The Decline in Adult Activities Among U.S. Adolescents, 1976-2016

The social and historical contexts may influence the speed of development. In seven large, nationally representative surveys of U.S. adolescents 1976-2016 (N = 8.44 million, ages 13-19), fewer adolescents in recent years engaged in adult activities such as having sex, dating, drinking alcohol, working for pay, going out without their parents, and driving, suggesting a slow life strategy. Adult activities were less common when median income, life expectancy, college enrollment, and age at first birth were higher and family size and pathogen prevalence were lower, consistent with life history theory. The trends are unlikely to be due to homework and extracurricular time, which stayed steady or declined, and may or may not be linked to increased Internet use.
251 sats \ 4 replies \ @atl 26 Mar
From a Gen Z:
We inherited this shitty world man. Can’t blame us for not doing anything when we’ll never actually be able to afford a house. A small minority of us are actually engaging in these activities (such as myself). This slow life strategy is simply because WE CANT AFFORD SHIT. We already live in a snowcrash world. Just because you can’t see it doesn't make it real.
On a more positive note, the handful of us Gen Z who actually own a utxo will be the only ones of my generation to have any significant sum of wealth. Bitcoin might push these trends in the other direction, however this will be a bumpy road nonetheless.
PS your music also sucks. get off your high horse. music is completely subjective.
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your music also sucks. get off your high horse. music is completely subjective.
It's lighthearthed fun. Wasn't that extremely obvious?
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ah yes sarcasm on the internet very fun
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Can’t blame us for not doing anything when we’ll never actually be able to afford a house.
Being a victim is a choice. Believing government shills reporting garbage data that makes you feel like a victim is also a choice. Educate yourself and you will be able to afford whatever you want.
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1110 sats \ 0 replies \ @atl 26 Mar
Ah see this is where I should differentiate myself. My entire generation plays the victim. As did I for a time. However, bitcoin has taught me a great deal, pulling me out of that victim mentality and giving me the chance to “educate myself”. I didn’t go to post-secondary. I have and will continue to educate myself in the ways that I see fit. I can afford a great deal and with bitcoin, my purchasing power will only grow.
I appreciate the perspective. I should have worded my comment differently.
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85 sats \ 9 replies \ @OT 26 Mar
Their music sux too
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Totally agree. But I'll also offer as a Gen-X'er Nirvana is terribly overrated; and kicked off a shit-storm of copy cat music.
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Might not be a popular opinion... Nirvana was pure shit and people just pretend to like them because they think it's cool or something 🤣🤣🤣
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Said every generation ever.
You don't remember all the duds from your time because they sucked. Every decade has shit music. Only thing anyone remembers is the 50 or so bangers that get played on the radio constantly
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Is it zoomer music that sucks or was it only genX music being incredible statistical outlier and zoomers are back to average music like every generation since the beginning until boomers was
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15 sats \ 1 reply \ @OT 26 Mar
I guess you could claim every generation had its share of poor music. The thing I don't get about zoomer music is the beat. Its the same beat....
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3 sats \ 1 reply \ @OT 27 Mar
Delete this immediately
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Just wanted to show that every generation does indeed have shitty music.
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They did inherit a trash heap of a civilization.
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We'll call this the baby-boomer trickle-down society effect.
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GET a JOB generation.
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It's their duty now to navigate that civilization on its own terms and carve something out of it for themselves, rather than give up and listen to statistics and the internet. Times have been much, much worse throughout human history.
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Sure. That's always the case, and one can always say it has been worse until they can't.
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Ok, now also chart videogames and tiktok
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That’s why the u.s. young people are not in the top20 of the happiest young people.
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38 sats \ 2 replies \ @go 26 Mar
Wait. The dating population is under 50%????
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Population pyramids worldwide are going to become like japan dawg, it's over. All the zoomers do is eat hot chip & lie. /s
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I’ve been waiting one and a half years to be called dawg on SN
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After the 80s is when helicopter parenting started getting commonplace. Wonder if there's a correlation?
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deleted by author
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I guess that's what comes with too many amenities and too few values
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Young people don't do nothing anymore
I thought that young people do not waste their energy on futile things. But this is definitely about less engagement with adolescent activities. Nonetheless a good read. Thanks.
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this is fucking sad 😔
Distractions makes you unfocused. How to pursue a dream when you are unfocused. This is why I think there is less activities because there is nothing to focus on.