Why does it take so long to grow up today? | Jeffrey Jensen Arnett | TEDxPSU
-
0:17 - 0:22I think we all agree that it takes longer
to grow up today than it did in the past. -
0:22 - 0:25That seems like a fairly
uncontroversial statement, -
0:25 - 0:28and it is backed up by a lot of facts.
-
0:28 - 0:32So in 1960, if we take 1960
as a baseline year, -
0:33 - 0:37relatively few people got
any education beyond high school, -
0:37 - 0:39if they even finished high school.
-
0:39 - 0:42And 40% of people
didn't even get that far. -
0:44 - 0:49In 1960, the median marriage age
was 20 for women and 23 for men. -
0:51 - 0:56Now it's 27 for women
and 29 for men, and it is still rising. -
0:56 - 0:58So a lot has changed
-
0:58 - 1:01in the course of the last 50 years
in the lives of young people. -
1:01 - 1:04So much has changed
in fact, that I propose -
1:04 - 1:08that it is helpful to think of it
as a new life stage of emerging adulthood -
1:08 - 1:13in between adolescence
and young adulthood. -
1:13 - 1:16But why does it take so long
to grow up now, -
1:16 - 1:18so much longer than in the past?
-
1:18 - 1:22Why is there this new stage
of emerging adulthood? -
1:23 - 1:28There are four revolutions that took place
in the 1960s and the 1970s -
1:28 - 1:33that set the stage in many ways
for the society that we know today, -
1:33 - 1:37including the new life stage
of emerging adulthood. -
1:37 - 1:40Those four revolutions
are the technology revolution, -
1:40 - 1:42the sexual revolution,
-
1:42 - 1:46the Women's Movement,
and the Youth Movement. -
1:46 - 1:48First, the technology revolution.
-
1:48 - 1:52The technology revolution
is not just iPhones and iPads, -
1:52 - 1:55or even laptops and the Internet.
-
1:55 - 2:00Another huge technology revolution
of the last 50 years has been a transition -
2:00 - 2:05from a manufacturing economy
to a knowledge economy. -
2:06 - 2:09We've gotten so good at making
things with machines -
2:09 - 2:13that we no longer need
so many people to make them. -
2:14 - 2:16Most of us are also aware
-
2:16 - 2:19of how a lot of jobs in manufacturing
have gone to other countries. -
2:19 - 2:21But it's not just that.
-
2:21 - 2:25Our manufacturing output
is actually six times greater now -
2:25 - 2:27than it was in the 1950s.
-
2:27 - 2:30But we are able to do that
with only half as many people. -
2:30 - 2:32So gone are the days
-
2:32 - 2:37where a young man could walk
in an automobile factory or a steel plant, -
2:37 - 2:41and make enough money to support
not only himself and his family. -
2:42 - 2:45The new jobs in the knowledge economy
-
2:45 - 2:49are in information
and technology and services. -
2:49 - 2:54And all of these require education
beyond high school. -
2:54 - 2:58Those are where you get the best new jobs
in the knowledge economy. -
2:58 - 3:02You have to have some kind of education
beyond high school. -
3:02 - 3:07So now more people get more education
for longer than ever before. -
3:08 - 3:10And that pushes everything else out
-
3:10 - 3:14because most people
won't get a stable long-term job -
3:14 - 3:18for several years after
they have finished their education, -
3:18 - 3:21and most people prefer
to wait for marriage and parenthood -
3:21 - 3:24until after they have a stable job.
-
3:25 - 3:27The second revolution
is the sexual revolution. -
3:28 - 3:31The invention of the birth
control pill in 1964, -
3:31 - 3:34along with other effective methods
of contraception, -
3:34 - 3:39broke the age-old link between sexuality
and reproduction for the first time. -
3:40 - 3:41And in turn,
-
3:41 - 3:46the link between sexuality and marriage
became broken for the first time. -
3:46 - 3:49And so the marriage age
started to go steadily up, -
3:49 - 3:54even as the age of beginning
first sexual relations went down. -
3:54 - 4:00And today, most people begin having
sexual relations in their late teens, -
4:00 - 4:04a decade or more before they enter
marriage and parenthood. -
4:05 - 4:08And so that changes
what the late teens and 20s are like. -
4:08 - 4:11Instead of entering the commitments
of marriage and parenthood, -
4:11 - 4:15people now have this longer spans
of a decade or more -
4:15 - 4:18when they are making
a break in relationships, -
4:18 - 4:21and they are not yet committed
to the structure of family life. -
4:23 - 4:25Number three is the Women's Movement.
