teenage bedrooms

Still catching up:

I read a review of a book published in 2017, a history of teen bedrooms in America, titled Get out of My Room by Jason Reid. Seriously. And it is a history. The family called young Theodore Roosevelt’s room “Museum of Natural History”. Nabokov’s description of Lolita’s bedroom was based on detailed research. In the early 1980s a teenage hacker named Kevin Mitnick had his bedroom searched in by the FBI, who ” knew more about what he was doing in his room than his own mother.” That applies even more today when mothers discover their sons’ assault weapons after they have committed a massacre.

Also in the 80s but not so dangerous, the room of a friend’s daughter was a bone of contention in the family. The girl never cleaned up her room, despite nagging, cajoling and promises of rewards. Then a movie set designer paid her - the daughter - a large sum of money (obscene, in fact) to allow him to take pictures and notes for a teen movie . After that, game over. My friend gave up.

Maybe your bedroom is tidier and less cluttered with posters of teen idols and souvenirs than it used to be, but take a look at your fridge door.

Is the world still with you?