The New Adulthood
This discussion probably requires tons more academic research and thinking than my anectodal mind is capable of, but this is something that's been on my mind as of late. I am not an adult. I freely admit this. I am not a child, either. I've been called a man-child before, but that description has more of a negative connotation than my lifestyle indicates. I have a pretty good job, I pay my bills, and I've accomplished quite a lot in the short time I've had on Earth so far. While the label "Adult" itself isn't necessarily important, it is important to note that the idea of "adulthood" has changed drastically in this last generation. Granted, these definitions change every generation, but I am of the opinion that we are in the beginning of a new golden age of sorts and we need to accept and embrace change, and redefine who we are in order to succeed and live fulfilling lives. It feels like there is this ambient wave of depression washing over our generation as we struggle to fit into this world, a rampant fatalism that leads to excess and is more focused on the self rather than society as a whole. Is this from a lack of maturity? Are we all just stunted adults, forever doomed to be children and will that drive our society into the ground? I am of course specifically referring to geeks. We're nuts about toys, video games, cartoons and other "childish" pursuits. We are driven by nostalgia, but I wonder if it's just a need to escape to simpler times or a change in the way we define adulthood.
Times are tough. We are mired in one of the most convoluted bullshit wars modern history has known. My whole adult life so far has seen George W. Bush as the commander-in-chief. The world is feeling the strain from having so many humans on it, and global warming and other fears are weighing on the shoulders of society. Life sucks and living in a time when all your concerns surrounded the fate of a rotund plumber in blue overalls is highly preferable to the realities of now. But I don't think it's just the need for escapism that has thrown the modern geek's pursuits into the mainstream but our generation's ability to network. We are very comfortable with the internet and social technologies in general. In the past people would correspond with old friends infrequently, sending letters or making irregular phone calls and yearly visits. Perhaps you had a local club to go to in order to pursue a hobby, and television fed you news nightly. Now we can be connected with friends constantly through instant messages. Our local clubs have become communities on the web, and our news is fed to us from the angry fire hose that is an RSS reader. More than that, there's a new sort of ambient presence fueled by Twitter. With Twitter (and Facebook, to a lesser extent) you can be kept up to date with the minutae of every single one of your friends' lives. A single tweet about making a sandwich doesn't mean much, but a day's worth of tweets and you have painted a picture of what occupies your time. I know which one of my friends is currently traveling and where, which friends are ill and are staying at home. Who is bored and who is busy, who is having a good day and who is having a bad one. I can instantly comfort a friend who needs it, and things like event planning is a breeze when we are all connected. It's just normal to us. We are almost a hive mind and handle it with savvy.
I think that we are very much adults, though some may call us childish. Sometimes our pursuits show a kind of narcissism which can be perceived as negative, however. Fewer of us are choosing to have children, which I think is not the best thing for society as a whole. While we can be immature, we are also often thoughtful, intelligent people. We have an awareness and breadth of knowledge the world has never known and to pass that on to a new generation is an exciting prospect.
Maybe that's what makes you an adult. Perhaps it's when you finally decide to put yourself aside and focus on the life of a small human in your care. The label doesn't matter, anyway. Every generation experiences change such as this, and the differences between who is an adult and who is a child have always been varied. For now, though, I think I'm happy being stuck inbetween.
What say you?!