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Why are so many adults acting just like children?

aeon.co

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Re: Why are so many adults acting just like children?

#21

Post by oytis »

the_other wrote: post #2

I gave up after a paragraph or two. It looked like it was going to moan about people trying to have fun and do some self care. I don’t have time for that. Over time, I’ve come to see many “senior” or “success” behaviours as refined versions of childhood ones. Political sniping, business competitiveness, standard hierarchical power dynamics, etc. These are all “playground tactics” but grown up. I don’t see (many) “suc…

> I don’t see (many) “successful” or “leader” type people publicly engaging in so called “adult behaviours”

This depends on the public pressure to do so I believe. As a counterexample one could name German ex-chancellor Angela Merkel. You can hardly name any decisions she carries full responsibility for, her role was mostly to mediate finding a compromise between interests of different parties.

Re: Why are so many adults acting just like children?

#22

Post by weregiraffe »

raydiatian wrote: post #14
qwerty456127 wrote: post #11

I don't even understand why do people become adult in the first place. Sure, your body changes and you begin to understand some more complex things you previously couldn't (and that's fun), but why change anything else? Why be boring and take bullshit seriously?

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Re: Why are so many adults acting just like children?

#23

Post by celeritascelery »

This reminds me of Rob Henderson piece about why adults care what children think[1]. There seems to be an unwillingness to grow up in modern society. Growing up doesn’t mean you can’t have fun or enjoy kid “toys”. But it does mean taking on responsibility, being dependable, and willing to lead younger generations.

[1]https://robkhenderson.substack.com/p/i-have-yet-to-hear-a-sa...

Re: Why are so many adults acting just like children?

#25

Post by [deleted] »

the_other wrote: post #2

I gave up after a paragraph or two. It looked like it was going to moan about people trying to have fun and do some self care. I don’t have time for that. Over time, I’ve come to see many “senior” or “success” behaviours as refined versions of childhood ones. Political sniping, business competitiveness, standard hierarchical power dynamics, etc. These are all “playground tactics” but grown up. I don’t see (many) “suc…

[deleted]

Re: Why are so many adults acting just like children?

#27

Post by croon »

willis936 wrote: post #7

I don't agree that escapism is a pure virtue. I do agree that escapism is a reaction to being unhappy with the current state. Escapism is an illusion though. Spend enough time around it with a curious mind and it loses effectiveness. The cure at that point is improving the state.

But if you can't enact change (on a macro scale) your choice (or lack of choice) drives you either back to explicit escapism, or into escapism masquerading as action (eg Qanon fiction). The former is less destructive.

Re: Why are so many adults acting just like children?

#28

Post by bigodbiel »

the_other wrote: post #2

I gave up after a paragraph or two. It looked like it was going to moan about people trying to have fun and do some self care. I don’t have time for that. Over time, I’ve come to see many “senior” or “success” behaviours as refined versions of childhood ones. Political sniping, business competitiveness, standard hierarchical power dynamics, etc. These are all “playground tactics” but grown up. I don’t see (many) “suc…

Very true, childish behavior, specially by decision makers, is the bane of society (always has been). Cosplaying by adults should be the least of our worries, and besides it isn't even a recent phenonema (at least not for men): carnival, secret cults, religious ceremonies.

Re: Why are so many adults acting just like children?

#30

Post by pgorczak »

willis936 wrote: post #7

I don't agree that escapism is a pure virtue. I do agree that escapism is a reaction to being unhappy with the current state. Escapism is an illusion though. Spend enough time around it with a curious mind and it loses effectiveness. The cure at that point is improving the state.

It could also be a very real consequence of feeling that you can’t or shouldn’t change the state and are therefore not responsible for it. The article doesn’t mention consumerism as a cause but I feel like it plays a role when people are mostly expected to play a passive role and fuel the economy in their spare time.
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