-
4:27 - 4:30In 1960, not many people
were going to college, -
4:30 - 4:35but there were twice as many men as women
who were college students. -
4:35 - 4:40Today, 58% of undergraduates
are female, only 42% male. -
4:40 - 4:43And women are also half of the students
-
4:43 - 4:47in med schools, in law schools,
in business schools. -
4:47 - 4:50That has been truly revolutionary.
-
4:50 - 4:54And that has changed how young women think
about their lives and plan their lives. -
4:54 - 4:56It's hard for us to even imagine
-
4:56 - 5:01how much pressure there must have been
on a young woman in 1960 to find a man. -
5:02 - 5:03Because if you didn't,
-
5:03 - 5:06what else were you going to do
with your life? -
5:06 - 5:09There weren't really hardly
any professions open to you. -
5:09 - 5:13And so that was
what they were most focused on, -
5:13 - 5:15not that they can do anything.
-
5:15 - 5:16They, like young men,
-
5:16 - 5:20want to use most of their 20s
for making progress -
5:20 - 5:23in their education
and then in their career. -
5:23 - 5:26And that has changed entirely
what the 20s are like -
5:26 - 5:29for both young men and young women.
-
5:29 - 5:32And finally, the Youth Movement.
-
5:33 - 5:37It used to be that adulthood
was associated with a lot of good things, -
5:37 - 5:40like social status and authority.
-
5:40 - 5:44Well, it still is to some extent,
but not so much as it used to be. -
5:44 - 5:48The 60s and the 70s changed that
with the Youth Movement. -
5:48 - 5:51"I hope I die before I get old."
-
5:51 - 5:53How many of you are old enough
to remember that? -
5:53 - 5:57Or "Never trust anyone over 30."
-
5:57 - 6:01Those were said somewhat tongue in cheek,
but only somewhat. -
6:01 - 6:03Those are truths underlying them.
-
6:03 - 6:07Now adulthood and age became diminished,
-
6:07 - 6:10and it became youth that was venerated.
-
6:10 - 6:15And so young people are no longer
in such a hurry to enter adulthood. -
6:15 - 6:18They preferred to prolong their youth
as long as they could -
6:18 - 6:20and enjoyed it while it lasted.
-
6:21 - 6:25So together, those
four changes have resulted -
6:25 - 6:28in this new life stage
of emerging adulthood. -
6:28 - 6:33It used to be that people set up
the stable structure of an adult life -
6:33 - 6:35by about age 20,
-
6:35 - 6:38but now it's really true that 30
is the new 20. -
6:38 - 6:41There's a good reason why that phrase
has become more popular. -
6:41 - 6:45Because now the transitions
that used to happen around age 20 -
6:45 - 6:48happen closer to age 30 for most people.
-
6:48 - 6:51Instead of moving from adolescence
to young adulthood, at about age 20, -
6:51 - 6:55it's the adolescence and then emerging
adulthood for most of the 20s, -
6:55 - 7:00and then the entrance
into a stable young adulthood follows. -
7:02 - 7:09Not everybody is delighted to hear about
the new life stage of emerging adulthood. -
7:09 - 7:10Not everybody is happy
-
7:10 - 7:13that it takes longer
to grow up than it used to. -
7:13 - 7:17Quite the contrary, a lot of people
are very unhappy about it. -
7:17 - 7:21And a lot of people think
that the fact that young people enter -
7:21 - 7:24these transitions of a stable
adulthood later in the past -
7:24 - 7:27means there must be
something wrong with them. -
7:27 - 7:32And their parents and grandparents
can't help but look at the progress -
7:32 - 7:35or lack of it of their children
and grandchildren -
7:35 - 7:41toward adult life in their 20s
and think, and maybe say, -
7:41 - 7:42"When I was your age..."
-
7:44 - 7:50Because the timetable has really changed,
but I'd like to challenge you -
7:50 - 7:54if you think that way today
to try to think about it differently. -
7:56 - 8:00It doesn't mean there is
something wrong with them. -
8:00 - 8:04It takes longer to prepare yourself
for the knowledge economy -
8:04 - 8:08than it did for a manufacturing
economy, first of all. -
8:08 - 8:11So that's not their fault.
