Insightful post. Adults could do a better job of making "adultescense" something to be desired, too. I am 41 and have many girlfriends who refuse to allow children call them "Mrs." because they say it makes them feel like their mother. I've got news: they ARE mothers! If adults don't enjoy being adults, why would children want to become adults? If we don't treasure our marriages, why would they want to marry?

I hope your generation can turn the trend. I assure you there is great joy in the responsibility of adulthood. Joy in marriage is possible. Parenting is an incredible blessing. Prepare now!!
Jan | Homepage | 09.12.05 - 8:23 pm | #

Great stuff. It all comes down to parenting though...can hardly blame Pepsi for the slack parenting from the baby boomers.

Granted, not all boomers lost the art of discipline, communication of responsibility, and the passing on of good traditions, but a lot did. Now we pay the price for it.

We have it good...not too good. But, we have the good minus the responsibility, plus the high expectations of increased benefits.

Change the trecnd one family at a time starting with mine. ;)

Peace!
Travis Johnson
Travis Johnson | Homepage | 09.12.05 - 11:34 pm | #

im so glad u mentioned video games in your post. i think that video games detract from gamers' ability to socialize well. sitting in front of a tv and killing people promotes anti-social behavior. in an almost surreal world, an outcast teenage boy can have all the power he wants, all the women he wants, and shoot who ever he wants to (i.e. grand theft auto). maybe the game is an escape from his reality? but it doesnt help his situtation in school and among his peers. games, to an extent, take ur feelings away. sitting in front of a tv all day and focusing on moving targets excercises hand-eye coordination, but not emotion, which is more important when it comes to interacting with people. it renders the player robotic. i know from experience that hard core gamers are the coldest boyfriends. sure they're geeky and can hook ur pc up with nice programs... but wen something is troubling you? they don't know what to say. they don't know what to do. my boyfriend once said, "im sorry you feel that way." im a woman, i dont tolerate a response like that from my man. the problem with video games is that it traps gamers into a fantasy world they cannot grow out of and dont want to leave. it creates a false sense of control.
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13- 27 yrs is not all about fun. i agree that if u dont prepare to be responsible now, u wont be prepared to be responsible later. call me conservative, but i stopped playing around 5th grade; thats wen i started my sales leadership club and later my long string of jobs. im 20 now. give me a money problem and im sure id be able to solve it v. any kidult out there who has spent most of his or her young life partying and playing video games.

parenting and the media are to blame for this culture. kids see whats cool on television and aspire to do the same thing. parents who work too much make up forlost time by spoiling their kids. maybe i ve been ripped out of the 1800s, but i find clubs repulsive. people go there to A)be seen in their provocative clothing b)hook up with a one night stand c)get drunk.... and for what? fleeting pangs of desire and a sense of belonging? these people need to grow up and get used to facing problems cuz dancing, getting drunk, and having sex doesn't solve anything.

-women dress provocatively to get hollers on the street. thats nothing to be proud of cuz the guy doesnt want you. he wants sex. is that all u want for the rest of your life? sex with random strangers and no one to love you for you?
-though pre-marital sex is hard to upheld these days, having sex with people U DONT EVEN KNOW is a debauchery. it's awfully shallow that some people are proud of the number of people they have slept with. the number of people u slept with DOES NOT EQUATE WITH HOW HOT YOU ARE. 40 PEOPLE U SLEPT WITH MEANS 40 TIMES U FAILED UR ATTEMPT TO BE EMOTIONALLY CLOSE TO SOMEONE, 40 TIMES U LET OTHER PEOPLE USE YOU, AND 40 TIMES YOU LET YOUR ANIMAL INSTINCTS GET THE BETTER OF YOU.
elien | 09.13.05 - 7:51 am | #

Great post. Kudos to your younger brother. I hope he starts a trend with his event planning. I used to do things like that, but I became weary of my friends lack of gratitude and reciprocation. I felt they only valued me as their friend for my entertainment value. The worst experience of my event planning role was the eerie realization of wide spread self-absorption. If I wasn't planning my friends' fun, I didn't exist. Once I stopped, they moved onto a different entertaining friend. And I'm not alone in this.
MaryB | Homepage | 09.13.05 - 8:07 am | #

Hmm, interesting! I think your blog is great. Sometimes I get sick of people my age that are so...dumb. It is good to see people trying to be different. :
Danika | Homepage | 09.13.05 - 2:53 pm | #

Hoo-ah! Airsoft is awesome! :D

Back to the topic....You reap what you sow. Right now, I am in college. It looks like I will be able to graduate debt-free (thanks to a couple of scholarships based on my academic work in high school [I was homeschooled], as well as my own money). Barring extreme circumstances, it looks like I will be able to buy a pretty good house (>$100,000) debt-free. Now, that is only if I live responsibly. And it gives me a leg up as compared to the rest of my generation! :)
SecDef | Homepage | 09.13.05 - 4:46 pm | #

Hey! Great post! It is very true. I think part of being able to focus, learn and progress is spending time with people who are older then yourself. People who have lived longer and experienced more. It also depends on what our definition of "fun" is. Thanks, Brett - I enjoyed reading!
Brooke | Homepage | 09.13.05 - 5:23 pm | #

Way to go Isaac! :-)

Awesome post Brett...glad you pointed out the propaganda on the media's part...it needed to be done.

