And amaaaaazingly, they titled it “What Is it About 20-Somethings?“
I just need one more minute to appreciate that headline… Okay! Moving on.
We’re in the thick of what one sociologist calls “the changing timetable for adulthood.” Sociologists traditionally define the “transition to adulthood” as marked by five milestones: completing school, leaving home, becoming financially independent, marrying and having a child. In 1960, 77 percent of women and 65 percent of men had, by the time they reached 30, passed all five milestones. Among 30-year-olds in 2000, according to data from the United States Census Bureau, fewer than half of the women and one-third of the men had done so. A Canadian study reported that a typical 30-year-old in 2001 had completed the same number of milestones as a 25-year-old in the early ’70s.
The article is about a movement to reclassify the early 20s a “distinct life stage”; I think it’s called, “The Baby Boomers Fucked Up the Economy and Now Their Kids Can’t Find Jobs,” or something like that. (Actually they are calling it “emergent adulthood,” which is offensive, but then again I guess I have a job.)
100 years ago we would have been wed at 15 (or younger), had 6 kids by the time we’re 30, and be dead by 65. We probably would have had jobs, they would have sucked though, 12 hour days, 6 days a week in some lame ass factory or coal mine. Or possibly farming, toiling away from dusk to sundown just to provide enough food to stay alive (maybe). Call me spoiled but I’ll take what we have now over that.
Maybe for some of us becoming an adult meant we could decide not to have the same goals (marrying and having a child) that our mom’s had for us…
The NYT must have as massive a hardon for the 20-s.t as WSH does for Canadian pop star
But if it wasn’t for 20-s.t.who refuse to grown up, blogtown would be deserted. How else could I justify commenting on blogs @ 3 in the afternoon, when most people are working, or outside, or somthing…
maybe these hipster whiners should get jobs and stop mooching off of the socialist welfare state.
I agree wholeheartedly with douchey and econoline. Graham also makes a valid point. I would like to add some nuance, although in a rambling fashion. Some young people are legitimately confused about what to do with themselves. Some are really are lazy deadbeats mooching off the system. Some are incompetent. Some are contrary. If I were to have a child, I would like to have enough money saved and invested for them by the time they graduated high school that they would have a safety net to take some risks and really find themselves. Some people are entrepreneurial and able to thrive without a formal education. I like the idea of 20-somethings being able to travel the world, especially if it means backpacking and experiencing more than hotel rooms and tourist attractions. Teenagers shouldn’t have to work crap jobs for gas money. If they have time to spare from homework, art, music, athletics, hacking or whatever, they could intern or volunteer. Many, possibly most, young people don’t have an educational or experiential upbringing that positions them to be independent and successful. Our public school systems are failing them, to some extent. However, with parental support and motivation, people can overcome those limitations. Parents are often failing their kids, if only by coddling them and not starting to nudge them out of the nest sooner. The economy is definitely a problem right now. The economy has become a political problem. We can’t agree on what to do about, so we’re getting the worst compromises. Maybe this depression will be motivational.
Guess I will never completely move into adulthood as I am never having kids. Yay? I guess the biggest problem I have with this article is the need to define what it means to be an adult. How many people have completed all five but are still emotionally stunted and act like teenagers?
I resent the idea that I have to be married and have a child to be an adult. F- that.