George Orwell's 1984: The Troubled Teen Industry

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In the last fifty years, 200,000 American teens have entered the troubled teen industry. The troubled teen industry has many parents turning to it for help with their “troubled” teens. Generally, these facilities are marketed to parents as boot camps, behavior modification facilities, wilderness camps, and conversion therapy. This is harmful because many parents do not realize the dangers of these troubled teenage centers. These facilities mirror the world of George Orwell’s 1984 where youth are brainwashed and controlled by the government, along with adults. In the country of Oceania, Orwell creates a fictitious society exploring the abuse of total control and poses many questions and suspicions about those in power. He was a passionate writer …show more content…

It is where parents send their rebellious children to reform their behavior. For just the cost of tuition, the troubled teen facilities promise parents emotional and physical reform for their children. The industry first emerged in the early 20th century. It flourished in the ‘70s and ‘80s and has roots in national organizations all around the world. These places are marketed as educational and reformative places for parents to send their children to receive emotional and physical therapy for healing. Teens sent to these facilities, sometimes by force, experience abuse and neglect and are rarely reformed or even educated. At these locations, children are subject to abuse and neglect, including intense physical labor, starvation, solitary confinement, sexual abuse and harassment, physical abuse, humiliation, manipulation, and brainwashing through cult-like rituals and practices (The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping) (Hell Camp Teen …show more content…

This is seen in one of the main focuses of these places, to influence the parents. This is because they influence other parents to send their children (The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnappings). Several facilities have offered free tuition or scholarships to children whose parents have advertised their services to other parents and children. Survivors of these troubled teenage facilities wonder why their parents chose to ignore the abuse happening, but most parents are warned that their children will lie and manipulate them so they can leave the program before they are fully healed. These programs aim to demonstrate these children to the parents so the for-profit industry will continue to benefit from tuition. The emotional and physical abuse these teenagers survive far outweighs the therapy and healing opportunities these children could receive from staying in the camps (Hell Camp Teen Nightmare). Desperate parents are sold the idea of a therapeutic camp or home for their troubled teenagers (Lipkin). Most parents cannot be fully faulted because many of these organizations are masters at covering up abuse and neglect of the children in these facilities just to gain tuition. These parents are paying tuition without knowing the abuse that happens. The abuse experienced at these facilities included physical restraint, solitary confinement, forced false confessions, humiliation, censorship,

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