Are American youth avoiding adulthood?

2019-03-07T20:25:58-05:00

There's irony to be seen in watching young adults acting like children, especially on American campuses. Almost every culture save one has provided young men and women with a rite of passage from childhood into adulthood. That "one" is America. It is an important rite that allows a person to be accepted by their community as an adult. More importantly, to put the community on notice to stop treating one as a child. Without such a rite, The person and the community suffers, especially when persons of the opposite sex treat a person as a child without realizing that they may be titillating a young adult. Lacking such a rite, American boys adopted the driver's license as their rite of passage. I find it interesting that so many young adults in America are clinging to childhood, living in parents basements, harboring themselves under the umbrellas of their parent's health insurance, allowing the state to finance their avoidance of adult responsibility while they pursue meaningless shades of education, and all the rest. Coincidentally, many are not getting drivers licenses let alone purchasing a car of their own. Interestingly, Lyft has memorialized this cultural drift in their recent IPO, declaring that individual car ownership is becoming a thing of the past and thus, their service is a great investment opportunity to fill the gap in transportation for a non-driving public.

Response by MAJ Javier Rivera made Mar 7 at 2019 8:29 PM

2019-03-07T20:29:12-05:00

My dear friend, you just got the Family and Child Service Department's attention!

Response by SSgt Terry P. made Mar 7 at 2019 8:58 PM

2019-03-07T20:58:23-05:00

CPT Jack Durish This is something i just had a discussion with my wife about.Her daughter doesn't want to drive even though i offered to get her a car of her own.My opinion was that she did not want to except the responsibility for herself.

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Mar 7 at 2019 9:10 PM

2019-03-07T21:10:14-05:00

CPT Jack Durish Are you preparing to be a pundit/prognosticator on “Life, Liberty and Levin”?

Response by SFC Christopher Taggart made Mar 7 at 2019 9:21 PM

2019-03-07T21:21:21-05:00

I find your comments true and realistic, but the comments about young adults living in parent's basement, being chauffeured around, and so fourth is not the kid's fault, except they don't have the motivation to do anything about it...it's the parent's fault for allowing it. I think Uber and Lyft are good alternatives to the non-driving public, where public transportation is not available or accessible. And parents are not encouraging their young adults to get driver's licenses, vehicles, or car insurance anymore, because of the outrageous cost of insurance for those under 25.

Response by LCDR Joshua Gillespie made Mar 8 at 2019 12:14 PM

2019-03-08T12:14:18-05:00

Good discussion. Jack-it's all about whether we raise children to confront challenges, or run from them. I'm speaking in a VERY broad sense here, but I truly believe "my" generation was the last to be indoctrinated in this concept beyond the home.

This has been re-enforced by the realization that there are some "rigged" games out there. Why go thousands of dollars in debt just to "own" your own wheels? Why spend thirty years paying for a house? To some extent, I understand their position... I just think they're "wasting" all of that frugality and freedom sitting around trying to figure out what the meaning of life is.

These kids are seeking their frontier... and there isn't one. They're looking for something "real", but the world has convinced them everything's "fake".

Response by SP5 Mark Kuzinski made Mar 8 at 2019 4:00 PM

2019-03-08T16:00:07-05:00

Thank God my kids are in their 40's, out of the house and all with great jobs.