Marshall
Marshall | Homepage | 09.13.05 - 5:34 pm | #

Congratulations!

I can say that even though you guys are only half my age, because when you get to where I am now, you won't have wasted the past ten years catching up on reality. You can actually accomplish (and become) great things. Then when the crisis comes (it will come) you'll have a foundation. You won't have to worry about how to live and what to do because you'll have been living that way all along.

Trust a reformed twixter - your approach is excellent. Don't Change a Thing.
Nightfly | Homepage | 09.14.05 - 6:59 am | #

While thinking about generations, here is an interesting take:
Nomad Archetype

"The fourth generational type is represented by today's "Generation X," born 1961-81, during what might be called an Awakening period when the Boomers were in the limelight. As a consequence they were overlooked, and a bit abandoned. Their reputation as kids can be summed up as "bad." They're oriented toward survival, which is partially a result of their being under-protected as children. When they become parents they react, and become over-protective. They tend to be savvy, practical, tough, and amoral.

The kids born between 1982 and perhaps 2002 should be another Hero archtype. My own experience with them is that they're shaping up that way. Represented by clean-cut, straight arrow Power Rangers. Quite a reaction to the sewer-dwelling Mutant Ninja Turtles that were analogs for the previous generation. They're "'can do" kids, programmed to do the right thing in a smoke-free, drug-free, eco-sensitive, politically correct world. Like all Hero types, they respect their elders, do what they're told without much questioning authority. That's just the type of person you want to have fighting a war for you, and that's probably just what they'll wind up doing. Just like the last Hero types, the GIs."

Hero Archetype

The "GI" generation, born between 1901 and 1924, includes basically all living people in their mid-70's and older. They grew up and came of age in the midst of the most traumatic years in human history: the 1930's and 40's. This was a time of catastrophic financial and economic collapse, world war, political dictatorship, genocide, and virulent ideology, among other unpleasant things; a period of intense turmoil. The times required them to be civic minded, optimistic, regular guys who could be counted on to do the right thing, fit in, and see that everybody got a square deal. As a consequence of what they've been through, they tend to be indulgent parents. As kids they're "good"; as adults they're selfless, constructive, and communitarian. Hero archetypes encounter a Crisis environment in Young Adulthood; assuming they survive it, the odds are the rest of their lives will be lived in growing economic prosperity, leading to a leisurely retirement."
- "Foundations of Crisis (Doug Casey)

As a Boomer (Prophet archetype, in this scheme)I'm curious: Does any of this resonate with you?
Stephen | 09.15.05 - 10:45 am | #

You sound like really bright kids, so I'm going to ask you a question, and instead of dismissing it, I want you to think about it.

You are only 16. You have not been adults yet. And significantly, you are home schooled.

Is it possible that you are wrong here, that you are merely echoing the doctrines with which you have been raised, because you have had insufficient exposure to a broader range of socialilzing influences, and that in fact you are mis-living your teen years because having as much fun as possible is precisely what you should be doing right now? And that you have been "snookered" out of doing just that, and so you are actually victims here?

Instead of blowing me off as "not getting it," try and wrap your heads around the concept. Consider the possibility that, despite the fact that people who think exactly like you tell you how right you are, you may in fact have it totally wrong.

Maybe not... but do yourselves a favor and stew on it a bit.

Sign me,

46, home owner, husband, and parent. Still working it all out, and still having as much fun as possible every step of the way.

Oh yeah--

I know a place where dreams are born
And time is never planned
Just think of pleasant things
And your heart will fly on wings
Forever...
josh | Homepage | 11.20.05 - 9:40 pm | #

Ditto what someone else said above- the media cannot be blamed entirely. Parenting is responsible. Our school systems are responsible. Our workplaces are responsible. Everywhere we turn, no one is pushing us except to do soemthing- no one seems to care what we are doing though, or if its good enough, challenging, or even something we enjoy. Just do it.

Josh, though I have a very different background (from what I can see) from these two, I think they've hit the nail on the head quite well. My generation is a mess, stuck in the land of nothings good enough in a whole lot of ways.
Debra | Homepage | 07.26.06 - 4:21 am | #