The kids I see at the mall don't look like the typical HS year book picture posted. In that picture, he made a half-assed attempt at combing his hair.
In fact, I noticed something while looking through my folk's year books. The guys had semi-long hair for sure, but they insisted on combing it like it was a short haircut. Most of them parted their hair on one side. It was like a boy's haircut - but much longer. Only one of them had a "rock star" vibe to him. It's almost like nobody had the guts (or parental permission perhaps) to grow their hair really long and just let it hang.
The kids I see at the mall today sporting shaggy haircuts are...well...shaggy. They're not really combing their hair. It just lays down equally well in all directions. There is no defined part. It's apparent that a fine toothed comb was not used. Silly as they may be, they look MUCH better than the pictures I keep seeing in 70's year books.
When I was in high school (10 years ago), I had hair halfway down my back. Nowadays, if I can't get my shit together inside of two minutes, it's time for a haircut.