The Nature of a Teen

The Globe and Mail ran an article - "Misunderstood (for reals)" where the author, Sarah Boesveld, interviewed University of Cambridge veterinary anatomist David Bainbridge about the nature of teens.

Dr. Bainbridge has written a book on the subject - "Teenagers: A Natural History"

The following is an excerpt from that interview:

This book is meant to explain why teenagers exist. Isn't there a simple answer – that it's just a natural bridge from childhood to adulthood?

Other animals that take a very long time to grow up, like whales and chimpanzees, they're all pretty much finished when they're about ten, whereas humans, though we live a similar length of time, it takes twice as long. The more I looked into this, the more I realized the second decade is really something that is unique to humans. Many of the things that really make us unique, like planning all of our highest cognitive functions, we develop when we're teenagers.

It is an interesting position - the second decade of development in a human's life creates experience and shapes who we become as adults.

Consider: are the teen years a natural stage of evolution or a marketing niche? Discuss...