--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Teens wanted things that were real, that…" description: "\"Teens wanted things that were real, that they connected with, it doesn't have to reflect reality directly. They love 'The Hunger Games' not because it'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/david-levithan-67_connected_teens-wanted-things-that-were-real-that_1305825.jpg" --- # Teens wanted things that were real, that they connected… ![“Teens wanted things that were real, that they connected with, it doesn't have to reflect reality directly. They love 'The Hunger Games' not because it's real in that it happens, but the emotions there are real, and it's very relatable.” quote by David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/david-levithan-67_connected_teens-wanted-things-that-were-real-that_1305825.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/david-levithan-67_connected_teens-wanted-things-that-were-real-that_1305825.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/david-levithan-67_connected_teens-wanted-things-that-were-real-that_1305825.jpg) > “Teens wanted things that were real, that they connected with, it doesn't have to reflect reality directly. They love 'The Hunger Games' not because it's real in that it happens, but the emotions there are real, and it's very relatable.” [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Teens seek authentic emotional resonance in stories, even if the narrative isn’t a literal reflection of reality. **In simple terms:** Teens want real emotions, not literal reality. Key Takeaway Create stories that evoke genuine feelings. Themes youth culture authenticity emotional connection Mood inspirational relatable Type creative educational When to use this quote - school curricula - book clubs - media analysis Key Concepts narrative theory psychology of media Questions to Reflect On - What emotions do you want your audience to feel? - How can fiction reflect inner truths? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on realism can miss deeper emotional truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Connected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connected/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Emotions Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotions-real-1304188/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger/) [Hunger Game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger-game/) [Hunger games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger-games/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real Relatable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-relatable-4304232/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Relatable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relatable/) [Teens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teens/) [Teens Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teens-wanted-3489937/) [Things Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-real-268481/) [Twilight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twilight/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) ## Related quotes > [In my teens I wanted to be a rock star, I really did. At that time there was nothing I wanted more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monty-don/in-my-teens-i-wanted-to-be-a-rock-star-i-really-did-at-that-time/) [Monty Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monty-don/) > [So long as we are under the control of disturbing emotions, real happiness is hard to find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/so-long-as-we-are-under-the-control-of-disturbing-emotions-real/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [From a Buddhist point of view, emotions are not real. As an actor, I manufacture emotions. They're a sense of play. But real life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-gere/from-a-buddhist-point-of-view-emotions-are-not-real-as-an-actor-i/) [Richard Gere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-gere/) > [We play many emotions in our careers, emotions that in real life we would perform just once. For example, my character has died in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitabh-bachchan/we-play-many-emotions-in-our-careers-emotions-that-in-real-life-we/) [Amitabh Bachchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitabh-bachchan/) > [Emotions are real, just not the reasons behind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-jones/emotions-are-real-just-not-the-reasons-behind-them/) [Carrie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-jones/) > [“people cause so much of their own suffering just because they think that without having these strong emotions they're not real people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-mackenzie/people-cause-so-much-of-their-own-suffering-just-because-they-think/) [Vicki Mackenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-mackenzie/) > [Women's emotions are still fitted for a kind of society that no longer exists. My deep emotions, my real ones, are to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/women-s-emotions-are-still-fitted-for-a-kind-of-society-that-no/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I think what makes you feel so connected with certain writers isn't a matter of autobiographical detail, but that the emotions are real. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kraus/i-think-what-makes-you-feel-so-connected-with-certain-writers-isn-t-a/) [Chris Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kraus/) > [“Rushing emotions have no more real power to sweep you away than a tiny brook can move a boulder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/rushing-emotions-have-no-more-real-power-to-sweep-you-away-than-a/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [All movies aren't fun; some are hard work. You try to do something and convey a set of emotions that have to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-l-jackson/all-movies-aren-t-fun-some-are-hard-work-you-try-to-do-something-and/) [Samuel L. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-l-jackson/) > [People read vampire novels and say, Oh I want to read another vampire novel. People read fantasy, and theyre like, Oh I love fantasy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/people-read-vampire-novels-and-say-oh-i-want-to-read-another-vampire-2/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Perhaps in body I am not quite as real as you,” he said, then looked alive, making him once again seem real, even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzannah-daniels/perhaps-in-body-i-am-not-quite-as-real-as-you-he-said-then-looked/) [Suzannah Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzannah-daniels/) > [People read vampire novels and say, 'Oh I want to read another vampire novel.' People read fantasy, and they're like, 'Oh I love fantasy.