Young adulthood

The age of young adulthood has always been regarded to be the nicest period of human lives.

At the age of young adulthood people become more socially responsible and more psychologically mature. They are entitled all adults’ rights: rights for voting in elections, for such activities as driving, marrying, working in some jobs, holding public office, and buying such restricted goods as alcohol.

Young adults become less dependent or fully independent of their parents or other relatives for support. If they are students and fully supported by parents they may be free from daily winning of their bread. If not married they are free from the burden of responsibility which brings the parenthood.

With more free time and fewer family responsibilities they have a wealth of leisure opportunities: going to health clubs and gyms, dining out, shopping, watching TV, reading, attending musical concerts, going to the cinema, theatre, spending time with friends -- these are only a few of the options open to them. And everywhere in leisure activities they have certain priorities. For example, young people are less likely to read newspapers nowadays than the average population but are slightly more likely to read magazines. They also read a lot of eBooks (downloadable books and magazines). On the whole, Internet and online leisure activities are becoming the primary entertainment source for them.

Young adults are generally in good health and high spirits, physically fit and attractive. They strive for love, intimacy, and compassion, they seek to form intense, usually romantic relationships with other people. Their expectations are often, however, illusionary. Emotional interactions may be very intense in a college environment – where everyone is roughly the same age and with the same aspirations.

It is also the period of life when young people do the most important decisions for their future family and career.

The period of young adulthood lasts somewhere until the early 30ies when most of the young people usually settle down: they advance their careers, gain promotions and raises, get stability in their personal lives and start a family.

Comprehension Check

Are these statements true or false?

1. No other stage in the life cycle provokes as much questions and debate as youth.

2. The word ‘turbulent’ is perhaps the best to describe the average experience of teenagers.

3. There are practically no challenges of adolescence.

4. The university entry examinations are tough but very fair.

5. Parents usually do not care about their child’s fashion, friends and a girl/boy friend, hobbies, music, lifestyle and other things.

6. At the age of adolescence people are socially responsible and psychologically mature.

7. The period of adolescence lasts somewhere until the early 30ies when most of them usually settle down: they advance their careers, gain promotions and raises, get stability in their personal lives and start a family.

8. At the age of young adulthood people are entitled all adults’ rights.

9. Young adults become fully dependent on their parents or other relatives for support.

10. The primary entertainment source for young adults is shopping.

11. If they are students and fully supported by parents they may be free from daily winning of their bread.

Questions

1. What are the major stages of human development?

2. What is adolescence?

3. Why is adolescence the most turbulent period?

4. What are the problems that teenagers often run into?

5. Why does parents-children relationship at this age get sometimes tense?

6. What is young adulthood? How is it different from adolescence?

7. Why has the age of young adulthood always been regarded to be the nicest period of human lives?

8. What adults’ rights are the young people entitled?

9. How do they spend their leisure time?

10. Do you really believe that the expectations of the young people are often illusionary?

11. When do the young people usually settle down?