Teenagers?

[Deleted member 17779]

Do you think it is a good idea to hire a teenager as a staff member on your forum? Why or why not?

 

[Tucker933]

Age != maturity, so it really depends on the individual.

 

[Thomasss]

To be quite honest, I think most staff nowadays are teenagers. 😛

I don't see the issue with it, as long as they are mature and meet your standards, they should not be denied/discriminated against due to age. There's many awesome teenagers out there that can run circles around 'non teenagers' when it comes to moderating, etc.

 

[THF_Martin]

You are asking on a forum where I believe a large proportion of the active user base are teenagers, not one so far has made an impression that would stop me hiring them onto a project of mine. Age isn't important - maturity and niche understanding is.

 

[Geoffrey]

If you're desperate, teenage staff are easier to find. Anyone older has other responsibilities and you won't find the same level of activity.

I know I certainly miss the days when I could be active on 10+ forums and staff on half of them.

More on topic, I wouldn't choose to not hire someone solely because of their age. It's good to know, mainly for activity purposes, but if they are mature and fit the rest of the qualifications, age won't be a problem.

 

[VirusZero]

For me it would depend on several things...

- What is the level of content on site?
Despite age being just a number, in some cases it still is a relevant number for legal reasons. And thusly it can't really be ignored entirely.
If I have a site that deals in mature content (written moreso than visual) then I won't hire a teenager (unless they're 18 or 19). Although they may have read/watched/participated in far more than I show, I am legally obligated not to allow them access to any mature content on site until they are 18. And typically being staff means they would need access to do their jobs. (I could still hire them for non-mature sections though. But if the whole site were mature then that'd be impossible.)

- What is their writing quality?
I'm not really interested in hiring someone (regardless of age) if their writing capacity looks like:
"hi i cn do gud job hier me."

- What is their maturity level? (And how do they behave?)
Are they someone who is going to be able to follow directions I give or maintain a cool head in a difficult situation?
I don't need someone who, at the first sign of issues, is going to bail. Nor do I need someone who is prone to instigating issues and picking fights.

I don't mind hiring someone with no previous experience or knowledge of forums (I can provide that) but all the knowledge or experience in the world won't help if they can't behave or they have a terrible attitude.

But of those aspects I look for, only one even really considers age... (So hopefully that shows how important I consider age to be.)

 

[Forces of Steel]

As long as the person is professional about it.

 

[Deleted member 17779]

I agree with what has been said so far. I know some teenagers can act in a mature manner. I've seen it done before on more than one forum. That doesn't mean that every teenager can be a good staff member. The ability and maturity varies from individual to individual.

 

[Allenafaith]

I don't mind as long as they are mature.
I'm 14 and I hold staff positions. I try to stay mature and calm throughout situations and as long as the person can do that I think they would be fine. 🙂

 

[Twisted Fairytale]

I began as a staff member here when I was a teenager (about 13 I believe). While I see a huge maturity difference between then and now (20 years old), I was still a decent staff member.

It all really depends on what you're trying to do and the maturity level of the person. I know many of our staff here are teenagers.

 

[Severus]

Teenagers are usually free a lot of the time and have no commitments. Perfect for staff members 😀

 

[Mikaya]

I think it's okay to hire teens, as long as they're responsible and understand what's expected of them. I'd say the majority of staff members on most sites/forums are teens, anyways. 😛

 

[Vocal.]

Age does not equal maturity level. I started visiting forums when I was a teen and held a few staff positions at popular forums.

 

[Cierra]

I look at other factors like maturity and responsibility before age usually.

 

[Forces of Steel]

I'd still prefer to hire people who are a little older. Usually, younger members don't have much of a sense of self-control. Personal experience.

 

[Twisted Fairytale]

I'd still prefer to hire people who are a little older. Usually, younger members don't have much of a sense of self-control. Personal experience.

While it may not be self control, more of immaturity. However, they all differ from person to person. I remember being a pretty mature younger child, but not all people are like that.

 

[Sharon]

I'd still prefer to hire people who are a little older. Usually, younger members don't have much of a sense of self-control. Personal experience.

While it may not be self control, more of immaturity. However, they all differ from person to person. I remember being a pretty mature younger child, but not all people are like that.

I can relate to TF's statement here as I was the same way. I think it just depends on your niche, sometimes age is huge factor while other times it's not - it depends on what kind of discussions are being held. I've had some instances where "adults" became staff members and they were ridiculously power hungry and went as far as changing members' posts for being "grammatically incorrect."