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Insanedawg 
Posts: 25
(8/8/02 14:14)
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The 20 somethings crisis
Now I know some of you are in your 20's already, you old fools you, and I have often heard my fellow students say "Damn I feel old". Once thought of as just an expression, this statement may ring an appropriate bell in the heads of those individuals disillusioned by the society message that happiness is not just in a cigar called Hamlet, nor just a threesome with Nikki Nova and Britney.
Having read an article at the BBC recently, it is almost amusing that certain people have just cottoned on to the fact that they are not happy with the supposedly fulfilling lives they lead. People are speaking of a "crisis" that has been all too overt for years. The mid life crisis is now paralleled with the 20's crisis, focusing on a phenomenon that we 20 year old are exposed to so much pressure that we fail to appreciate what we have.
Maybe we are growing up faster than before. Imagine the 20 yr olds a century ago, going off to fight wars and dying in the process. Amidst the confusion and befuddling propaganda, and fighting spirit, the reality of their conflict was not as cheery and pleasant as first thought. So what does that prove about those people, that they were heroes, or was it that they, like us, were directionless, without a strong idea of what to do, and bought into a lifestyle that promised adventure.
Nowadays, the reality may not be as bloody, but it is certainly as bleak. Some would criticize this argument, saying that its just a way of growing up, seeing whats important. But if in this struggle for meaning we destroy ourselves what have we gained? New figures suggests that suicide rates are up, mainly in men, because of the demand we put on ourselves, the lifestyles we buy into, and the irresponsibility of self-gratification.
At lunch today I discussed this issue in depth with a work colleague, and they too saw the problem we have these days. That is, our concern for or future, our quest for success. We are driven into a lifestyle of education, believing that we must get the qualifications and degrees to get a job. These things help you, they don't make you, and they certainly don't guarantee anything. Alot of us also just don't have the money, time, or will to do what we want. Having said this, the concern with educating ourselves leads to a lack of knowledge of ourselves, and what we want to do.
Thus we bury ourselves in a life of education and work, thinking it will quench the fires within us. Perhaps it is unrealistic to demand that we should know what we want to do. I know I don't, I've just failed an I.T course, but have luckily moved onto an English and languages course. I am just doing what everyone else is, that is doing something I think will help me, and that I partially enjoy, but bears little meaning as to the direction of my life, and what I really want to do.
The devil of technology, and the dawn of the cyber age are not new concepts. Nor is this crisis that stems from the surge of IT, business, jobs and money. It is not as if we had failed to see the void that dwells within our souls, more that we never paid attention to it. Becoming human, it seems, is not all its cut out to be. The bullshit we swim in has blinded us from the fact that we are not happy with the possessive grasps of our culture. Getting the money, the perfect body, the "ideal family life" seem to be the prominent ideologies of today.
This is not new ground I have covered, nor is it a lesson in life, it is just a highlight in the issues we may feel, but sometimes forget to address.
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Hugemon 
Posts: 293
(11/8/02 10:37)
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 Re: The 20 somethings crisis
Great topic, Insanedawg, and man, do I hear ya.
I think that in both of our country's pasts, "we"-meaning the young society- didn't have anywhere near as much "free" time to contemplate our existence, our reason for being, or what I like to call "Man's Search For Meaning".
There was always some great worldwide conflict that we found ourselves thrown right in the middle of....but recently, we have had more of a chance to sit and ponder over our own goals & activities than I honestly think we have ever had....I know that I'VE been doing a lot of deep thinking about my future lately.
And I think that many other young people all over the world have found themselves in similar positions.
For myself, it has taken me many many years to throw off a lot of the propaganda that was pushed into my head by our media for most of my life.
I had to decide to live for ME, by MY rules, to make ME happy.
Not to live for OTHERS, following THEIR rules, and trying to make THEM happy. I'm not saying for even one second that everybody should follow my lead.....just that, like you seemed to be saying...that we all have a lot of extra time to think these days.
We all have to decide what to do for ourselves....trying to live up to another's standards is a guaranteed formula for unhappiness.
Why am I here? What am I doing? Where am I going?
Easy questions to ask, but finding the answers can take a lifetime, and they often change along the way.
 | Behold, a pale horse, and the man that sat on him was Death |
| ...and HELL followed with him |
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Choden Kal 
Oops! Sorry...I didnt mean to shatter your puny little universe
Posts: 35
(14/8/02 16:26)
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Re: The 20 somethings crisis
I dunno.
depends which crisis you mean.
I thought you were talking about the one after we got our first jobs and then the idealism we built up in college hits squarely against the crass reality of corporate life. But in retrospect it seems more like the standard "why are we here" stuff that people are supposed to deal with in college, drinking coffee at all night coffee houses and debating existentialism.
Tho honestly they are the same crisis, just viewed through different lenses. Until you figure out who you are and what you are looking for, you will continue to have this same crisis of faith. And I dont mean faith in religion, tho this is sometimes a leaping off point for religious conversion; I mean faith in yourself. I know 50 year olds who are still trying to figure out what they want. I personally think it can change at any time, but as long as you have the core componants of your personality already figured out to a certain extent, the rest will come easier.
I dont know tho if its any different than any other generation, really. Just that if you were at war or supporting a family during this time in your life, youll have less time to wonder about stuff like this. Also lack of education and lack of different types of people around you will always hamper self discovery. Why worry about what you want if you are a peasant crofter in some hillside villiage? You dont even have time to think about it, if you are lucky enough to have the language to describe what you want, anyway 
The glut of free time and many years of education, plus the encouragement from society (Im generalizing for developed nations, btw) to put off family till after a career, has just made having a life crisis more convienient for our generation. We can afford to, basically. So we do.
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