What are teenagers doing hanging out at Starbucks?

A writer froze in her tracks when she recently stepped into a Starbucks. "The entire establishment was jam-packed with teenagers. Giggling, gossiping teenagers clutching whipped cream-doused frappuccinos; shoving Business Week and the New York Times to the side in favor of the latest Abercrombie catalog. Where were the crotchety old men? The college students, the business people, the starving artists? ...When did kids begin to take over the place?" (San Jose Mercury News) | (Get a login/pw at bugmenot.com)

Comments

[Alex]

Well, they can't hang out at bars so they hang out in coffee joints. At least that's what I used to do.

[amanda]

it seems like if anyone should know better than to hang out at a starfucks it would be teenagers

[David Parmet]

amanda - exactly... what's this world coming to? why when I was a teenager we hung out behind the 7/11 where teenagers belong!

They just hang out there because they want to be socialy accepted. They see drinking coffee as a way of being cool,artistic, and intellectually deep. But like any stupid teen they HAVE to hang out at Starbucks. Starbucks is commercial just like Abercrombie, therefore cool, so what results is social conformity topped with a dallop of caffeine addiction. Thats not to say there are teens that love coffee and therefore choose Starbucks as their spot for indulging. No, the whole difference would have to be that they drink Frapps and not drip or shots of espresso. Those teens that drink frapp have always seemed to be the ones that do it to be cool. Those that drink shots of espresso or even drip often truely love coffee.
- It should be obvious that i work at a Starbucks.

[James]

Heh, he/she with no posted name that works at a Starbusks has a valid point. Of course kids hang out there, where the heck else are they gonna go? They are really just waiting to be old enough to go to the bars, then they will be working at an Sbux instead becuase they wont be able to feed their 12$/day habbit on their student loan.

Truely it is always one corporation or another gearing our youth in a consumerism direction; feed the economy because it tastes good, or support local business by buying from the local chinese import store.
Its all just gears and lubes for the next gen of consumers, our middle class has gotten so strong that these kids will be able to live off of mommy and daddy for the next 7years of their college and university lives.
Secondly; the solution is simple, of course you want to konw what I see as the problem.
Problem: If corperations are not stood up against then they will ultimately engross our global economy and material consumerism destroy our planet. The problem to the problem is that we have so few alternatives.
Solution: go out and educate yourselves on what a companies global standpoint is, are they leaving a footprint in the ecosystem? Find options, there are better and more gratifying ways to participate in your local and global economy.

[uncleozzy]

See, this is the problem with kids today. When I was a teenager, we spent all night at 7-11 because we knew the guy who worked the graveyard shift. We'd bring our own cups and drink Cokes and Slurpees all night long, and when the fresh sandwiches and donuts came, we'd eat all the old ones.

But Starbucks? Kids are such wimps these days.

The problem with this is that the teenagers should be egging the Starbucks, and promoting a public nudity day at Starbucks instead of reading trash like the Times and Business Week. Where's the rebellion? Where's the fight? Bring on the egging!

[Gabe]

living as a teenager in a rich white town, were we have no bars, 7-11's,or anything of the ilk, I can't believe that there are kids who actually hang out as starbucks. On my way to the highschool, i'll stop in every few mornings and buy an expresso, a mocha, or occasionally a frap, but by far it is not a place i would remotely consider hanging out at, regardless of my social group, from goth to prep, nobody "hangs out" at starbucks. However, some posters bring up the valid point, that starbucks is used as a status symbol. By arriving at school every morning with a fresh cup of coffee and the "starbucks" label proudly brandished on your cup, it signifies that you a) are able to drive a car, and b) that you can afford the ludicrous prices starbucks charges for even their inappropriately named "tall" beverages, both of which are status symbols to teenagers, and to most people. driving=power, coffee=money. Power and money people, it's the ultimate status symbol, and thus the reason why there are teenagers at starbucks. However, I'll be the first to admit that my own experience is not the best to be used as a national average, as I live in a wealthy upscale part of connecticut. When I visit friends out of state, whether we're in New Jersey, New York, of New Mexico, we would never go near a starbucks, and most kids do prefer to either go to parties, or on boring nights, hang out at the (ie) 7-11 with friends. And it amazes me that kids with so many better places to hang out, would actually choose to go into Starbucks, and sit down listening to acid jazz and blues that very few kids (including myself, as i love music in all it's forms) appreciate. To purport that kids are going to starbucks, an establishment that goes against everything teenage pop culture stands for, to be "cool" in ludicrous. It's like saying "i'm gonna go to the bar and get shit faced so i can lead a MADD seminar", or walking into a bulemia clinic and saying "hey, was it just me, or did that fish make you guys throw up?" Better yet, it's like the new-conservatism, or kerry's war record. In short, it's plain rediculous.

