The Twixter

In 2005 Lev Grossman had the cover story in the January issue of Time Magazine. The article was entitled: Grow Up? Not So Fast - Meet the Twixters. They're not Kids Anymore, but They're not Adults Either. Why a new breed of young people won't – or can't? – settle down. The article identifies a new demographic, between the ages of 19 through 30-somethings, who are unable to grow up. For whatever reasons, this demographic is full of people who cannot leave their parents homes, find stable work and make the transition from adolescence to adulthood. This demographic seems to be unable to embrace autonomy and are reluctant, if not, resistant to independence. I venture to guess this might have something to do with the new needs of the new culture. As Pink argues, we are becoming an empathetic society which needs narratives and meaning.

I think what Grossman is identifying, is this shift in culture. Most of the twixters, as identified by Grossman, are plagued by a set of major issues preventing them from growing up: 1) they are financially dependent still on their parents or families, 2) they are unable to make career decisions because they seek a calling instead of a vocation, 3) they seek a soul-mate instead of a partner, and 4) they continue to experiment with various life-paths until they find the one they are supposed to be on (Grossman). This is because the students who sought meaning in their schooling, but did not find any, are now seeking the same meaning in their jobs, and again, are still not finding any. Because fundamental answers about purpose and meaning were not addressed in their education, they are unable to establish this meaning for themselves. Some argue, the twixters should just be content with a job and a paycheck. But like it or not, that is not that makeup of this generation. Again, this points to Pink’s new issues of the new age. The problem of 21st century education isn’t failing test scores, it’s how do we help students find meaning. This is what they are craving. Establishing meaning and narrative, as well as empathy, are key commodities in the 21st century. The twixter needs to establish meaning – there must be a purpose for him/her being here.

And until the twixter finds this meaning, s/he will remain unstable in work and in society. “Ten years ago, we might have called them Generation X, or slackers, but those labels don't quite fit anymore. This isn't just a trend, a temporary fad or a generational hiccup. This is a much larger phenomenon, of a different kind and a different order,” Grossman comments on the growing number of twixters in American culture (Grossman). According to Grossman’s research, sociologists are quick to point out that these twixters aren’t just lazy or unwilling to enter adulthood – this is a unique moment when the psychological makeup of our society is changing. We should remind ourselves that this has happened before – so although these moments are exceptional and infrequent, they do happen. Throughout history humanity has had to reflect on itself and identify new rites of passage. We saw this take place with the development of the term and stage: adolescence. The adolescent had not always been. The turn-of-the-century psychologist, Stanley Hall, is often credited with identifying the stage of adolescence. In 1904 he wrote a treatise on the developmental stage between child and adult entitled Adolescence. Prior to this, there was no such idea as a “teenager” or “young-adult”, rather, a child became an adult. By identifying this stage of adolescence Hall drastically shaped the way we view human development. In essence, the adolescent stage was invented only 100 years ago, and from its development we see a variety of social changes still affecting our society today. For instance, child labor laws were a direct result of Hall’s work, as well as mandated secondary education for all adolescents. We also saw changes in marriage practices and a new acceptance of dependency on parents. Had the adolescent period not been determined, children would have continued to be part of the workforce, continued to married young and remained grossly uneducated. There is an interesting paradox which comes from psychological or sociological stages as compared to biological development. Biologically, our species is ready to reproduce at anywhere from 10 – 13 years old. In the 1800’s a woman could expect to have, on average, approximately 5 – 6 children. In the 1900’s this number decreased to approximately 4 children. Today, the average number of offspring for American families is anywhere between 2 – 1 children.

Even though, biologically we are able to have children earlier – making the transition from childhood to adulthood quite quickly – in the past 220 years we continue to see a societal pressure that encourages the slowing of this development down. Psychologically, women are better prepared to have children in their twenties. And now, sociologically we are finding women are putting off their first child to about 29 years of age. Biologically this is not necessary, yet psychologically and sociologically we are seeing greater and greater delays from childhood to adolescence to adulthood. Is it absurd then that we are inventing a new subgroup? One hundred years ago the new subgroup determined had been the stage of adolescent. Now at the beginning of this new century there is yet another developmental group, the twixter. And this twixter leaves high school unsure of who s/he is. This twixter spends the next four to six years trying to find him/herself, typically with no concrete result. What does this mean for education? Well as we insert this fourth stage of development, our expectations must change. We must realize that each stage before adulthood will progress differently and at a slower rate. It takes longer to reach adulthood, so the expectation of the adolescent today is no longer the same as the expectation of the adolescent yesteryear.

Paradoxically we are also faced with the fact that these pre-adults are all biologically mature enough to engage in “adult behaviors” yet psychologically and sociologically not prepared. Until we face the issue of the twixter population, education will continue to fail. The twixter has new, unprecedented educational needs in order to prepare for adulthood. There is a trickle-down effect. These new needs require different foundations. This means education for the adolescent and for the child must also be restructured innovatively.

references

1. Rimer, Sara. "Study: Many College Students Not Learning to Think Critically." The Hechinger Report January 18 (2011). Print. Teachers College, Columbia University

2. Pink, Daniel H. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-brainers Will Rule the Future. New York: Riverhead, 2006. Print.

3. Peat, F. David. From Certainty to Uncertainty: the Story of Science and Ideas in the Twentieth Century. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry, 2002. Print.

4. “Grow up? Not so fast,” By Lev Grossman. Time, January 16, 2005.

5. Robbins, Alexandra, and Abby Wilner. Quarterlife Crisis: the Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties. New York: J.P. Tarcher/Putnam, 2001. Print.

6. Palmer, Parker J., Arthur Zajonc, and Megan Scribner. The Heart of Higher Education: a Call to Renewal. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010. Print.

7. Shoemaker, Jean Eklund, and Larry Lewin. "Curriculum and Assessment: Two Sides of the Same Coin." The Changing Curriculum Number 8 50.May 1993 (1993): 55-57. Print.

8. Fiero, Gloria K. Landmarks in Humanities. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2009. Print.

9. Tufte, Edward. "PowerPoint Is Evil; Power Corrupts. PowerPoint Corrupts Absolutely." Wired Sept. 2003. Print. Issue 11.09

10. Reynolds, Garr. Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery. Berkeley, CA: New Riders Pub., 2008. Print.

11. Reynolds, Garr. "Storytelling Lessons from Bill Cosby." Rev. of Keynote Speeches and Comedic Career. Web log post. Presentation Zen. Garr Reynolds, 28 June 2011. Web. 30 June 2011.