The Infantilization of the Postmodern Adult and the Figure of Kidult
The Infantilization of the Postmodern Adult and the Figure of Kidult
Author(s): Jacopo BernardiniSubject(s): Philosophy
Published by: Editura Lumen, Asociatia Lumen
Keywords: Adulthood; kidult; Infantilization; adult; youthful; immaturity; postmodern; postmodernity
Summary/Abstract: Being young today is no longer a transitory stage, but rather a choice of life, well established and brutally promoted by the media system. While the classic paradigms of adulthood and maturation could interpret such infantile behavior as a symptom of deviance, such behavior has become a model to follow, an ideal of fun and being carefree, present in a wide variety of contexts of society. The contemporary adult follows a sort of thoughtful immaturity, a conscious escape from the responsibilities of an anachronistic model of life. If an ideal of maturity remains, it does not find behavioral compensations in a society where childish attitudes and adolescent life models are constantly promoted by the media and tolerated by institutions.
Journal: Postmodern Openings
- Issue Year: 05/2014
- Issue No: 2
- Page Range: 39-55
- Page Count: 17
- Language: English