Summer is, sadly, drawing to its close. I was pretty late in taking a vacation this year (in fact, I'm actually on vacation now). As I was getting set to head out, I decided that for this month's piece I'd look at traveling with teens - what worked, what didn't and the kinds of things marketers might want to think about for reaching teens on the go.

As every young generation grows up, it eventually finds itself on the outside of pop culture looking on in a state of confusion as a new generation rises to put its own stamp on society. Certain signifiers solidify this feeling among the older cohort-think, for example, of Gen Xers' love for Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" that Boomers simply couldn't understand or Millennials' passion for YouTube celebrities that Xers still don't quite get. These inflection points mark the beginning of a changing of the guard among the keepers of youth culture. Millennials, the oldest of whom are well into their …

Economic crises have dominated this summer's news cycle. The European Union has been in back-and-forth conversations with Greece, which is in technical default on its debts. In China, the stock market has entered the largest bubble since the dot-com era. And Puerto Rico is also in danger of defaulting on its debt.

Researching for a recent posting, I was once again reminded just how many people think we have treacherous intentions when it comes to youth marketing. We all know there's a stigma around anyone trying to influence consumer behavior. But it gets downright ugly when applied to children.