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Adultescence
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| quote: | Adultescent
By JOHN TIERNEY
Adultescent came of age in 2004, but only as a word. The adult it describes is too busy playing Halo 2 on his Xbox or watching SpongeBob at his parents' house to think about growing up.
The editors of the Webster's New World College Dictionary chose adultescent as word of the year; they said there were enough examples to constitute a "Peter Pandemic."
Since 1970, the median age for Americans to marry has risen four years, to 25 for women and 27 for men. Meanwhile, the proportion of people in their early 30's who have never married has tripled.
There are four million Americans between 25 and 34 still living with their parents, not always happily, as the apartments.com Web site discovered last year when it offered $10,000 for the best essay from an adultescent desperate for money to get his or her own place. The winner was a 25-year-old woman who told of sharing a room with her 17-year-old brother.
But being unencumbered by rent - or mortgages or children - can leave lots of disposable income, which is why marketers have happily focused on adultescents since at least 1996. That was the year an article in the magazine Precision Marketing referred to the "adultescent marketplace," the earliest citation discovered by Paul McFedries, the author of the wordspy.com Web site.
Other variations would later appear - adultolescents, adulescents, kidults and rejuveniles - but nothing else quite captured the person with teenage tastes and an adult credit card. Someone free to do nothing, like the characters on "Seinfeld," or party all night, like the ones in "Sex in the City." Someone with a connoisseur's passion for plasma televisions, Kelly bags, Harry Potter movies and low-riding Gap jeans. Someone with a ritual call at birthday parties: "30 is the new 20," "40 is the new 30," etc.
One common explanation for the rise in adultescence is the cost of housing and education, which has made it harder for young people (especially in places like New York) to afford homes and children. Another explanation is that young adults now enjoy some pleasures of marriage without the consequences.
But if you ask adultescents why they haven't grown up, they may give you a simple answer: Because they don't have to. |
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004...5389339741.html |
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| Mr. Pubes |
you can djing to the list.
Mr.Pubes |
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| Lira |
| Interesting article. I remember reading something similar was happening both here in Brazil and in Japan - so I take it's a characteristic of contemporary life. |
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| Mr. Pubes |
or an all too tolerant society
Mr. Pubes |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by Mr. Pubes
or an all too tolerant society
Mr. Pubes |
Housing Costs and Education seem to be the major problems here, actually. I know for a fact that it's very hard for someone my age to buy an apartment here in Brasilia (and it's very tempting to wait a little longer at your parent's house instead of paying the rent - how the hell can you save money when you spend it with your rent?). |
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| Halcyon+On+On |
| quote: | Originally posted by Mr. Pubes
or an all too tolerant society
Mr. Pubes |
Society is sparse much more than a framework of intolerances. |
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| camsr |
| why the fuk would you ever rent a property? thats like giving your money away for your "Natural Rights" (life, liberty, property, ala John Locke) |
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| Mr. Pubes |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
Housing Costs and Education seem to be the major problems here, actually. I know for a fact that it's very hard for someone my age to buy an apartment here in Brasilia (and it's very tempting to wait a little longer at your parent's house instead of paying the rent - how the hell can you save money when you spend it with your rent?). |
maybe you don't work hard enough, are in the wrong job, career, industry or market. save money by doubling, tripling or even quadrupedaling up.
Mr. Pubes |
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| Mr. Pubes |
| quote: | Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
Society is sparse much more than a framework of intolerances. |
what does this mean?
Mr. Pubes |
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| Halcyon+On+On |
| quote: | Originally posted by Mr. Pubes
save money by doubling, tripling or even quadrupedaling up.
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We can't all make money by crawling around on all fours.
LIKE UR MOMZ!!! LOLO!L:L!OL:O! |
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| chach |
| quote: | Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
We can't all make money by crawling around on all fours.
LIKE UR MOMZ!!! LOLO!L:L!OL:O! |
OHH snizzle snap! |
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| Marc Summers |
wtf
"mr. pubes"? |
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