[Jesse]

But are they actually BUYING anything? Or do they just hang out? If the teenie-boppers buy one coffee and hog all of the seats/sofas/tables for three hours, there's a problem.

[Michael Greenhut]

Heh. Well, I'm a post-college-age starving writer. Why don't you see me hanging out in Starbucks? Well, I do sometimes, but more often you'll see me behind the counter with an apron on instead. Yes, I have three degrees, but I work as a shift supervisor at Starbucks. A relatively fun job, though the situation is a little embarrassing, and it's happening to more people.

[miakuska]

I remember back when I was a teenager in the bad old days that was the ONLY place to hang out as a teenager. It was the only thing open past 9 in the area other than IHOP, and the IHOP waitresses were NOT gonna have any stinkin teenagers sitting around taking up their tables.

[Mandy]

I work at *$$'s in a very rich white area where there are TONS of stuck up bratty little shits who know how to beat the "system" They know that in order to not get kicked out, they have to buy something, so they buy those 55 cent pieces of chocolate, sit down somehow manage to get choclate all over the damn place, and then leave.
I personally dread when I see a group of teenieboppers walk in the door. I already know they're getting fraps and my goal is to get them out asap!

[Aneil Mishra]

I agree with the egging sentiment. I didn't have enough money in high school to be hanging out, spending the equivalent of $4 on a cup of java (I didn't drink coffee in high school, either). I was also a nerd for the most part, so I acted out by egging McDonald's once, which was the equivalent of the food retail Big Brother back then (still is, and I'm still addicted to their fries). What else was a young Republican to do, but to occasionally pretend be a radical. Now I'm a B-School prof, addicted to venti skim decaf lattes at Starbucks. Perhaps when my son is older we'll go egg a local Starbucks, especially the one nearby in Chapel Hill that has incredibly rude service people. The ones in Winston-Salem by contrast, are incredibly nice. Of course, if the Starbucks Thought Police are reading this, my Starbucks card will probably be zeroed out tomorrow.

[Sol]

Where else are they going to hang out? And I don't really think its much of a status symbol, at least not at my local Starbucks. The kids hang out there cause there really isn't anywhere else to go. And they don't mind the java fix...though a helluva a lot them get non coffee drinks. Yes they do actually have those at Starbucks. I say give em a break or if its a problem to you, build them some place to hang out at.

[Adx]

HAH! I work in a coffee shop in a downtown area.. FULL of young teens thinking they are so chic cause they can ask for a cappucino (and then complain there is foam in it...)

[help me, I'm a barista]

Ok, so here's my theory.
fifty years from now we will all realize how bad caffeine is for our bodies and we will look at startbucks in the same way we view the tobacco companies.
if only for the advertising to children. just hear me out.

howard shultz is sittin in his office with his analysts saying, "ok, who don't we have hooked on our shit?" and his people tell him its the kids, cause kids don't like bitter tasting, tongue burning beverages. they realize the necessity to own this demographic, especially on account of girls ages 6 -16 consuming more than any other demographic in america.

so, what the solution. whipped cream. thats the hook. thats the marlboro man on his horse with his kick-ass hat. its the whip that gets em, especially with that pretty caramel drizzled all over. as soon as they see their friends extra caramel frap they forget all about that 'my little pony' set they wanted. then they buy one and find out it's sweet and tasty. and before they realize why their hands are shaking in the mornings and why they can't sleep more than 3 hours at a time, they're hooked. its the perfect drug for the kids...addictive substance wrapped in a pretty little package of sweetness. think how popular crack would be if it came in lollipop form.

seriously, though, I do have girls who come in every day and ord.er a big frap with extra, extra, extra caramel-and they have a pretty sad weight problem. I'm not talkin about 'oh, a shy bigger than normal' I'm talking "its time to start worrying about diabetes and congenitive heart failure.

sad day for everybody

[melina]

"help me, i'm a barista's" comment had me and my frap-lovin' son laughing so hard, especially the hand shaking/caffeine addiction part. your post said it all. succintly. perfectly.

