THE AGE AT WHICH WE FEEL ADULTS

Are you over 20 years old and do not feel adult?

Good afternoon teacher and classmates, today I’m going to talk about ”The age at which we feel
adults”
Some studies have revealed that most people begin to perceive themselves as adults after age 29
and this is completely normal. So if you don’t feel like an adult, you are not alone.
Our parents would say that the people of our generation have a Peter Pan complex, because
despite having a stable job and several responsibilities, many of us do not end up perceiving
ourselves as adults and still enjoy things that many would consider childish, such as video games
and animated movies. Does this mean we are immature?
The age of adulthood.
Legally in most countries, all persons between 18 and 21 years of age are considered adults.
However, the perception of adulthood is a subjective experience that varies according to the
amount of responsibilities or certain important events or experiences in the person's life and not
with age.
A London insurance company conducted a survey of 2000 people over 18 years to identify the
experiences that reveal adulthood. For the British, buying a house (64%), having children (63%),
marriage (52%), decorating your home (22%) and getting excited about staying home at the
weekend (21%) are the facts that make you feel adult. On the other hand, that same survey
revealed that there are behaviors that make you feel like a youth / adolescent: economic
dependence on parents (42%), living in parents' house (36%), playing video games (31%), watch
animated movies or series (30%), among others.
A survey conducted in the United States by researchers from Clark University applied to people
between 18 and 29 years old revealed that only 48.6% of the sample feel completely adults, while
48.6% say they feel adults sometimes and in others not. Another survey done in Melbourne
reveals more or less the same results: after age 29, a person begins to perceive himself as an
adult.
Not feeling adult is normal
The different stages of life are characterized by a series of physiological and psychological
changes. While it is true that after adolescence we have almost reached biological maturity, the
psychological one will depend on the individual experiences of each individual, as well as on
culture and society. It is a complex, particular process and is not directly marked by biology; so it is
absurd to say that all people of a certain age should have a certain level of maturity.
The decade of the 20s to 30s is very particular, because it is a phase of transition from
adolescence to adulthood that each one assumes in a particular way. There are those who decide
to stay at their parents' house, forming academically, while others decide to go to work and start a
family. Although there are social indicators of adulthood, these are transformed according to each
society and culture, they also vary according to each generation. Currently it is common to find
people who have decided not to have children, and they are not less mature. Modern society
favors the delay of these social signs of adulthood, for example women prefer to delay
motherhood.
What is being an adult?
According to an investigation by Juan de Uriarte Arciniega for the University of the Basque
Country, in which he surveyed 231 people between the ages of 19 and 30, there are at least four
differentiated identities at this stage of life:
The results confirm that in the 20s to 30s there would be four ways of perceiving one's own
identity: adolescent, adult, neither adolescent nor adult, partly adolescent and partly adult, which
indicates the construction of the adult identity is a process that evolves at different rates for each
person.
It is interesting the conclusions that this research shows us, especially in the values that
differentiate adolescents from adults. In the first place, he affirms that the adolescent defines
himself as lacking, what he does not have and will gain in adulthood; while the adult defines
himself for what he is, has and feels. Likewise, the adolescent is dependent in every way, while
the adult is perceived as autonomous and independent; although he still has no economic
independence and continues living with his parents. The adolescent lives the moment and runs
away from the responsibilities, the adult assumes them and lives projecting himself to the future.