Shane Ralston, an associate professor of philosophy at Penn State University Hazleton, writes in Intellectual Takeout that the reason millions of millennials have failed to embrace adulthood is because they view themselves as objects as opposed to individuals with free will:
Safe Spaces, trigger warnings, parental coverage of health insurance until age 26 and living at home into one’s thirties … why are we treating young adults like they are infants, folks? Without adversity, Millennials fail to develop perseverance and grit. Will they ever grow up?
How does that play itself out today? Ralston argues:
… administrator-designed safe spaces create a false sense of security, denying young people the opportunity to experience the world’s uncomfortable realities (e.g. hate, sexism, racism, and homophobia) and make life choices accordingly.
Trigger warnings about shocking or controversial class topics and materials, usually shared with students by professors, have the same effect: coddling the young adult mind.
Parental coverage of health insurance until age 26 and living at home into one’s thirties create more cocoons that inhibit free choice. …
Ultimately, the solution is forcing young people to “grow up and become their authentic selves” — to give them freedom to face adversity and become stronger for it, to become free individuals who learn — and grow — through life’s gritty experiences, the scholar says.
“We need to give them the room to exercise that radical Sartrean freedom, to take exhilarating risks and to make defining choices in their adult lives,” Ralston argues.
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