Rejuvenile by Christopher Noxon  
 

05.30.06 Rejuvenile Shame Game

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The online rental service apartments.com has found a way to milk the shame of young adults who still live with their parents in an entertaining if cringe-inducing promotion aimed at finding the most ?freedom-worthy adultescent.?

In a perverse rejuvenile twist on the old “Queen for a Day” shtick, the company is offering $20,000 to the young adult with the most pathetic tale of adultescent woe. Last year’s winner was a 22-year-old woman who shared a bunk bed with her 16-year-old sister. This year the finalists include a 24-year-old woman whose autistic brother blasts Barbara Striesand 12 hours a day. But my favorite has got to be Amber, a 24-year-old Floridian whose parents are comic book — ‘s being crowded out of her house by heaps of Captain America action figures.

It’s true that many adults who live at home live in a state of constant embarrassment. While I was interviewing people for the book, so many sources requested anonymity that I began to feel like I was writing about a shameful sexual habit or a top-secret military operation. I can understand the frustration of not being able to get out from under the roof of one’s parents, but I don’t think most adultescents have anything to be so embarrassed about.

The fact is that growing up is just plain more expensive than it was for generations past. Many young adults would be only too happy to ?grow up?; they just can’t afford it. And to make matters worse, they’re made to feel like over-indulged hangers-on by elders who are insulated from entry-level tumult. And while it’s easy to characterize adults who live at home as moochers resented by their parents, study after study has found that most parents are happy to spend a few extra years with their kids and that adults often come out more secure and independent than if they were heaved out on their own the moment they turned 18.

So enough with the shame game. How about twenty grand for a well-adjusted adultescent and his welcoming parents?

Posted at 12:31 pm in Rejuvenile Consumer Goods | 0 Comments

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