“The employee called her mother, put her on speakerphone and tearfully insisted that she tell her boss not to be so mean.” what the heck
“In rich countries there has been a dramatic fall in the share of people who, by the age of 30, have attained the traditional markers of adulthood: leaving home, becoming financially independent, getting married, having a child. In Britain, the median age for a first (heterosexual) marriage, at 33 for men and 31 for women, is a decade higher than it was in the early 1960s.” Wow I wonder what could be happening that could cause this. Very interesting!
“Pop culture, Mr Hayward believes, is infantilising people.” Just kill me
throwaway_ok2 on
I think western culture probably makes it easier to be independent than other cultures
halee1 on
Not really, Western countries have by far the highest productivity levels in the world. Also, two points
1) The phenomenon The Economist is most likely talking about is division of labor. The more we specialize in higher-level professions, the less time we have for seemingly more complex ones like changing a tire, forcing *others* to specialize in it. No one can possibly be great at everything in an ever-more demanding world.
2) What the article describes as potentially infantilizing like cosplay or liking media more attuned to younger audiences (which itself may shift to become all-ages encompassing in the future) is more to do with the fading of stigma against something that many people genuinely like and also did in the past, but were mocked, if not attacked for doing so. There’s also plenty of behavior in the past that was then considered normal or even good that we would consider childish by today’s standards, such as physically attacking someone who insulted your honor, or mocking someone’s accent.
Chataboutgames on
I don’t know about “western culture,” but anyone who doesn’t see that we’re extending adolescence and failing to push kids out of the nest in the USA doesn’t have any friends in higher education. But I’m sure this thread is going to be 99% “it’s just housing costs/the economy” circlejerk.
4 Comments
“The employee called her mother, put her on speakerphone and tearfully insisted that she tell her boss not to be so mean.” what the heck
“In rich countries there has been a dramatic fall in the share of people who, by the age of 30, have attained the traditional markers of adulthood: leaving home, becoming financially independent, getting married, having a child. In Britain, the median age for a first (heterosexual) marriage, at 33 for men and 31 for women, is a decade higher than it was in the early 1960s.” Wow I wonder what could be happening that could cause this. Very interesting!
“Pop culture, Mr Hayward believes, is infantilising people.” Just kill me
I think western culture probably makes it easier to be independent than other cultures
Not really, Western countries have by far the highest productivity levels in the world. Also, two points
1) The phenomenon The Economist is most likely talking about is division of labor. The more we specialize in higher-level professions, the less time we have for seemingly more complex ones like changing a tire, forcing *others* to specialize in it. No one can possibly be great at everything in an ever-more demanding world.
2) What the article describes as potentially infantilizing like cosplay or liking media more attuned to younger audiences (which itself may shift to become all-ages encompassing in the future) is more to do with the fading of stigma against something that many people genuinely like and also did in the past, but were mocked, if not attacked for doing so. There’s also plenty of behavior in the past that was then considered normal or even good that we would consider childish by today’s standards, such as physically attacking someone who insulted your honor, or mocking someone’s accent.
I don’t know about “western culture,” but anyone who doesn’t see that we’re extending adolescence and failing to push kids out of the nest in the USA doesn’t have any friends in higher education. But I’m sure this thread is going to be 99% “it’s just housing costs/the economy” circlejerk.