Waymo has launched a new service allowing Arizona teenagers aged 14 to 17 to ride in self-driving cars independently. This service has the potential to extend to additional markets across the U.S. where Waymo operates. The initiative responds to a transportation landscape that restricts movement for those without a driver's license. Interviews with participating teens reveal a sense of anxiety prevalent in this generation, shaped by technology and parental oversight. Their preference for limited interaction with strangers and apprehension about driving reflects broader societal trends concerning safety and independence among youth.
According to Waymo, the teens, and their parents, like it that way. The concept of robot cars still scare plenty, but Waymo says its customers' enthusiasm for their self-driving cars has a lot to do with quelling fears.
Guthrie was struck 'by the mounting anxiety that we see in that generation.' Compared to what Guthrie remembered from her teen years, kids seemed in constant touch with their caregivers, and to almost expect surveillance.
The teens interviewed had some 'stranger danger,' either a fear of or strong preference against interacting with strangers. They were also nervous about getting behind the wheel.
The move both promises and threatens to reorder young adult life. In a country where so much of the transportation system depends on access to cars, many people, including those too young to have a drivers' license, are limited in what they can do and where they can go because of it.
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