What are three themes in Romeo and Juliet that still capture the imaginations of teenagers in the current day?

After over 400 years there are several things about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet that still appeal to teenagers. The story is about a tragic love affair between two youngsters. It has been remade several times using different times and places, yet the essential story of young love is always the same and is truly a universal theme. Two other themes that may capture the imaginations of teenagers today might be the idea of disobeying one's parents and the ill effects of bullying.

First love can be one of the most exciting and scariest experiences a teenager can go through. The audience may sympathize with Romeo's description of his failed love for Rosaline. Every teen has experienced the pain of being rejected. Teen girls may especially identify with Juliet, who is very young yet has very mature feelings for Romeo, who is the first boy she has ever loved. Some may say that "love at first sight" is impossible and that true love must take time and patience. Tell that, however, to a young couple who first meet at a movie or a party and immediately feel that spark which Shakespeare describes so well in Act I, Scene 5 and Act II, Scene 2.

Another timeless theme in the play which teenagers can relate to is the generation gap. Romeo and Juliet are different from their parents. They do not subscribe to the importance of the feud. Romeo even criticizes the rivalry in Act I, Scene 1 when he suggests the two families simply love to fight. Thus,  Romeo and Juliet implicitly disobey their parents' wishes by never informing them of their love for each other. Instead they confide in surrogates who they believe will be more understanding of their love. Unfortunately, the Friar and the Nurse prove to be unreliable in their roles as advisers to Romeo and Juliet.

Bullying is a topic much in the news today. Schools have launched anti-bullying programs and in many places it has become a crime. In Romeo and Juliet there is plenty of bullying going on. In the opening Act, the servants Gregory and Sampson are definite bullies in their attempts to goad the Montagues into a fight by suggesting they will rape the Montague women. Ultimately they provoke a fight by "biting their thumbs." Tybalt is also a bully. He threatens to kill Benvolio in the opening scene. He wants to fight Romeo at Capulet's party and again attempts to bait Romeo into a fight in Act III, Scene 1 by calling him a "villain." Lord Capulet is also a bully as he berates Juliet at the end of Act III when the girl refuses to marry Count Paris. His bullying directly leads to his daughter's death in the final scene.