-
8:11 - 8:15They are very intently involved
in preparing themselves for their world -
8:15 - 8:18and are trying to find a place
in a very complex economy. -
8:20 - 8:24Secondly, the Women's Movement
has opened up -
8:24 - 8:27a huge range of opportunities
for young women. -
8:27 - 8:29But that is not a bad thing.
-
8:29 - 8:33I think few of us would view that
as a negative development. -
8:33 - 8:35It's a good thing. It's a great thing.
-
8:35 - 8:39And so, having this life stage
of emerging adulthood, -
8:39 - 8:44allows both young men and young women
to develop their skills for the workplace. -
8:47 - 8:52There is also that wouldn't most of us
-
8:52 - 8:55make a better choice of a marriage partner
-
8:55 - 9:01at 28, or 29, or 30,
than we would've at 19, or 20, or 21? -
9:02 - 9:05Wouldn't most of us be a better parent
-
9:05 - 9:10if we begin at 30 or 31,
rather than 20 or 21? -
9:10 - 9:13I don't think there is
any doubt about that. -
9:13 - 9:15There is also this.
-
9:16 - 9:19Having the space for emerging adulthood
-
9:19 - 9:24gives young people an unprecedented
and unparalleled period of freedom. -
9:25 - 9:27It's a time when you can do things
-
9:27 - 9:30you never could do before
when you were a kid, -
9:30 - 9:33and you really won't be able to do later.
-
9:34 - 9:38So if you have a taste for adventure,
-
9:38 - 9:41if you'd like to see
what it is like to live -
9:41 - 9:44in a different part of the country
or the world for a while, -
9:44 - 9:46and maybe do some kind
of service project there, -
9:46 - 9:48this is the time to do it.
-
9:48 - 9:52If you'd like to take a stab
at a long-shot career, -
9:52 - 9:56like actor, or musician,
or something else in the arts, -
9:56 - 9:58this is the time to do it.
-
9:58 - 10:01Because later, it would be
much more difficult -
10:01 - 10:03when you've made those commitments.
-
10:03 - 10:08Right now, in emerging adulthood,
nobody else really depends on you. -
10:08 - 10:11That's one of the unique things about it.
-
10:11 - 10:13And eventually, people will depend on you.
-
10:13 - 10:16That will narrow the range
of your choices. -
10:16 - 10:18During emerging adulthood,
-
10:18 - 10:22you have a rare freedom
and a brief freedom, -
10:22 - 10:24and you should make the most of it.
-
10:27 - 10:30I'd like to close by saying
-
10:30 - 10:35to the young people
who are emerging adults or about to be: -
10:35 - 10:40don't let other stampede you
to adulthood before you are ready. -
10:40 - 10:44Adulthood will still be ready
when you are. -
10:44 - 10:49And a lot of well-meaning people want you
to get there as soon as possible. -
10:49 - 10:51But it's not their life.
-
10:51 - 10:53It's your life.
-
10:53 - 10:57And you should remind them
of that if necessary. -
10:57 - 11:02Adulthood is something
almost everybody enters eventually. -
11:02 - 11:06And it's a land that once you enter,
you can never really go back. -
11:07 - 11:11So make the most
of your emerging adulthood freedom -
11:11 - 11:12while that lasts.
-
11:12 - 11:14Thank you.
-
11:14 - 11:15(Applause)
- Title:
- Why does it take so long to grow up today? | Jeffrey Jensen Arnett | TEDxPSU
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.
It takes so long to "grow up" today —finish education, find a stable job, get married—that it makes sense to think of it as a new life stage, emerging adulthood, in between adolescence and young adulthood. But why? Four revolutions of the 1960s and '70s explain it: the Technology Revolution that changed the economy and led to more education for longer than ever before; the Sexual Revolution that made it possible to have a sex life without marriage; the Women's Movement that gave women an incentive to postpone marriage to pursue a career; and the Youth Movement, which gave adulthood a bad name. Older adults grumble that it takes "too long" to grow up today, but most people will be better partners and parents if they wait longer, so why not use most of the 20s for adventures you'll never be able to have again?
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 11:19
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