Young Adults: What U see (probably) isn’t (thankfully?) what you’ll get

“Consensus is emerging that an 18-year-old is not the same person she or he will be at 25, just as an 11-year-old is not the same as he or she will be at 18. They don’t look the same, feel the same, think the same, or act the same,” says A. Rae Simpson, the program director of parenting education and research at MIT’s Center for Work, Family and Personal Life, and the creator of the Young Adult Development Project.

Research gathered, analyzed and published this summer by her at MIT suggests that the years from 18 to 25 should be regarded as a specific developmental period with its own characteristics, milestones and limitations–a time of both stunning accomplishment and chilling risk as young adults are propelled into full maturity.

Many parents are using WuduPlz to communicate with their older children. This makes sense, according to Simpson’s work. Older children need the guidance of parents at times, too.

Still, it’s tricky. “I’m hearing from a lot of people in their 20s because they are feeling huge pressure to get it all together and make their mark,” Simpson says. “And that’s really unfair. There’s an enormous amount that happens after 25 or after 30 or after 40–some of which can’t happen any earlier.”

She bases her conclusions in part on research that indicates that some important developments in the prefrontal cortex of the brain don’t occur until the early 20s.

But she also considers cultural factors: Today’s American young adults are attending school longer, delaying marriage and often living at home due to economic pressure. “The kind of milestones that we have associated with adulthood are happening later in the 20s,” she says.

This isn’t to say the older kids are still children. The ages 18 to 25 are also a time of wonderful energy and creativity, Simpson says. The dualistic thinking of teenagers (everything is either bad or good) is being replaced in older children by an ability to see a complexity of viewpoints.

Learn more here

New openness toward phone consumers! (Er, who wanted that?)

Pity the poor family looking to buy new cellphones and reading how “in the last nine months, carriers, software developers and cellphone makers have embraced a new attitude of openness toward consumers,” as The New York Times reported this week.

Sounds great. Where is it in the store?

As the NYT explained, “The market for smartphones, which are really handheld computers, has quickly expanded beyond business users. They have gone mainstream, with teenagers and women finding novel uses for them — texting snippets of their lives to friends or tracking friends on maps. The carriers and the handset makers realize they have to make the phones adaptable to those new customers.

Super! So, therefore…

Well, deep into the article, it explains that “Of course, consumers should be careful what they wish for. Already there are at least six major operating systems for cellphones — Linux, Symbian and BlackBerry, as well as those made by Microsoft, Palm and Apple. And more are coming. Google expects the first phones in its Open Handset Alliance, which will use its Google Mobile operating system, to be out this fall.

“Consumers may find it confusing that some applications work only for certain phones because developers do not have the time or money to adapt projects to every operating system.”

“Consumers will also come to realize that “open” comes with an asterisk. The word means what the carriers, handset makers and software developers want it to mean.”

Of course, it’s even worse if you are a “mobile marketing” professional trying to figure out your next move.

Texting “A Pain in the Neck”

I loved the August 1 story in the Washington Post how seniors are tapping into texting. Kim Hart did a great job. But, really, the point of the article was: Not really.

The story starts off with:

“Jane Stohlman, 69, stared intently, trying to figure out why in the dickens that tiny envelope kept appearing on her cellphone’s screen.

The helpful young man sitting beside her explained. It was a text message, and it was far more useful than one of those old-fashioned voice mails.”

“Not at my age,” Stohlman informed him. “And who the heck was texting me?”

Hart reported that, “for wireless companies, senior citizens are a relatively underserved market. About 50 percent of seniors over age 65 own a cellphone, compared with nearly 90 percent of consumers 18 to 29, according to a survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.”

Seniors make up the fastest-growing market for cellphone firms like AT&T, the article said.

The reporter was covering a demo for seniors by AT&T. One compay rep showed a woman how to designate her daughter as a contact under “ICE,” short for “in case of emergency.”

But when he typed the wrong letter, he was one who was stumped. He couldn’t find the delete button.

Now it was Esler’s turn to show off her cellphone skills. She proudly pointed out the correct button. “It may be old, but it still works fine.”

The story concluded with this:

Tap, tap, tapping away in search of the right letters to spell out “Hello” for a text message seemed a bit overwhelming to Stohlman.

It’s all about rhythm, she was encouraged by Damon Frazier, also an AT&T sales representative. It just takes practice.

“It’s a pain in the neck!” Stohlman said.

Actually, Frazier said, texting can be quite addictive.

“Trust me,” Stohlman said. “I have plenty of other things to do.”