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/people-read-vampire-novels-and-say-oh-i-want-to-read-another-vampire/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Emotions should be real; one shouldn't come across as acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahesh-babu/emotions-should-be-real-one-shouldn-t-come-across-as-acting/) [Mahesh Babu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahesh-babu/) > [“The heart is a repository of emotions--real, imagined, and invented, owned and borrowed, past, present, future--and there in your chest, operating at an average…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-patawaran/the-heart-is-a-repository-of-emotions-real-imagined-and-invented/) [A.A. Patawaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-patawaran/) ## More by David Levithan > [“When you jump, all you're going to do is fall. But leaping? Leaping is when you think there's something on the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-jump-all-you-re-going-to-do-is-fall-but-leaping-leaping-is/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [You could be the leaf that never falls from the tree you could be the sun that never leaves the sky this might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-could-be-the-leaf-that-never-falls-from-the-tree-you-could-be-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Patrick: Is she worth the trouble? Cameron: I thought she was- Patrick: Either she is, or she isn't. So give it a shot, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/patrick-is-she-worth-the-trouble-cameron-i-thought-she-was-patrick/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“We saw our friends die. But we also see our friends live. So many of them live, and we often toast their long and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/we-saw-our-friends-die-but-we-also-see-our-friends-live-so-many-of/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [maybe tonight you're scared of falling, and maybe there's somebody here or somewhere else you're thinking about, worrying over, fretting over, trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/maybe-tonight-you-re-scared-of-falling-and-maybe-there-s-somebody/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“You never told me what you saw in him, not convincingly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-never-told-me-what-you-saw-in-him-not-convincingly/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“i nod to the other will grayson, up onstage. he nods to me. we have something between us, him and me. but the truth?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-nod-to-the-other-will-grayson-up-onstage-he-nods-to-me-we-have/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [But I still has enough longing for that concept that I didn't want to dispel it completely. Meaning: I didn't want to tell Lily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/but-i-still-has-enough-longing-for-that-concept-that-i-didn-t-want-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“When you break someone's heart, you also break yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-you-break-someone-s-heart-you-also-break-yours/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Because toward the end all the words started leaving. Except for the ones that had to lock up at the end of the night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/because-toward-the-end-all-the-words-started-leaving-except-for-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“ misgivings , n . Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us. "There are things I miss,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/misgivings-n-last-night-i-got-up-the-courage-to-ask-you-if-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Saving others is always more important than saving yourself. It has to be, or none of us would do any good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/saving-others-is-always-more-important-than-saving-yourself-it-has-to/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) [Explore all 1,648 David Levithan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## More Connected quotes > [I don't understand why we're all connected wirelessly via a little machine that goes in our pocket, to everybody in the world, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-don-t-understand-why-we-re-all-connected-wirelessly-via-a-little/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [The most difficult part for me is feeling connected to the people that I love but always being on the go to different places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-franti/the-most-difficult-part-for-me-is-feeling-connected-to-the-people/) [Michael Franti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-franti/) > [I don't have faith in the Internet, I have faith in people connected through the Internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gilliam/i-don-t-have-faith-in-the-internet-i-have-faith-in-people-connected/) [Jim Gilliam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gilliam/) > [“I realized that all things in life are connected and I could no longer go about life without looking within.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-martin/i-realized-that-all-things-in-life-are-connected-and-i-could-no/) [Ricky Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-martin/) > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Me and my mum didn't see eye-to-eye for a lot of years, and I've never really felt connected with my dad, because he wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/me-and-my-mum-didn-t-see-eye-to-eye-for-a-lot-of-years-and-i-ve-never/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [I admit that these terms and the diagrams connected with them repel some readers, and fill others with the vain imagination that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/i-admit-that-these-terms-and-the-diagrams-connected-with-them-repel/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [A tribe, let us say, is warlike. The successes for which it strives, the achievements upon which it sets store, are connected with fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-tribe-let-us-say-is-warlike-the-successes-for-which-it-strives-the/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Be conscious of one another and everything that we are connected to in this world of ours (not just your relatives and friends).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noelle-scaggs/be-conscious-of-one-another-and-everything-that-we-are-connected-to/) [Noelle Scaggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noelle-scaggs/) > [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. 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