The Youth-anizing of America

Remember Peter Pan’s sing-song caw—“I'll never grow up!”? It seems that this inadvertently has become the slogan of America’s young adults.

On his blog, Dr. Al Mohler recently reviewed Diana West’s book The Death of the Grown-up, which gives interesting insights into the trend of “prolonged adolescence.” This is something academics have noted for a while now: American youth are simply taking a lot longer to mature than they used to. (Dr. Mohler’s review is here.)

In a September 30, 2004, article on USAToday.com (entitled “It’s Time to Grow Up—Later”) Sharon Jayson wrote, “Recent findings published by the American Sociological Association and based on U.S. Census data show a sharp decline in the percentage of young adults who have finished school, left home, gotten married, had a child and reached financial independence, considered typical standards of adulthood. In 2000, 46% of women and 31% of men had reached those markers by age 30, vs. 77% of women and 65% of men at the same age in 1960.”

I find this intriguing, principally because I myself am a 20-something post-undergraduate. The statistics are compelling, and I have to admit that, statistics or no, I would concede that young adults do have a bit of that Peter Pan mentality these days; we just aren’t in that much of a hurry to grow up. And our baby-boomer parents are scratching their heads, bemused at how this contrasts where they were in life at our age

Now, there is some uncertainty as to whether this trend should be blamed solely on young people’s stubborn refusal to “grow up.” Other factors are posited: longer life spans, relaxed sexual/marital standards, and, maybe most significant, the fact that preparing for a decent job takes a lot longer than it used to—the bachelor’s degree being the new high-school diploma, they say.

Jayson commented, “In the 1970s, a bachelor’s degree could launch a career and support a family. Not anymore. Now, graduate school is almost a necessity and that means greater expenses, often when students are still saddled with college loans. More years of schooling also mean a delay entering the workforce. In this down economy, there's also stiffer competition for jobs. Financial independence is but a dream for many.”

Which is why many 20-somethings are moving back in with their parents, studies have found.

So, there is some ostensible credence to the idea that prolonged adolescence (or “arrested development”) isn’t entirely the fault of the—well, the prolonged adolescents.

But I hesitate to attribute this growth problem fully to outside factors, either. My generation is admittedly the self-esteem generation. Honestly, I think it likely that we have been coddled and “self-actualized” into a veritable Neverland of self-centeredness—and I have to wonder whether this disproportionate focus on self hasn't deadened our sense of commitment and responsibility (both personally and societally). That might help explain why so many college graduates these days forego entering the educated workforce in favor of backpacking Europe or living at home indefinitely, while trying to figure out “what I really want to do.”

What is equally interesting to ponder is whether this problem truly is just with America’s 20-somethings, or if it reaches beyond. Actually, this is what makes West’s book a bit unique, according to Mohler. She explores American culture and the interaction/participation of adults in the adolescent culture. Mohler quotes her as saying, “More adults, ages eighteen to forty-nine, watch the Cartoon Network than watch CNN. Readers as old as twenty-five are buying ‘young adult’ fiction written expressly for teens. The average video gamester was eighteen in 1990; now he's going on thirty.” And he comments, “Teenagers of an older generation tried to identify with adult culture. Now, the tables are turned.” He then quotes West as saying, “These days, of course, father and son dress more or less alike, from message-emblazoned t-shirts to chunky athletic shoes, both equally at ease in the baggy rumple of eternal summer camp. In the mature male, these trappings of adolescence have become more than a matter of comfort or style; they reveal a state of mind, a reflection of a personality that hasn't fully developed, and doesn't want to—or worse, doesn't know how.”

What are the implications? Mohler summarizes this chillingly well: “This kind of pattern is far more likely to bring down a civilization than to build a new one in its place. Civilizations require adults. The second part of West's book argues that this pattern of ‘arrested development’ leaves America unprepared to confront challenges like Islam and terrorism.” This is frightening indeed. We sit watching Sponge Bob and playing Wii while the rest of the “grown up” world carries on with...what?

Anyway, this obviously isn't something new. But I do think it's worth taking a few minutes to read through and mull over.