Teens/students asking for help with story ideas/homework ideas - What would you do?

Well, I'm fifteen, and to be honest, I totally agree with you. Yes, I basically live on Facebook and my cell phone. But I HATE how everyone is always asking for help with their homework. They're all just lazy. They don't want to do the work, and so they ask other people. It's not that they don't understand it. Contrary to popular belief, most teenagers are pretty smart. They're just lazy and hate doing work. So, if I was completely unplugged, I probably wouldn't be able to handle it, but only because that's usually how I talk to my friends. Trust me, I would be able to finish all of my homework.

There MUST some way to keep this post permanently on the top of the B&A page. I'm a teen myself and I can't help but roll my eyes at all the very basic questions being asked on here. I never had so much trouble answering basic reading comprehension questions that I had to go online and ask for people to do my homework; granted, I have tried to supplement my knowledge with what other people have found because no one can get every last symbol or motif. However, I have occasionally seen AP-level questions on here, and those are the ones I get the most upset at. If you are in AP, you are expected to understand and work with literature at a higher level. If you have to slum it on Yahoo Answers, you deserve an F in class and a 1 on the AP class. (As an aside, another AP student actually accused me of getting people to do my homework.. when I asked for what people thought of the relationship between Snape and Lily.) I think that they're just so incredibly lazy that the see the Internet and think "Well! I'll get some book freaks to do my homework for me, just because they're there!". It's very true what you say that instead of bouncing ideas off of one another, people just sit around and beg. I see this myself in my AP classes, that while about half will actually do the work by themselves and discuss ONLY to help one another, the other half will procrastinate and come 12 midnight the night before the paper is due, they will scream and whine and cry for people to forward their homework to them. I too wonder if they ever thought that people who did not have the Internet got along fine with homework and their own writing. Many will likely sit at their computers with a blank stare wondering "Oh no!!! I can't think of a name for my character! Oh no, what plot should I do? Oh no, who do I go to now for blind praise for my crappy writing??"

I've always wanted to ask a question about people who ask for homework and story help. Not in this tone, but as a general poll about how people feel about them. I know that you're not very fond of it, and I hate people who have nothing and ask for everything for stories, and I loathe those who won't do their own homework. I have less of a problem with people asking for names, and even less for those who want a little insight on a plot they've already developed. As for me, I like to bounce ideas off of others. I don't necessarily ask for ideas, but someone a comment inspires me or makes me think. I can imagine so many people would be lost without Y!A for a week... I'd certainly be really bored. Addendum: You can't assume it's teenagers that are asking for the story ideas. Young writers get too much prejudice these days.

to be honest i'm a teenager and i have lasted a whole MONTH without my phone (i lost it) and no internet to do my homework so i went to the library and got out some books to get my research and i find that better than just going on the internet because now all people do is copy and paste off the internet- talk about being lazy good old fashioned research is always best and that way you don't get done by your teacher telling you why the hell you copied for your essay/ coursework and getting done with zilch marks :)

Cathrl69 said it. A lot of the teenagers who ask the writing questions want to be able to say that they are writing a book, rather than actually going to the bother of using their brains and actually doing it. As for the homework questions, I suspect it's just a way of procrastinating. Oh well, serves them right if someone gives them false information.

I only joined Yahoo! like a month ago. But yes, I do ask for advice. Like the typical: "Do you like me writing?" or "Have any ideas?" But I do not ask for a straight forward whole plot like some lazies do. If the plot doesn't come from myself, I just hate writing it. But I am open to some scene suggestions. Like, in a book I'm writing, the characters are going on a journey, and I had some ideas running through my head, and I asked people here at Yahoo! what else should happen on their journey. I will admit that I use my computer every day. So what? If I had to live without all those things for a week... i would probably go cry in a corner. *Just Kidding!* The only thing that would seriously hurt me would be not being able to write my story for that long. But I got a encyclopedia and a genius dad to help me with homework (if I ever needed it.) I do my homework solo, thank you. That means without internet assistance! And it does bother me that a lot of people just ask for a whole story on this site. I mean seriously! But asking for a couple ideas here and there isn't bad. I didn't share my first two stories with ANYONE, and they turned out great. But for the one I'm writing now, it's a little more complex. Good luck with whatever! (oh, I almost forgot: I'm 13)

Geez, I see you've been going around and giving people mean answers about their work. I think I'm getting teary-eyed because you remind me of myself, lol. Some people only want to be told that their work is good, and, unfortunately, they'll usually get those types of answers on Y!A. If writers can't handle the harsh criticism (and some of it can be down-right mean) then they shouldn't ask for opinions on their work. On to your question. I agree with your assumption about TEENS asking for homework. I've rarely come across homework questions from college students. Most of the homework questions are posted by teens and sometimes they want the answers because they've tried hard to figure it out but couldn't and sometimes they ask for the answers and it's obvious that they didn't even read the book. I have helped a few people with their homework questions because I can understand how hard it is to analyze a specific passage from a book. From college students I've come across questions where they're trying to find more information and they're not exactly asking for homework answers - but how to find the information, lol. Sounds silly, but yeah, they need to learn better research skills, but I remember how I was when I was a freshman in college - you're just learning how to do these things and it'll only get better with practice and the passage of time. ALSO, college students tend to find the correct category to post their questions in; yes, there is a Homework category on answers and that's where most homework questions are asked. And, yes, I can tell by the question(s) they're trying to get answered and book they're reading whether it's a college student or a high school student trying to get homework help. And, I think teens get a bad rap because they deserve it. Regarding Story ideas: I completely agree. It just annoys me to no end, especially when people ask for story and plot ideas AND demand that they be original, lol. Now, if I had an original idea that has never been done before, why would I give it to you? Answer: I wouldn't! I asked a question about the non-creativity of some writers and tried to figure out exactly what these people were thinking: "If you want to write a story then shouldn't you at least be creative?" - http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100219104659AAFWuRa