I was listening to the radio on my way to work the other day. I was going through the stations looking for something to preoccupy myself with as i slowly cheeped foreword in traffic on the freeway. I finally arrived upon a 90's rock station. After about one song they went into a recent headline segment were the two hosts provided commentary on the comings and goings of the world at large. It was mildly funny but one of the thing they sad out of jest really hit home with me and it really made me think. There was a minor news report about a young adult playing a prank on some people, and how it backfired. The radio hosts commented on how they would have expect that from a 14 year old, not person in there adult years. This created of a rabbit trail of comments on the idea, are Americans becoming more immature? Are people become "adults" later on in life?Once i got to the office i decided to do some research into the idea. After awhile i came to see the truth in that statement. The signs where everywhere, the crime statistics about young adults, the economic situation of young adults in their 20's, even laws that are being pushed through the legislature all led to the same conclusion. The conclusion that my generation is maturing slower and later on in life. Under Obama's health care plan young adults can stay on there parents plan till there 26 (New American Media) . The income of people age 55 and older is higher then those 21 to 28. Another fun fact, 77% of college graduates are moving back home with there parents. (Pittsburgh Post)
-Maturity can not be measured in these terms.
ReplyDelete-In order to identify a change you must have at least two sets of data to compare. You did not provide any data from previous generations.
-You use the word "fact" very loosely.
-You have an interesting perspective.
i arrived at the conclusion that i did by comparing the previous statics to more recent findings such at the increase in crimes of sexual nature which i was alluding to along with the increase in misdemeanors and minor felonies.
ReplyDelete"Although youth has always been seen as a turbulent time, social processes associated with the coming of industrialization and the postindustrial age have aggravated the stresses of adolescence, resulting in increased levels of juvenile criminality in recent decades. The structure of modern societies, therefore, encourages crime and delinquency among the young because these societies "lack institutional procedures for moving people smoothly from protected childhood to autonomous adulthood"
Read more: Age and Crime - Variations In The Age Curve - Steffensmeier, Crimes, Adult, Curves, Peak, and Females http://law.jrank.org/pages/474/Age-Crime-Variations-in-age-curve.html#ixzz11dZZEkdK
hope that answered your question :)
ReplyDeleteYou did not define "immature", what you are calling an "adult", or "Nanny State". You present your conclusion as if it was a fact, yet I see no systematic (scientific) methodology here for analysis. Based on your research, can you show me a graph of how maturity has varied (and decreased) in recent times?
ReplyDeleteWhen you stated that "The income of people age 55 and older is higher then those 21 to 28." I'm not sure what this had to do with proving your point. Isn't this expected? Someone who has 30+ more years experience in the labor force should make more than someone who is 21-28. Retirement age is commonly 65 and those 55-65 should be in the peak of their career. They are likely in high level management positions, or at the top level of their pay grades. If you want to compare people in the 55 + bracket, you could compare the income of that group in the 1970's when they were entering the workforce with the2 1-28 year olds of today, adjusted for inflation.
The reason for the increase in the number of college graduates is because of the poor economy, not because they are maturing less quickly.
You have not convinced me that Americans are becoming mature at a rate different than any time in the past. Therefore I do not see how this contributes to people's desire for a "Nanny State", whatever that is.
-Joel Carpenter
"The reason for the increase in the number of college graduates is because of the poor economy, not because they are maturing less quickly."
ReplyDeleteIn my article i wasn't taking about to the increase of graduates but the decrease in economical independence of graduates.
The way i measure mature its in economic independence, for example if you can time managed, spend wisely and don't get into to much debt, and holistically have control of yourself and your life you normally seen as a adult, correct?
The trend we're seeing is more college graduate leveling school with 40k+ in students loans and not enough work for them, in part because the old generation is being laid off and taking more entry level jobs from the young generation. This intern makes the younger generation more dependent on their parents or on government programs to get by. Thus they don't development the economic independence that classifies "maturity" or adulthood
Thus the "nanny state" or a state of government that has to provide for the lively hood of the governed, like a nanny does for its children.