Abby Wilner coined the term “Quarter-life Crisis” in
the late 1990s, but the phrase has more recently blipped on society’s
consciousness as people opened up about their feelings online. A quarter-life
crisis refers to a period of anxiety and inner turmoil people experience in their
mid 20s, often 25, as they try to figure out who they really are and if they
are doing the right things with their life.
After graduation, some people start to feel
depressed that they haven’t become adults, or reached their life goals. Many people
expect they should have a high paying job that they enjoy, and that they should
find their soul mate and settle down into a family. They think that by this
point in their life they will understand who they really are and have things
mapped out for the future. But today’s society doesn’t really allow
for these things.
First off, a college education isn’t the to-do it
was in our parent’s generation. A college degree, for all the money you sunk,
won’t guarantee you a good job. And then you are left with all that crippling debt
from student loans.
With debt, the recession, a poor job market, and
glut of people going to college, our generation grows up slower. According to
the American Sociological Association, 66% of people in their early twenties
receive finical support from their parents, and 40% of people in their
late 20s still depend on that extra cash to get by. 56.8% of men and 43.2% of women between
the ages of 22 and 31 live with their parents (according to the US Census).
And as much as we yearn for our dream job, the average American between the
ages of 18 and 30 has moved through seven or eight jobs. All in all, when you
look at the traditional benchmarks for adulthood (such as graduating, leaving
home, getting a career, marriage, having a baby, and being financially independent),
only 46% of women and 31% of men today have accomplished these goals by the
time they turned 30. This compares to 77% of women and 65% of men in 1960.
The quarter-life crisis has become common enough to
have books, blogs, and web services devoted to it. Huffington Post offers a
25 question "Are you having a Quarter-Life Crisis?" quiz to see if you have entered into quarter-life crisis-dome.
A lot of people in our class are ready to graduate
this semester. How are you feeling? Is a quarter-life crisis sneaking up on
you? Or do you think you won’t be susceptible for a few more years?
Personally, I am too terrified that I won’t be able
to find any job to worry about finding a career or a soul mate. And I am definitely not worrying about settling down for a
family. But I can start to feel the pinpricks of this anxiety stinging at the
back of my neck. Tell me how you feel, or if you even believe in this premise
of the quarter-life crisis, in the comments below. Do you think it is a symptom
of the modern transition to adulthood, or a bunch of affluent college graduates
complaining? Give me your thoughts. Even if you are like me, and just feel like this about the future:
Definitely in the midst of a quarter-life crisis myself. :P I'm glad you wrote this though because I had no idea this feeling had a name. And knowing something has a name somehow makes it better? I don't know. I definitely feel very aimless right now and very much like that golden retriever too. It sucks being a Writing major sometimes. Why aren't there "writing firms" we can look up to find jobs? Sometimes it just feels hopeless. I'm sure it'll all work out someday though . . . Fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteI think it is nice to know that a feeling has a name, or at least it is something that other people will understand and have gone through. That is probably one of my favorite things about the Internet, that even in the jokes and small comics people express their eccentricities and find out that others can relate. I am pretty sure that things will work out, but just the uncertainity of graduation can be stressful.
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