Emerging Adulthood
Jan. 24th, 2002 10:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anotheranonOn the Diane Rehm Show (scroll down to January 10, 11 am).
It's an interesting concept. The show discusses the fact that people are delaying the traditional "adult behaviors" of marriage/children/gainful employment from their early 20s to their early 30s.
One of the guests who wrote a book called "Quarterlife Crisis" (about the dissonance between personal interests/societal mandates about what you "should" be doing in your 20s). She conveyed the confusion a lot of folks in their 20's seem to have about, well, what they "should" be doing (racing up the corporate ladder, finding Mr./Ms. Right, buying house with white picket fence, etc.) vs. what they actually ARE doing (traveling, trying different careers, going back to school, dating widely, etc.).
I'm not sure I ever went through that.
I don't really like the idea of "emerging adulthood" though. The guests on this show seem to be operating from a very limited definition of "adult" that doesn't necessarily apply to all people. IMHO the only real marker of "adulthood" is financial/physical independence from one's parents. In the Western world, most people want to (and do) move out of their parent's homes at some point, and have the means to cover their own expenses. However, not everyone will marry, have children, or have a settled, long term career. Does that mean that an unmarried contract worker with no kids (but no longer living at home/no longer financially dependent on parents) isn't an adult?
Just seems to be another academic realization that there is (shock, horror!) a huge difference between Imagined TV-Perfect Life(TM) and real life as it is actually lived. Don't people get it yet?
It's an interesting concept. The show discusses the fact that people are delaying the traditional "adult behaviors" of marriage/children/gainful employment from their early 20s to their early 30s.
One of the guests who wrote a book called "Quarterlife Crisis" (about the dissonance between personal interests/societal mandates about what you "should" be doing in your 20s). She conveyed the confusion a lot of folks in their 20's seem to have about, well, what they "should" be doing (racing up the corporate ladder, finding Mr./Ms. Right, buying house with white picket fence, etc.) vs. what they actually ARE doing (traveling, trying different careers, going back to school, dating widely, etc.).
I'm not sure I ever went through that.
I don't really like the idea of "emerging adulthood" though. The guests on this show seem to be operating from a very limited definition of "adult" that doesn't necessarily apply to all people. IMHO the only real marker of "adulthood" is financial/physical independence from one's parents. In the Western world, most people want to (and do) move out of their parent's homes at some point, and have the means to cover their own expenses. However, not everyone will marry, have children, or have a settled, long term career. Does that mean that an unmarried contract worker with no kids (but no longer living at home/no longer financially dependent on parents) isn't an adult?
Just seems to be another academic realization that there is (shock, horror!) a huge difference between Imagined TV-Perfect Life(TM) and real life as it is actually lived. Don't people get it yet?
