What is emerging adulthood? What makes young adults go through this stage, and why should it be considered a stage? Robin Marantz Henig, a freelance journalist, author, and science writer, explains in her article, “What is it about 20-somethings?”, along with Dr. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a psychology professor at Clark University. Henig and Arnett discuss the reasons why many 20-somethings struggle to transition from adolescence to adulthood. Arnett calls this period of time “emerging adulthood”, and believes that it should be considered a stage of life. Because many young adults go through this and feel different, emerging adulthood should be recognized as a new stage of life, as it explains to people why it is okay to transition into adulthood …show more content…
Arnett believes this is because young adults do not have the same expectations and responsibilities their parents had decades ago. Henig states, “during this period he calls emerging adulthood, Arnett says that young men and women are more self-focused than at any other time of life, less certain about the future and yet also more optimistic, no matter what their economic background” (273). This demonstrates that because young adults during this period do not have the same social pressure to get married or have kids at a certain age, therefore they feel less worried about it and instead focus on themselves. Young adults around this time also have a “sense of possibilities”, where they are not quite sure of what is going to happen yet, however they are optimistic about it. Arnett argues that “the dreary, dead-ends jobs, the bitter divorces, the disappointing and disrespectful children… none of them imagine that this is what the future holds for them” (273). This shows that during emerging adulthood, adolescents tend to be optimistic about their future even when things like awful jobs and divorces can probably happen to them in the future. Arnett also admits that there are also downsides to it as young adults might feel dreadful, frustrated, uncertain, and have
In Josh Barro’s article, he mainly discusses the theme of Social Security. He explains how if we raise the age for people to access Social Security, that will harm poorer Americans who have a lower life expectancy due to the type of work they do or because of lack of other proper benefits. In the video, Coming of Age in and Aging America, they discuss the main theme of aging in America and the difficulties and obstacles these individuals face on a daily basis, especially in terms of Social Security. The video covers a variety of situations that the elderly face and how America can work to make the lives easier especially in a world where our elderly population in growing. One example was in a hospital where they were able to integrate new techniques and systems to make it easier for people to work longer into their lives. The main themes of Sharon Kaufman’s journal article were health care and the reform of current plans, and discussion of life-prolonging procedures. She discusses the three main procedures used in the U.S. which are organ transplantation, cardiac procedures, and cancer treatments. Finally, Segal’s text covers the themes and policies related to aging and elderly population. She discusses the acts and programs that have been put into place such as the Older Americans Act of 1965, social security, pensions, and Medicare/Medicaid, along with a variety of others.
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
the most part. These years in a persons life have often been referred to as emerging adulthood.
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.
The life pursuits and subjective judgments of many contemporary young people indicate that the transition to adult roles has become so delayed and prolonged that it has spawned a new transitional period extending from the late teens to the mid-to late-twenties, called emerging adulthood. During the college years, young people often refine their approach to forming their own identity. In these years, young people have left adolescence, but most have not yet assumed adult responsibilities. Many have dreams and those are what guides them in their decision making. In the video, 22 year old Casey describes her dream and comments on her identity development. Casey says that she became interested in Psychology in high school during her junior year when she took a psych course. She knew from then on that was what she wanted to do, but she hadn't picked a career yet. Casey said that she picked a career during her first year of graduate school, when she decided on gerontology. She said her happy and active grandparents had a lot to do with picking a career and wanting to work with the population. Casey thinks her identity was a gradual process and it's only really formed since last year. She feels her parents helped shape her morals and beliefs, but in between her senior year and her first year of graduate school, she started to form her own and integrated some of her own ideas. 24 year old Elizabeth and 25 year old Joel are shown discussing
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
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.
The study concluded that however a few categories lined up between graduates, some college individuals, and non-student individuals, the overall findings reinforced other studies that the ages of 18-30 look very different for non-students versus college students (Mitchell & Syed, 2015). Arnett’s emerging adulthood theory may be overgeneralizing to a population that is very diverse (Mitchell & Syed,
Emerging adulthood is a period of development that coincides with college, around years 18-25 (Arnett, 2000). At this stage, young adults fully learn about themselves, their roles, and who they are.
The article "Betwixt and Bewildered: Scholars are Intrigued by the Angst of "Emerging Adults" by Lynn Smith discusses a societal trend towards young adults (18-25) who are struggling to achieve the traditional markers of adulthood. The article covers some of the scholarly debate of the subject, wherein some researchers accept the phenomenon, others reject it, and between them they find little in the way of clear definition of the problem and its ramifications.
Emerging Adulthood is a time of exploration for young adults and by watching Arnett’s video emerging adulthood allows for growth that wouldn’t have happened if young adults immediately took on adult roles such us getting married. In most cultures big life events, for example, marriage and having a career were the main factors of being adult but in the last 50 years it is more than that it is also being independent and having a personal identity. Emerging adults are persistently experimenting with various choices in work and continue to explore trying to make sense of their identity. Transitions that used to happen years ago at age 20 now happen close to age 30 or more and this is because of socio-cultural and economic changes and with more
A human’s development is a lifelong process beginning before birth and extending until the moment of death. In every moment of life, every human being is constantly evolving in their own person way. Some evolve mostly with physical changes while other evolve based more solely on mental evolution. However, as humans grow their cognitive abilities advance and decline in response to the brain’s growth from childhood and reduced function in their old age. Psychosocial development is also significantly influenced by physical growth, as our changing body and brain, together with our environment, shape our identity and our relationships with other people.
Emerging Adulthood is a fascinating period of development with the shifting of life choices thanks to people living longer in countries such as the US. The 18 to mid 20-year-old person has a different outlook on life with the competitive job market, and the decision to try to attend college at the risk of not being able to find the job they need. The days of getting married before adulthood are long gone as people try to have a social life before settling down with a single individual. Trying new things and meeting new people is exciting and has taken a stronger meeting than to buy a home and start a family. With the healthier trends, people are living longer, and the age bracket has expanded and shifted for when settling down begins. Many
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
Peck (1968) suggests that it is psychologically healthy for middle-aged adults to redefine the people in their lives so they can find value in their relationships (Zastrow, 2011). Michael a 45-year old male with no children, weight issues, and a girlfriend with children of whom he is uncertain about in his life is struggling with dealing with his weight and health issues. In addition, to his personal problems Michael also has his sister Taylor to look after who has been diagnosed with HIV. Michael is in the stage of his life where he is redefining his identity and questioning those around him and the