This Will Be on the Test

If this week's breathless 30-is-the-new-21 newspaper piece ("now officially a phenenom") is any indication, 30-year-old studies is the new hot thing in academia. Jeffrey Arnett, a University of Maryland prof, says, "Age 30 is now when most Americans feel they've reached adulthood." He even has a new label for the ages leading up to 30: Emerging Adulthood. (Catchy, no?) And Gilda Carle, "author, relationship expert and psychology professor in New York" has this to say: "Thirty is the new 20, but also 50 is the new 40. We're growing older and looking better, but the question is, are we growing emotionally?"

Sarah Bearley, 31, of Kansas City, says yes, she is growing emotionally: "It's a proud thing. I was very unbaked in my 20s. Now I'm starting to have a strong sense of myself. I'm not an old maid.'' Which leads us to this week's take-home essay question:

If you are both baked and emerging, and you are the new 20, are you an adult? Really?

30-year-olds celebrate adulthood -- finally [mercurynews.com]
Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: A Cultural Approach [amazon.com]