[i can't spell worth shit]

*succinctly

[lick my balls]

u crazy biotches, who cares where teenagers are hanging out, wat is wrong wit that? do they do anythin wrong? y cant teenagers hand out wherever they want?

[ashamed]

how can all of you be so rude! I've actually never seen teenagers crowd in a starbucks but if they did who cares?? Whats it to you? all your in there for is your coffee right! Teenagers are no different from anybody else! sure some of them are imature, but thats not to say that they all are. how would you like it if a teenagers walked into a store overpopulated with adults looked around in discrase and left? you wouldnt like it! were a community, not some broken up piece of trash! look who's being imature now, the people who treat the teenagers like this. If we treated them with more respect mabye they wouldnt feel like they need to prove themselves to us! start thinking. your calling them immature, ha!

[melina]

i'd rather my son be at starbucks studying and fraternizing on a monday evening in a safe environment than smoking pot and drinking booze behind someone's house in an alley somewhere. if he's a paying customer it makes no diff what his age or social status is.

[Heather]

I'm sixteen, and Starbucks is the location of choice for my friends and I to hang out. We love it. And we don't go there to giggle, gossip and clutch whipped cream-doused frappuccinos; we'll talk about valuable things while sipping our favourite drinks. Perhaps we can enjoy Starbucks as much as a college student can, no? In my town we literally don't have anywhere else to go, but Starbucks would be our first choice anyway, just because of the atmosphere. Plus, many Starbucks locations here in Canada (like the one in my city) are attached to Chapters bookstores, so we go and read. Now, what exactly is the problem with that?

[Jamie]

Maybe because they want to

[ANAiS]

I luv sTARbuX iM a TeenAgER and IT piSses Me Of wHeN SUM1 sTAys At A TABlE OR SOfA 4 a LoNG AsS Tiem AND i WANNa HAng ouT WIt MY Bf BUt THeY STay TheRE 4eVER ANd I HatE WHeN TheY miSPeLL naMe!!!

Kids, don't use drugs. And that includes caffeine.

[Nikki]

As much as I hate seeing wanna-be kids drinking fraps and asking for extra whip on their drinks, I don't think its anyone's place to sit there and bitch about it. There's a difference that's not being being made here-- by just saying, "DAMN THOSE TEENS THAT HANG OUT IN STARBUCKS", you're damning a LOT of Starbucks Employees and a lot of people who aren't in that stereotypical group. It just pisses me off that the people who are saying that could be in those "partying 20-somethings" or those 40-50-60 year olds who are too stuck in the past. Those generalizations are stupid and god forbid any of you make them again.

Yes it may piss you off that wannabe people come in just to prove something to their social circle or the social circle they want to be in. But the fact is that if someone comes in, asks for a Strawberry Creme with Extra Whip, then sits down and gossips with her friends who got similar drinks about all of the 8th grade happenings for 10 minutes-- THEY HAVE AS MUCH RIGHT TO DO THAT as any group of college students who order double shot breves and talk about the books they've been reading. All are paying customers, all deserve the same treatment.

[Anais]

Does anyone have factual and reliable information on the role starbucks plays in third world countries and coffee trade business?

I am one of those teens that hangs out at starbucks and the reason we hang out there, is because in this day and age there is no where to go to hang out or have fun. Everything sucks where i live. At this point i go out with my friends and we all do drugs, then we go to starbucks when we have dry mouth and the munchies. If you want to do something about it then make a place where teens can hang out and have fun.

oh yeah smoke weed every day.
peace

[-m]

I'd say that maybe 10 percent of my customers are highschool age. Starbucks estimates that only about 12 percent of their customers nation wide are under 18 years old. I'm not sure how they got that data, but after working in 5 stores, I would have to agree. The teenagers do, however, tend to stick out a little more.
Why do they hang out there? Why not? Good drinks, nice music, comfy chairs...I wish there had been more Starbucks when I was a teen.

