New Brunswick — A disturbing new study put out by UNB psychology researchers has found that the majority of millennials now apply the term “adulting” to the simplest activities undertaken by every adult human throughout history — and they’re actually taking pride in being so “adult.”
After the Canadian Oxford Dictionary named “adulting” the most annoying word of 2015 right after “millennial,” psych professor Carol VanDine was intrigued enough to delve deeper into the obnoxious phenomenon.
“Something as easy as making a meal, these kids do it once — poorly — post a photo on social media, and brag to their friends that they’re ‘adulting,'” VanDine explained. “These are tasks that their parents and grandparents, and really all previous generations, would have done from childhood without a thought. Why is it now such a source of pride? Why does watering a plant make you mature and worldly?”
The researchers assembled a random group of 100 students from UNB and STU who are adults in the legal sense but who have used the word “adulting” at least once on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Many were even signed up for the new “Adulting 1013” class taught at St. Thomas University.
“We asked them what being an adult means to them, and we found that most of them could easily choose healthy meals, take care of a cat, or go to bed at a reasonable hour, BUT they like to feign incompetence in order to seem cute or quirky,” said Vandine, shaking her head. “It’s very odd.”
The researchers interviewed older relatives of the test subjects in an effort to gain more insight.
“Kyla says she’s ‘adulting’ if she cleans her room,” said an exasperated Bob Michaels, father of Kyla. “She’s 22, for god’s sake! When I was her age I already had a kid while working two jobs, yet her friends are patting her on the back for being so grown up! The other day she posted a Facebook status saying, ‘Ugh have to go to class at 8:30 a.m. No one ever said hashtag adulting would be so tiring.’ Jesus H. I taught her better than that.”
VanDine said that many of these adorably incompetent 20-somethings are also claiming to be experts in mental health, despite their put-on ineptitude in every other arena of life. “For one, how is mental health related to taking the trash out? These are privileged kids who have at most taken one psychology class, but in their ample free time they’re blogging about ‘self-care’ and ‘putting your mental health first’ and ‘taking adulting just one step at a time’ and ‘going easy on yourself when you just can’t even.’ My god it’s annoying.”
The researchers found that after cooking, cleaning, owning a pet and paying basic bills, doing taxes is widely considered by millennials to be the most “adult” task under the sun.
“Ughh like I can’t even think about doing my taxes,” said Christen Malcolm, 21. “I already feel like I’m adulting so hard just taking part in this study. Hashtag adulting.”
This is the most ridiculous, elitist piece of trash I have ever read. Try and hide your distaste for this “privileged” generation that are going to be in debt for the rest of their lives before you write another article.
I am part of that generation and will be in debt for the rest of my life. I was merely pointing out the ridiculousness of the term. Thanks for your input, though!
Its funny when people think articles on the Manatee are serious. #notgettingit
Way to take satire so seriously. Too busy drowning in debt to notice?
I wonder if you realize that’s about THE most perfectly Millennialistic response ever — that you should be given a break because you accrued debt because of a choice that you made. Cute, quirky and odd fer rillz tho! LOLZ *hugs*
The ME_lennials seem to angrily blame everyone else for their own inaction & failures. Not very ‘adulting’. I took jobs the ME_lennials don’t want to do because it doesn’t pay enough or was ‘too far’ or ‘too early’ for them. I don’t have the luxuries they have, nor own my home and I helped pay off the loans to the US for World War II which were paid off 60 years later in 2004 by the UK. I’m not a lucky baby boomer but that doesn’t stop the ME generation blaming me for their problems. Self absorption & inaction is the mantra of this generation.
This website gets me through each day. Thank you, Manatee! And more importantly; thank you, oblivious commenters!! Wouldn’t be the same without yas.
Thanks, Josh! We appreciate it.
Even though I have never heard of the Manatee before, this article was so over the top I knew it had to be satire. A well constructed trap!
Ugh , you dumb adults don’t realize that adulting is sort of a funny joke, like “ugh adulting today” even though it may be the simplest thing it’s just funny…
Darn and I thought this was always satire and here you go writing serious articles on me. Shame on you!
The Millennial’s parents have generally failed in teaching their children basic life skills. My parents didn’t teach me shit. They provided for me, were nice to me, took me sports practice and on vacations. But my dad never showed me how a car works. My mother never taught me to cook. Of course I never had an interest- why should I, there was no need and infinite distractions. School teaches you to be nice, listen to authority and how to count. But there is a significant life skills gap in our generation. Everyone is to blame. It makes sense though- the world is pre made for us as we grow and you don’t need skills to survive. The 20 something generation has nothing to be proud of materially. Most don’t own anything, the rest live with their parents. The few who have gone on to traditional economic success, are now alienated from most of their peers. At the same time, this is easiest time to be alive. It is thoroughly possible to be a jobless 25 year old and have a better standard of living than a fully employed person 50 years ago.
Right on.
You said your parents didn’t teach you how to cook or how are car works but you never had any interest in either so it’s everyone’s fault. I disagree. I had an interest in those things as a child so I went and asked my parents how they were done. They taught me because I made the effort. You never did. That’s not your parents fault. What I find with milliennials is they blame everyone else for their inaction & self absorption. We all live in debt if we spend more than our income. This generation is no different & it’s tiring hearing them complain, pretending everyone but them is a baby boomer who had it great. Reality & milliennials don’t appear to be the best of friends.
Basically, the elitist Gen X’ers need to sit down and shut up. Perhaps they forgot to teach their children basic skills while they were busy destroying our economy and setting the next generation up to inherit mountains of debt with the highest income disparity in decades. Perhaps all the references to “adulting” are an attempt to add humor to a nearly hopeless situation created by the same people that criticize them for it.
Chris’ comment could just as well have been made by a baby boomer in 1965 or a generation Xer in 1990. Every generation thinks badly of the one that came before it. Today is notable for me as the first time I’ve seen my generation on the receiving end: now I KNOW I’m getting old!
Satire is best when it treads so near to reality that it knocks the chips off a few shoulders, providing ongoing entertainment for days after. The Manatee wins again.
Could be, but what he’s missing is that it’s never the previous generation’s fault that life is hard right now. That kind of mass screw-up takes a L-O-N-G time to happen — and is more the result of larger socio-economic and political trends. Remember that the next time you’re waxing philosophical with your hipster brahs over a few overpriced wheat microbrews about how all elections are fixed and your vote doesn’t matter. ????????
Perhaps the children never asked. Why blame everything on your parents? That’s not very ‘adulting’. And no, every generation before you didn’t get you into debt. My generation paid off the previous generations World War II! The loans of which from the US to the UK were only finally settled in 2004! I work my butt off for low wages & don’t own my home. I’m typing this on my iPhone 4S while milliennials walk around with iPhone 6S+ and will be queuing for the 7 next week. Inaction, self pity & blaming everyone else rather than taking personal responsibility seems to be the ME_llennials mantra.
Encouragement, praise and relatability between people are helping us deal with life as we know it these days, not as easy as it may seem to older generations. Support, happiness and a sense of humor are ideals in the new generations, something that was less prevalent in the older generations. We no longer need to ‘suffer’ in order to be labelled a ‘good’ person. Lighten up and you become ‘enlightened’.
You are the embodiment of the neo-Flower Child. I feel ya. Enjoy it while it lasts. Eventually, the bills need to be paid. And the trash needs to be taken out. #adulting *shrug*