The Modern Gadlfy

First, I would like to begin by asking, "What exactly is a gadfly??" So by simply googling this word, I found that a gadfly is “a person who upsets the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions”. In today’s society, it’s hard to identify any one person as the modern gadfly, but personally, I believe that the modern gadfly is teenagers. Teenagers who always seem to rebel one way or another, whom finds unique ways to stand out in our daily lives, teenagers whose personal choices overall goes against society norms of the previous generation. The perfect example for teenagers being modern gadflies is because-although this isn't necessarily a good thing- teenagers don't just give away their respect to those older than them simply because they are old. Instead of complying to that traditional form of manners, teenagers ask "Why should I respect someone just because of their age?" and the way that question is answered by the more "mature" population is that because they are wiser than teens and "children" need to learn to respect that level of knowledge, age, and experience. But me being a teenager (and a modern gadfly), I don't agree with this answer. I believe that some teenagers know more than our elders, most teenagers experience a lot of things just like the adults, and that age doesn't make you smarter than me. I know plenty of adults or older people that are more naïve than I am. There are adults that I just can't engage in an intellectual conversation with no matter the topic. There are also adults that just are people that don’t deserve my respect. Like the old saying goes "Treat others how you wish to be treated." So if I'm treated poorly by whomever, regardless of your age I will not tolerate it. My respect has to be earned and I really don't give it lightly since there are so few people that have shown me that they can be trusted with it. So although I sort of veered off of the topic of the modern gadfly, I believe that being a teenager in a more open minded society than before, that it’s easier to question things and the people we are surrounded by. It's easier to disagree with societal norms such as the "respect your elders" deal.