Thursday, June 09, 2005

Generation Why?

In the UK, they're called kippers; to Canadian academics they're boomerang kids; in the US of A they're known as twixters, according to this week's Time:


The peculiarity of the twixter social phenomenon might be that it reflects a shift in Western notions of adulthood, maturity, and independence. Lots of cultures don't care if the offspring never leave the nest (Time and the BBC love to mention Italian, but I feel qualified to highlight Asian cultures too) . In fact, some cultures don't expect them to fly away in the first place. This is understandable and completely respectable. However, if it ain't in yo' upbringing....

I understand the bond of family, and I sympathize with peers (and relatives!) who need to refresh themselves financially. But seriously, if you're not staying with the fam out of intense clan loyalty or to save moolah (for your own place, for your wedding, for grad school, to pay off loans, medical bills, whatever), there's no excuse. Really, there's not. It's called laziness, fear, social ineptitude, or hypocrisy (how else did the same demographic make Friends a hit for ten years?) There really is a point where you need to know how to sign a lease or deal with a mortgage, make car and insurance payments, contact your public utility providers, and in general understand how to competently and completely navigate social structures on your own. Western notions of independence can indeed be twisted, and I'm all for advocating subversion --- but I don't think twixters are consciously undermining the dominant paradigm!

INVICTUS!

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