to drive because the meet their friends through technology that allows them to sit at home and become couch potatoes. Us adults have to accept the responsibility of inventing technology that has altered the social habits of our children. This of course adds to numerous problems such as teen weight gain, mood disturbance, poor social skills, poor communication skills, and the inability to connect at a deeper level with others. So when a teen is not interested in driving ask them if they want to be able to meet up with their friends. Bet they will look at you funny.