Draft 1:
Sydney Lang
English 105 C
09/15/17
The Cost and Benefits of Embracing “Emerging Adulthood”
There are many individuals that are driven by the dea of setting themselves up well for a good future. Whether it is working hard in school, playing sports to the best of their ability to get onto elite teams, or to find a significant other that could support them along the way, whatever the route of thought, they are basing their present on their idea of the future. No one knows what the future will hold, or even what will for sure help you along the road, but this idea does not stop people from striving to reach adulthood as soon as possible. The bigger question they should be asking is- “What even is adulthood?” To some, adulthood is when an individual is eighteen years old, and legally they are considered ‘an adult’. Others might associate adulthood with the achievements of certain milestones, such as having a steady job, buying a house, getting married, and so on. For those within their ‘20-somethings’ they might struggle with meeting all of society’s expectations for what they should have accomplished by their age. The concept of being in a doldrum once an individual is within their ‘20-somethings’ is defined as “emerging adulthood” by authors including Robin Henig, and psychology professor Jeffrey Arnett. Other perspectives include Thomas King who embraces the idea of not applying concepts from the past to the future. With ‘emerging adulthood’ being officially recognized as a life stage, the culture of the ‘20-somethings’ may be subject to change.
Potential Q’s:
- What aspects of culture
- Social Media
- Social Norms
- Family culture
- Working enviro
- Whose culture
- 20-somethings
- Rents of 20-somethings
- Children of 20-somethings
Draft 2 below
Sydney Lang
English 105 C
09/18/17
The Cost and Benefits of Embracing “Emerging Adulthood”
There are many individuals that are driven by the idea of preparing themselves for a good future. Whether it is by means of: working hard in school, playing sports to the best of their ability to get onto elite teams, or to find a significant other that could support them along the way, whatever the route, they are structuring their present, on their idea of the future. No one knows what the future will hold, or even what will for sure help you along the road, but this idea does not stop people from striving to reach adulthood as soon as possible. The bigger question that they should be asking is- “What even is adulthood?” To some, adulthood is when an individual is eighteen years old, and legally they are considered ‘an adult’. Others might associate adulthood with the achievements of certain milestones, such as having a steady job, buying a house, getting married, and so on. Many could believe that adulthood can be achieved after reaching cultural standards. For those within their ‘20-somethings’ they might struggle with meeting all of society’s expectations for what they should have accomplished by their age. The concept of being in a doldrum once an individual is within their ‘20-somethings’ is defined as “emerging adulthood” by authors including Robin Henig, and psychology professor Jeffrey Arnett. Other perspectives regarding this developmental stage includes Thomas King, who embraces the idea of not applying concepts from the past to the future. Many aspects of society struggle to accept this new developmental stage, but with ‘emerging adulthood’ being officially recognized as a life stage, the culture of the ‘20-somethings’ may be subject to change.
Culture is loosely defined as “the set of shared values, goals, and practice of a group” (Merriam-Webster). This idea that individuals of a group are molded by the culture that surrounds them, exhibits how significant the impact of a person’s surroundings can play in how they develop. Say that this environment has a new aspect applied to it, this aspect specifically benefits a certain section of this cultural group, it will contribute to the development of the targeted group. This could be applied to the culture that surrounds us. “Emerging adulthood” is the new aspect that could be applied to our culture and the section that it would benefit would be the ‘20-somethings’. These ‘20-somethings’ may benefit from this new stage in their lives, as a time for growth and development personally, financially, emotionally and psychologically.
The ‘20-somethings’ of our culture would develop personally, as ‘emerging adulthood’ is a time that is designed so that the individual can be focused on the act of ‘bettering’ oneself. Although this sounds like a selfish time for the emerging adult, it is a period in their life that is sectioned off for the purpose of self discovery. Self discovery is important for an individual, because if they never really have time to straighten out who they are and what they want in life, whether it is what they want in their relationships with family, friends or significant others, or what they want to achieve intellectually, with educational achievements, what they want for a future career, or just figuring out what type of person they want to be when they ‘grow up.’ Thomas King mentioned in his tedtalk, how the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is frequently posed to people on the younger side of the community. To him this is such a bizarre question to ask, because there is no way that anyone could possibly know what they want for the future, because the future is so unsure. In addition to the uncertainty of the future– why would a child know anything about the future anyways, their future is going to be completely different than what your future was when you were that age. Kings wanted to get the idea across that it is vital that it is okay for concepts to expire with time, and that the traditional paths and notions, will not necessarily apply to the future generations lifestyles.
Financial development may occur during the time that an individual is experiencing ‘emerging adulthood’ as they are discovering what type of career path they want to take, and what path is the best for them. During this time in the individual’s life, they are focusing on themselves and essentially preparing themselves for complete independence, and thriving on their own. It is necessary for this growth process to occur, because if the individual is too focused on just doing whatever they can to ‘get by’ they may never get out of that cycle. It is important for those in their ‘20-somethings’ to get a chance to figure out what they want to do, so that they can, as King said “truly enjoy living,” rather than just getting by enough financially, to live.
Emotional development may occur during the time that an individual is experiencing ‘emerging adulthood’ as they are discovering themselves and who they are as a person. This period in their lives could allow for growth in a person’s relationships, in knowing who they want to be in a relationship and what they are looking for in friends, significant others, and family relationships. This could also permit growth spiritually and culturally, they could use their time in ‘emerging adulthood’ to immerse themselves into new and different lifestyles, thus broadening their worldly perspectives and making them a well rounded individual.
Lastly, psychological development may occur during the time that an individual is experiencing ‘emerging adulthood’ as they are still developing during this time. The prefrontal cortex, within the frontal lobe of the brain, where higher thought processes occur, is still developing during this time, and not rushing into complete ‘adult responsibilities’ allows the brain to develop and prosper during this time in an individual’s life. With a maturing prefrontal cortex, an individual is prone to acting with more impulsive actions rather than deep thought and contemplation of the risks and benefit balance in mind, but allowing time for this cortex to reach its full potential, prevents an individual making major life decisions whilst in an impulsive stage during their lifetime. In addition to the physical development of the frontal lobe, an individual’s psychological impact can benefit from experiencing ‘emerging adulthood’ as a stage in their lifetime. With societal pressures on an individual, forcing them to meet so many benchmarks by a certain age
Cultural psychology is the study of how psychological and behavioral tendencies are rooted in and embodied in culture. The main tenet of cultural psychology is that mind and culture are inseparable and mutually constitutive, meaning that people are shaped by their culture and their culture is also shaped by them.
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