Don’t you just love it whenever you can make fun of someone older trying hard to keep up with the younger crowd? Either by making ludicrous age inappropriate fashion statements or adopting ways and attitudes generally associated to High school or College age kids? I don’t know about you, but I always cringe at the sight of a maturing woman’s exposed mid-section as a result of poor fashion choices. Oh and what’s more rebuking: the infamous belly covering mommy jeans or the unnecessary G-string displaying low-rider jeans? I’ll let you decide, but I personally, am over the latter. By the way, the fear of spotting any more of those middle age butts in public gave birth to designers stripping their brand names to “not your daughter jeans”!
Amongst my age peers which I like to characterize as people in their thirties, there’s this widespread phenomenon of trying to delay “acting like one’s age” as much as possible. Unlike other time periods, modern society has pushed youth front and center as THE only attribute worthy of awe and admiration. Being young, acting young and looking young have driven people who are no longer teens, to seek validation in adopting or never parting with some juvenile behaviors and postures.
Apparently some of the things that belonged in the formative years to experience and be done with, still seem to stick into adulthood for a growing number of people. There’s a marketing denomination coined for it: kidult. I mean is this whole adult refusing to grow up really okay or just pitiful? I just have to look at my own ways to answer that one. To be fair though, I like to think that I manage to maintain a certain balance. I most certainly have my moments where I’ll dress like a I've been fawning over too many Rihana or M.I.A' s music videos, but for the most part, I like to think I undertake responsibility and make myself take serious things, seriously enough... if that makes any sense.
In past generations or more traditional societies, coming of age meant or still means becoming a mature, coherent and responsible individual. Today, the temptation to remain hip and in touch with our inner youth might become the convention.
Some good friends of mine strike me as totally absorbed in their “kidults” persona. They won’t read, listen to or watch anything remotely close to sounding like it is current news information, but instead they’ll get briefs at the coffee machine from more concerned co-workers who will even spare some time in explaining what in a healthcare bill (link to my article). However, the same friends, you won’t catch dead missing a rerun of their favorite reality TV shows as they follow and later discuss pointless plots and developments closely. My kidult friends stick to cable networks programs who make teens their prime audience. At times, they’ll express false outrage over the dumbing-down of certain programs and their obvious attempt at garnering a larger crop of viewers. Well, to these networks’ credit, they make no secret about the demographics they’re going after. Their programs are tailored to lull a developing mind into spending valuable hours watching them. It’s part of the reason why as we grow older, some things that couldn’t appear more fun or exciting at some point, just lose their appeal. And on the other hand, the amount of programs meant to appeal our age-groups are infinite and just as dumb, no arguing about that.
What’s more, if pressed, the same friends would not hesitate to list things like: watching Mangas, playing their Wii, hanging out at the skateboard ramps, shopping or even window-shopping for clothes, make-up, kidrobot collectibles as their number one favorite thing to do. Same statements come out of teenagers’ mouths all the time but for a 34 year old to say it without even thinking twice? Way to make an impression!
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