for all TWENTYSOMETHINGS......?

Question

do you ever feel "old"?

I'm still relatively on the younger side of being a twentysomething (i'm 23) but i'm already starting to feel really old as more and more focus and attention in the mass media is focussed on people younger than me. I feel like the current generation of adolescents has absolutely nothing going for them. There's nothing at all distinct about this decade, this era in time, except for the tragedies that are happening in Iraq, etc.
They have nothing to define themselves by.

And our era has passed. It is now in the history books. The world has changed. Where are we going??

Answer 1

........And when you turn 30, you wil look at 23 year olds as children.

The older you get, the more you realize the less you know. You get smarter when you begin to realize how much you don't know about.

I agree, many youths are easily seduce by superficial "bling", influenced by the media as to what values to have, how to behave, and what they should strive for.

Amazing that with this generation, what the media idealizes. Big vehicles, tons of gadgets, thug-gangsta hype is admirable, 13-year-old models are sex symbols, bad dental work is cool, starving is sexy, all women over 45 should get cosmetic surgery, etc.

Socioeconomically priveleged youths from upper-class homes walking around dressed like homeless people......
Rich kids portraying themselves as being 'from the 'hood'.
Teeneged girls walking around like starving 40-year-old coke-whores........
Everyone carries a gun because they lack the coping skills to handle name-calling or dirty looks.....

Part of the problem is that parents are too busy "living to work" rather than working to live, to afford all their "bling" and that of their children, rather than raise their children to value families, merit, and integrity. Each new generation grows up with "entitlement syndrome" especially this one, which is worse than the last.

When I was in high school, there were no metal detectors, no road rage, no butt-cracks showing, no gold teeth, no swearwords on tv, no age ratings on video games.....


Yes, you are growing up, but how would you define yourself? When you turn 30, you will really get some new perspective. WIll you be shocked and outraged when you have kids, and they are the same way you once were?

When you are in your mid-thirties, don't be surprised if you have something like a mid-life reflection, where you may possibly pursue a career change. You will start to affect the world rather than be affected by it. You may even want to do some volunteer work for those in need, or see spirituality and fellowship with a group. You might want to do what you can to contribute to that younger generation who's in desperate need of guidance.

Answer 2

I'm 27 and today I don't feel old. Sometimes I do, but usually not. Both of my sisters are older than me, so I have the great position of being able to look towards them everytime I feel old. Not that they are much older than me, not that they "act" old or seem old. Age is just a number and young vs. old are states of mind. I'm not saying that I'm always on the top of my game, as I most certainly am not, right now I'm trying to pull myself out of a depressed period. But in general, I feel that life only gets more precious and we only learn how to live more as we age. The more experiences we have into the future, the more we know about life. I think back to high school and it's so funny! I think about how we all thought we knew everything and now that I am a bit older, I think of how young we really were and how little - we knew then and how little I still know now. I am one of those twenty-somethings that - yes, I have gotten my bachelors, but I still haven't figured out a career path. Why? Because there is so much to do and so much to learn about how can I possibly pick a direction?
Think about how much more in tune you are to current events? Ok, I still leave something to be desired but I actually pay attention to the news once in a while, vote, read up on any subject I can get my hands on, and don't spend all my time thinking of who I want to go to the next dance with.
College was amazing, but it was still just part of the journey. Life is going to be a sad one if the rest of it I can't find anything more to look forward to. Getting older and changing your interests and hobbies makes life interesting.... Do you really want to turn 40 and be binge drinking at the local bar every Friday night?

You say "our era has passed. It is now in the history books...." etc... I certainly hope not! If peoples place in this world as a productive and vital member of society ends at 20 years of age, why are we trying so hard to get people to live past 100. If you think no one in our age range is worth anything or doing anything worthwhile these days, by all means, be the one to give us a kick in the rear-end. Personally, I have many ideas that I'm not sure how to get running - need some help with the logistics to get my projects up and running - and I'm sure there are plenty more like me. Maybe if we all just got together, we could make this decade/ this era a distinguishable one.

Answer 3

No I don't feel old. I feel young. Perhaps too young!
Because I've always socialised with people who are older than myself, but do not have a typical 'adult' lifestyle (marriage/kids/mortgages) or conventional jobs that grind them down (e.g. office jobs) I feel time is on my side. At 26 I am starting to feel I should get a professional qualification to start a career, but that's as far as it goes.Teenagers don't bother me as they are children. They have nothing to do with my life and I feel like I never see them. I work in a burlesque nighclub in London, which is full of twenty to thirty somethings, the music that is played is diverse and not really related to a scene, unless european is a scene. Being part of a scene is very teenagery and I feel I've outgrown that now. I feel like I'm a young adult, not a kid, but not like my mum. As I live in a big city there isn't so much pressure to settle down, get married and have kids. Its common not to get married here until your mid thirties. I think it's good to have a certain amount of anxiety about ageing because it pushes you to make the most of your time, but try to keep it in perpective. Under 25 is your fun time. First job out of university, first disposable income, no real commitments, lots of socialising and wildness. As you get older you'll change so gradually you won't notice it and will finally come to accept and enjoy your maturity. Don't worry. The world isn't run by teenagers and when they're old enough to work they'll find they have to answer to people 25 years older than them and be treated like dirt for the first couple of years. It soon knocks the wind out of people. Which, when you think about it, is a bit of a shame.

Answer 4

Yes. I am also 23. I think it is because for the first time I find myself looking back at how I thought when I was younger... even a few years ago and I realize how childish I was then. Now, I feel distanced from that and feel officially "grown up" .

If that is just a load of posh, its probably because I don't have any more major events to look forward to (except my mid-life crisis and retirement).

Answer 5

We twenty-somethings still ahven't figured out our place in the world.
Used to be, many got married and had kids by now, and either worked in the family business or did somethign that afforded their new family a home of their own.
Having a place in society did not mean being reflected in the media, or in style. It meant being an adult.
There's too much to learn and too many of chored up in extended adolescence nowadays, and it's not as though we have much guidance.
We need to get going, get that job, get that home, get married if that's what we want, and settle in. We will know who we are then.

Answer 6

You could all wait until you are fifty somethings and attain some kind of sociological perspective. Then you will have the experience to know what could have been done to improve society but not have the time to do much.

You're not that old that your era has passed. It's up to you to do something now about how to define yourselvesand trhose who come after you.

Answer 7

You're right the only thing you hear from our generation (Im 21) is the horror stories of people are age returning from war. Other then that you have stories about Britney Spears dropping her baby and crap like that. But we are the first of Generation X and 20 years down the road well probably be grouped together with those younger then us who are constantly in the news for running off with somebody they met online, and stuff like that.

Answer 8

I feel the same way. I'm 25 and when I look at my baby sister, she's 16, it feels like i don't know whats going on with them. They dont have any of the responsibilites that I do. I have to hold down a job, worry about bills, and medical school. They just don't understand and I feel that society is spoiling them. They need to get a taste of the real world and realize that there is life after highschool and that it gets a lot harder.

Answer 9

I do feel old...I'm 21, and I feel like I've already lived half of my life. I'm really fretting getting older, too, especially knowing I will one day lose many of my physical abilities. It seems like life seems to go downhill around 40 (from what I've heard), and if that is true, I've only got 19 good years left.

Answer 10

Sometimes. I look at high school kids today and see they have their iPods and cell phones, TiVo, etc. I didn't have any of that in high school, and still don't! Things like MySpace, facebook, etc. are all second nature and part of the pop culture now.

Pluto is no longer a planet, the Democrats control Congress, etc.

Soon we'll be shaking our canes and walkers at those whippernsappers!