Psychologist Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, PhD, once said, “If happiness is the difference between what you expect out of life and what you actually get, a lot of emerging adults are setting themselves up for unhappiness because they expect so much." One of the largest struggles that people around the age range from 18-29 face is the problem with becoming an adult. Legally, 18 is the key to adulthood, but most people this age don’t feel socially accepted as one. As an emerging adult myself, I agree. I often find myself questioning what age group I fall into. I am legally an adult, but I am often criticized on the adult choices that I make (such as moving into an apartment with my boyfriend). An article published by The American Psychological Association described Jeffrey Jensen Arnett’s work. He began a survey in 1995 that asked people ages 18-29 about what they wanted in life. 300 people were …show more content…
The argument is based on the opinion that emerging adults need to get their act together. An article in TIME Magazine published in 2005 referred to emerging adults as, “The Twixter Generation.” They use examples of adults ages 24 to 28 who still dress like teenagers and live with their parents. One of their examples included a woman who has had 17 jobs (including internships) and she wasn't even 30 years old. They are referred to as, “twixters,” because they are, “betwixt and between.” They are constantly between jobs and living quarters, and they keep putting off adult responsibility. Many sociologists, psychologists, and economists refer to them as “kidults” and “boomerang kids.” This is due to the number of adult children returning home after college. According to The University of Michigan, the amount of 26 year olds living with their parents after college has increased from 11% in 1970 to 20% in
Donatone proposes that the reason for millennials’ struggles with adulthood, like working, dealing with people or even doing laundry is caused by helicopter parenting; however, she uses Amy, a girl that comes from a family with moderate wealth, to wrongly generalize that all millennials come from similar background. It is especially inappropriate and unfair to generalize about this topic because she talks about such a big and diverse group that is millennial generation, and not everyone comes from the same background. Donatone shows that Amy comes from middle class family when she says “She finally had to dump the part-time job, was still unable to do laundry, and often stayed up until 2 a.m. to complete her homework because she didn’t know how to manage her time without her parents …” (Donatone 1).” In order for someone to be able to drop their job they need someone that can help with their financial needs and wants, therefore it is safe to assume that Amy comes from a family with moderate wealth that is able to support those needs and wants. The author’s moment when she generalizes that all millennials are like Amy and come from similar background is when she states “It’s easy to generalize an entire population by its
As the mother of seven grown children, I agree with most of Jeffrey Arnett’s, author of Emerging Adulthood, theories. It is a time of change, with a developmental connection between adolescence and adulthood. During this phase of development, children experience periods of self-discovery transformation. There are favorable outcomes as well as adverse effects during this developmental stage. Furthermore, this successive stage encourages and promotes the change from the dependency of their parents to the independence that is distinctive for adults. This autonomy is beneficial because it prepares the emerging adult for their future independently from their parents. Arnett believes there are five characteristics of emerging adulthood that make it distinguishable from other time periods: the age of identity explorations, the age of instability, the self-focused age, the age of feeling in-between, and the age of possibilities.
In the magazine article "What Is It About 20-Somethings," Robin Marantz Henig discussed the stagnant transcendence of adolescents into adulthood with society and economy evolve to accomodate people's needs. Most make it into the realm of adulthood once they surpass these milestones: "completing school, leaving home, becoming financially independent, marrying and having a child". However, some linger in a new stage called the "emerging adulthood," where they spend more time than others to explore their identity and to develop "sense of possibilities". Causes for the delay include cultural expectation, dependence on parents, change in hierarchy of needs, and adolescent brain development. And as a result, society become uncertain whether to extend
In “Changes in the transition to adulthood in the UK and Canada: the role of structure and agency in emerging adulthood” by James Côté and John M. Bynner, they discuss the exclusion processes in education and the workplace that restrict young people from experiencing the developmental processes that benefit all emerging adults. Essentially, the notion of adulthood is becoming longer than it used to be due to economical and societal restrictions. In the article, Côté and Bynner refer to Jeffery Arnett, who argues that young adulthood is now in reference to the thirties rather than the twenties (Côté and Bynner 253). This is in
In his essay from The Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Arnett discusses various myths attributed to young adulthood while providing evidence to refute them. Three primary myths appearing throughout literature on emerging adults include a lower mental well-being, overall selfishness and a refusal to grow up. Several parallels exist between Arnett’s observations and my own experiences in emerging adulthood, providing further proof of the falsehood of such myths. Common myths claim emerging adults experience detriment in their overall well-being.
