What Does It Mean To Be An Adult in the Twenty-Tens and Beyond?
Given that society is seeing a paradigm shift in health and wellness it would also appear that there is a significant shift in roles as well. These roles in terms of what we do as an adult are still similar to generations ago but there are also some differences. So when we see those adolescents becoming young adults we see those roles being tried and tested.
The main difference between the young adults of today and the young adults of yesteryear is that they quite often appear to be continuing on with their learning to be adults, whereas adults of yesteryear were living out of home in serious relationships, maybe starting families, studying at a younger age. More young adults stay home longer or travel particularly in metropolitan areas than ever before, more because of the expense of living on their own in cities that have sky-high rental and housing costs compared to the young adults meagre wages or study requirements, but also because the world is much more global now and interactive amongst all countries. While living at home some parents will ensure that those young adults take on adult type roles however, it is important to remember the parent-child relationship will still be there and living at home in most instances is a secure option from an emotional, physical, cognitive perspective and can also have the financial benefits. When living away from parents all of the above are tested regardless of when the person moves away from home and therefore new resilience and skills are learnt.
This is not to say that living at home longer is bad, it just needs to be looked at as a sub-step along a path because of how it may affect growth, decision making, maturity both positively and negatively. It is not to say that it is wrong because time and society has changed in this way significantly and therefore the roles and responsibilities of young adults are different today than what they were. The amount of young adults that have been able to start up a business while living at home and studying is more than it has ever been in history for example and so that young adult will learn those skills while at home and learn the other skill set mentioned above later on.
The use of technology is a big thing in the lives of the young adults of today and it has both positive and negative impacts on them and others. Technology allows young adults to be more global than previous generations without even travelling to another state or country often. Again, the starting of businesses and the entrepreneurs of tomorrow are miles ahead, but might not have the maturity in other areas of life that the entrepreneurs of today have. Which highlights a big issue with communication and relationships and how technology has a big impact on these both positively and negatively and therefore education around these areas needs to be addressed at an earlier stage.
It is often funny to hear older generations talk about children, adolescents and young adults of today and tut-tut-tut them, however, what I think they see from experience is something that can have negative effects on the person or society but what they (the older generations) often miss due to lack of experience is the positive side of the changes of society and these younger generations.
Lots of food for thought today, contact us you if you’d like to hear more.
Have a great day.