[OC barista]

Ok, theres a difference between teenages first of all. There are those teenagers that are respectful... will come in a small group, politely order and sit down and you forget that they are there. Then there are the teenagers that come in and are loud, obnoxious, completely annoying, and come in a group of 6 or more (with only about 2 to 3 ordering anything). They'll come in chewing gum and obnoixiously smack it in your face as they order an extra caramel frappuccino with extra whip cream, give you ridiculous names to call out like Thing One and Thing Two, and then grab the rest of the straws out of the condiment bar and use them to twist up and snap sounding like small gun shots. Now at this point I'm thinking I wished I had a gun so I could shoot them in the head. Maybe once in a while they'll order a pastry but as they leave you'll see that the pastry is mostly on the floor, the straw wrappers are everywhere and oh yeah, what happened to the gum? Oh great, its underneath the table for me to put my hand in as I move the furniture back to the place it was supposed to be in the lobby since they had taken the initiative to rearrange most of it. The final type of teenager is the one that comes in to buy Starbucks because of the label and again, the extra caramel frappucino. I would say I am a good judge of the difference between all three since I do work for Starbucks in rich and fabulous Orange County and have worked at Main St. Huntington Beach (Surf City) and directly across the street from a High School football stadium in one of the richest cities in Orange County. To the mother that posted and said that she'd rather have her kid studying at Starbucks than out smoking pot or drinking well I can say I have lots of teenagers come in to my Starbucks to study and they bring along with them pizza, Carl's Jr. and take out food from about 5 other restaurants and ask us for free water. PARENTS PLEASE TEACH YOUR CHILDREN HOW TO BE RESPECTFUL BEFORE YOU ALLOW THEM TO GO HANG OUT WITH FRIENDS ON THEIR OWN. I DO NOT GET PAID ENOUGH TO DO THAT JOB FOR YOU!!! Now, "Help Me, I'm a Barista!"'s comment about the addiction to caffeine to the teenagers is really serious. As someone who was once addicted to Starbucks because I would only drink coffee and a lot of it everday I know how these kids feel. However, there is something fundamentally wrong with parents coming in with their kids that can barely see over the counter and not making them order their drinks decaf. WTF is wrong with them!? Do they not want their kid to ever be able to see over the counter??? Or do they want them to become obese and diabetec by ordering tall cups of whipped cream for them???? Ahh... it feels good to vent... this is a problem my fellow partners and I have to deal with on a regular basis. Alright, peace. :)

I'm a barista and also a teenager. does that mean i shouldn't get to come to work?

[cassie]

i do like the coffee but they only sell it to adults so i think that they should sell it to teen too

[Lynn]

I am 15 years old, and I do go to Starbucks with my friends. Frankly, I see no problem with the fact that we are there. The way you people trash teenagers and give us all this stereotype of being extremely immature is immature in itself. You as the ADULTS are acting the way that you say WE act. Wether you believe it or not, teenagers are capable of acting civilized and mature. When I, and many of my fellow students go to the local Starbucks in town, we are very considerate of others, and make sure to leave once we have finished what we've ordered, in an attempt to provide others with seats. How, might i ask, is this immature? Why do you find this annoying? Also, just because people order drinks that aren't very strong in caffine does not mean that we are any different from anyone else. Has anyone thought that maybe some people, including very respectable adults, simply do not have the taste for strong drinks? I would advise you to give others a chance, even if they may be younger than you. Would you rather have us out getting stoned and wasted? I think not.

[kostka]

Im a teen myself and i know for a fact that teens don't "hang out" at cafes like starbucks because they want to feel mature or socially accepted among adults,its simply cause we're all caffene addicts.just kidding(eventhough alot of us are). pretty much anywhere that we can go to relax and socialize with friends is good enough for us. chances are the only reason that starbucks are being filled with teens is because alot of their locations are close to schools. now thats good marketing!