The journey through late adulthood can be experienced in different ways. One particular movie entitled “The Bucket List” exhibits an astounding portrayal of late adulthood. In fact, there are many accounts that the movie entails about late-adulthood. This includes the illustration of Erickson’s late adulthood stage – “Ego Integrity vs. Despair,” wisdom, marriage, friendship, parent-child relationship, and death and dying in late adulthood.
Being an adult is the number one thing that children want to be: The desire to get older to do things that you want when you want and having no one say otherwise. However, what is an adult? An ambiguous term that really falls into the hands of the individual, where at Sixteen you can drive, eighteen you can vote, and twenty-one you can drink, for those in the USA, all varying ages that individuals could use as indications of adulthood. Robin Heinig wrote and article “What is it about 20- somethings?” where she discusses Arnett’s proposal about a new developmental stage, “Emerging Adulthood”. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, an American professor in psychology, believes that we aren 't entering adulthood till the later portions of our twenties. For some, this may be true but for the general population including myself I find this hard to believe. Leo Hendry’s article, “How universal is emerging adulthood? An empirical example”, on emerging adulthood gives a deeper understanding to what this generation 's kids are going through. The late teens are a crucial part to the lives of a young adult. It 's the time that we spend trying to identify ourselves, escape the circumstance that we are put into at a younger age, or just had a better family income. Arnett is not wrong, but all other external factors need to be accounted for before we know, or even consider if emerging adulthood is a new developmental stage.
“Adults are locked into car payments and divorces and work. They haven’t got time to think fresh.” Gary Paulsen
the most part. These years in a persons life have often been referred to as emerging adulthood.
There are five key features that characterize emerging adulthood. The first s identity exploration. The second is “Instability.” For many the instability is a result of residential changes such as living in a dorm. There is also instability in friendships, romantic relationships, academia, and work. Emerging adults have few obligations, responsibilities, and commitments. Because they have so much autonomy in controlling their own lives the third key feature is “Self-Focused.” One of the most difficult
Middle adulthood is a complex time period that requires a multidimensional outlook to understand all of the processes and changes that are taking place. The many changes during middle adulthood include physical, cognitive and social differences. Many of these changes create significant stress and it is important to understand ways of coping with the anxiety. Many of these coping mechanisms include mindfulness and cultivating a sense of self-efficacy and mastery (pg. 482). There are many changes during middle adulthood that may require stress management techniques and interventions.
"Middle age is when your classmates are so old and wrinkled and bald, they don’t recognize you". -Bennett Cerf
Studies show that our generation is experiencing a longer transition between adolescence and adulthood. More than one out every ten young adults still live with their parents and forty percent of all young adults find themselves moving
Namely, being in your twenties is often confusing and lonely, as two independentstudies published this year found. When young adults get their first jobs and move into their own apartments, they’re going it alone, usually for the first time. Moreover, as they attempt to establish their status as adults, their environment sends them mixed messages: regardless of their professional or personal achievements, they are still considered by others to be “kids,” especially before they marry and have children.
When asked the question “When do you become an adult?” many people would give an age but in reality the answer isn’t that easy. To me adulthood is when you are able and willing to accept responsibility. If you cannot or will not be responsible, you have no right calling yourself an adult. What does make you a grown-up? Is it moving out of the house? Hitting a certain age? Having a relationship? Getting a job?” How is it that we can do. those things, that we consider to be “adult”, but we still feel like kids? Or that we feel like grown-ups, we're certainly old enough, but we haven't. seemed to have accomplished any of those things “grown-ups” have done? People never seem to quite understand the meaning of being an adult.” It has always seemed to me that age is irrelevant. You can be 12 and understand things better than a 30-year-old or you can be 40, have two PhD’s and still wonder if pigeons are migratory birds”.” Many people my age think that getting out of