> the infantilization of the newer generations of adults
I think when you reach the age of like 25, you realize that you don't have a clue, and the "adults" around you mostly don't have a clue either.
But it's always been like that. It is in fact a childish view to conceive of adulthood as some fundamentally different stage of life where everything changes and you've got it all figured out.
The real difference with past generations is that you were expected and able to slot into a rigid social order, to fill a certain role. That rigidity has partly been rejected, and is partly simply out of reach due to economic factors.
I think when you reach the age of like 25, you realize that you don't have a clue, and the "adults" around you mostly don't have a clue either.
But it's always been like that. It is in fact a childish view to conceive of adulthood as some fundamentally different stage of life where everything changes and you've got it all figured out.
The real difference with past generations is that you were expected and able to slot into a rigid social order, to fill a certain role. That rigidity has partly been rejected, and is partly simply out of reach due to economic factors.