[Mary Kate.]

I'm a 15-year-old, and my friends sometimes hang out at starbucks. But please, people, it's not like we're taking over the world! We go into Starbucks, get coffee, and sit down and chat. We don't go there to feel "socially accepted" or to show that we have money. We like Starbucks coffee. And maybe we drink fraps instead of expressos because we LIKE fraps. They taste GOOD. And lots of people our age don't like the sour-ish taste of expresso! And maybe we also find the jazz music relaxing and as appropriate music to play in the background in a coffee shop where you like to sit with friends and chat while you drink Starbucks. It's just a part of that coffee shop atmosphere. ANYWAY, i don't see what the big deal is. The fact that we're starting to realize that not all Starbucks is "gross" and some of it is chocolatey, sweet, with all sorts of cool flavors. Without us, Starbucks would start losing money FAST. We're just another consumer, not an invading army.

I think some of the comments that are posted are the most pathetic sterotyped statements that i've seen in a long time.
I'm a tall extra caramel, extra whip caramel frappucino-slurping sixteen year-old girl who doesn't eat the pasteries because they're simply not my thing but at the same time, i'm also the only (that i know of) Starbucks barista in downtown vancouver who knows latte-art (free pour, not etching). I'd rather be hanging out in a starbucks "gossiping and giggling" with my friends than smoking pot in the ally.
The teens who come in, order nearly nothing and make a huge mess when they leave are excruciatingly aggravating; they do not represent all of us. I can say without a doubt that any barista has to deal with annoying adult customers as often as annoying teenaged ones.
To the adults complaining about teenagers in your local starbucks: just because we're young, doesn't mean we don't deserve respect as human beings.
To the baristas: suck it up, though it may suck at times, its your job.

[Caroline]

well. i am a teen and i go to starbucks. Its like adults. we need a place to hang out and talk socially so we go there. adults make a big deal out of.... we like to drink fraps and listen to relaxing music. w. out us starbucks will be losing allot of money so iwouldn't complain

Some of the high school "students" who post here should use more of the Starbucks product to keep themselves up and work on their spelling and punctuation 'cause it sure shows up in the posts here.

[Erika Mattheou]

Well, since they can't hang out at bars or clubs as someone put it they hang out at the next best thing and that is a Starbucks! And while I think that teenagers in their early teens are a bit young to start drinking coffee it is a better alternative to hanging out some place else that may not be inapropriate. And btw, teens in Europe hang out at cafes and such (also don't forget that the drinking age in most European countries if they have one is 18 and over) so I don't see that it is wrong seeing a teenager in a cafe, socializing with their friends, etc. But on the other hand I can see how Americans might not be used to this type of behavior, it is just something you have to get used too. Currently, the 12 yr old is the new 16 yr old in this country! I've seen it with my own two eyes. Children are growing up fast! I say if it isn't hurting anyone or the individual/child then it is best to adjust to it and accept it, times change!

[Erika Mattheou]

Double post that has been edited for corrections!

Well, since they can't hang out at bars or clubs as someone put it they hang out at the next best thing and that is a Starbucks! And while I think that teenagers in their early teens are a bit young to start drinking coffee it is a better alternative to hanging out some place else that may be inapropriate. And btw, teens in Europe hang out at cafes and such (also don't forget that the drinking age in most European countries if they have one is 18 and over) so I don't see that it is wrong seeing a teenager in a cafe. But on the other hand I can see how Americans might not be used to this type of behavior, it is just something you have to get used too. The 12 yr old is the new 16 yr old! I've seen it with my own two eyes. Children are growing up fast! I say if it isn't hurting anyone or the individual themselves then it is best to adjust to it and accept it!

[nat]

why does 13 year old hang out at starbucks???
Firstly its quite expensize
but say if your friends or teachers see u in there u r known to be cool.
'Starbucks was sooo funny last weeekend' is a perfect example. why dosent people just go to like m&s.

please give me your opinon.....

[Barista sUz]

Making frappuccino after frappuccino is really annoying. I hate preteens. I hate listening to them talk. I hate picking up their trash. And I hate making their frappuccino. I hate when they order a cappuccino and they've never had one, but lie to me and tell me they have. I hate preteens.
They're loud and annoying, make gigantic messes, maybe one or two will order something. And the rest just hang out cos they have no money or nothing to do.
Luckily, at our store [in the mall], there really is no room to hang out. It's a small little store. It's not "the hot spot". I just feel bad for everyone else that work at the other stores around us cos they leave their trash [i.e. cups] everywhere.

[Laura B]

I'm 17, I'm a senior is High School, and I stumbled on this article/blog while researching the next topic for my opinions column in the school newspaper: Starbucks & Caffeine Addiction relating to teenagers.
I drink coffee every morning on my way to school, but normally it's home-brewed by my dad & in a portable coffee mug. I often go to Starbucks on week nights to study, visit with friends, or work on college & scholarship applications. That's me.

Yes, I'm addicted to coffee.

Maybe, to the Starbucks Baristas, I'm an annoying high schooler ordering a skim vanilla latte. That's right, I order skim because I'm a distance runner and I'm hoping to run in college next year, so I have to watch what I eat (& drink).

To get to the point, I don't go to Starbucks to be cool, but I don't really care if that's why my friends go. We could be doing worse things at worse places. What's so bad about hanging out in a place that does not promote smoking or drinking, and instead, offers an enviroment condusive to studying?

I hope the workers at the Starbucks I visit regularly don't complain about my friends and me like some of the workers have on here. If they did, I WOULD TAKE MY BUSINESS ELSEWHERE. I know sometimes your job isn't perfect. Being a lifeguard with parents who drop their 3 kids, all under 10 years old, at the pool for 8 hrs with no supervision does not please me either. But I'm not complaining about it. If your job at Starbucks is THAT unbearable....then quit.

[MorningStar]

I agree with the previous post, I am also a teenager who is not a conformist, and frankly, I'm not a prude. But anyways, be glad that all you Baristas with a grudge have to put up with is punk teens, where i work, we've got muslims...

[OMG Barista Boi]

There's a group of high school kids that usually comes into my store on Friday afternoons. I don't think there's any big secret subconscious reason for them coming in... Their school is three blocks away, it's the end of the academic week, and they just want to unwind and treat themselves to a frapp.

The teen kids can be a bit untidy and giggly, but hey, they're still more pleasant to deal with than some of the rude yuppies that we get. Plus, they're paying $4 for a frapp (a decent chunk of change for a teen), so I have no problem giving them the Starbucks Legendary Service. When I was their age, I know I sure liked receiving great customer service instead of being viewed as an annoying kid.

[myke]

try working at a starbucks in a mall like i do and then see how u feel bout kids so much stuff is getting stolen and kids keep taging our bathroom and we live in a VERY nice area but the kids r so bad we now keep a pair of hand cuffs under the counter because so much sht is happening

This is what I see on my lunch break from my blah desk job...group of teenagers leave high school for lunch...three girls with their bellies showing light up cigarettes for their 2 minute journey to the local Starbucks. They put their cigs out on the sidewalk right next to the Starbucks patio ash tray and then walk in to get their caffeine fix. Ugh. The children are the future.

y is it wrong for us to hang about in starfucks wer not doin ewt wrong so u grandad fuckers cn shut tha fuk up n die ur all evil nd mayb we jus wanna stay in frm tha cold jus giv us sum respect nd mayb u will gt sum bk

[mark]

Hi,, I havea question for the readers. I am 51, single and have been going to my "local" starbucks for 5 months or so. In the last 2 months I have become very friendly with a feamile employee, shes 20 or 21 im guessing. Well she always greets me with huge smile and calls out my name as soon as i enter store. she asks about my day weekend and today gave me a free tall coffee. She has an outgoing personality and I know its her job to be customer service to all who enter the store. I just click with her and it makes my day when i see her. I want to ask her out,lunch a movie something light but I dont want to face utter embarrasement by the rest of the store and her because"old guy" is crushing on her and asking out the 21 yr old. any thoughts?

[Chi-towns best/angriest barista]

mark- don't do it!