In the lecture video for the Module “Infinite Learning: Library as a Class,” Dr. Michael Stephens talks about how some libraries are offering classes on topics pertaining to life literacy—what we need to do to live/exist and “adulting 101.”
I gravitated to this topic because I’ve always felt an appeal to this term and I always say that I feel like I am “playing” at being an adult and one day everyone’s going to find that out (even though I am married, have two kids, own a house and car, etc…). I guess you can call it a bit of an “imposter syndrome.” This made me want to do some research on this topic.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “adulting” as, “the act or practice of attending to the ordinary tasks required of a responsible adult” and Dictionary.com defines it as “an informal term to describe behavior that is seen as responsible and grown-up. This behavior often involves meeting the mundane demands of independent and professional living, such as paying bills and running errands.”
Basically, this term is widely used among millennials and has been a trendy slang word. But, it really does fit for a generation of people that don’t feel like they’ve grown up. When I look up “adulting” and “adulting 101”a plethora of self-help books, workbooks, webpages (many of them universities), classes, podcasts, social media come up. Here is a sampling of offerings on the topic:
Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 535 Easy(ish) Steps
by Kelly Williams Brown
“If you graduated from college but still feel like a student . . . if you wear a business suit to job interviews but pajamas to the grocery store . . . if you have your own apartment but no idea how to cook or clean . . . it’s OK. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Just because you don’t feel like an adult doesn’t mean you can’t act like one.”
by Josh Burnette & Pete Hardesty
“Adulting 101 Book 2: #liveyourbestlife is a personal growth book that provides you with a clear vision of what a healthy adult looks like, equips you with the necessary tools to begin a meaningful adulthood, and offers critical resources to fulfill your purpose.”
Bill Maher: #Adulting a standup comedy special on HBO Max
Adulting – Student Documentary
Film by Eleanor Blake and Nich Perez, Directed by Dominique Sheth
“ADULTING is a short documentary that follows the lives of three millennials and their unique journeys into adulthood in a society that questions their generation’s capacity to be responsible and mature.”
References
adulting. (2021). In Dictionary.com. https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/adulting/
adulting. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adulting
Eleanor Blake, Nich Perez, & University of Southern California,School of Cinematic Arts (Producers), & Sheth, D. (Director). (2018). Adulting. [Video/DVD] University of Southern California. https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/Adulting
Bill Maher: #Adulting. (2022). HBO. Retrieved April 16, 2024, from https://www.hbo.com/movies/bill-maher-adulting
Brown, K. W. (2018). Adulting: How to become a grown-up in 535 easy(ish) steps. Goodreads. Retrieved April 16, 2024, from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36673544-adulting
Burnette, J., & Hardesty, P. (2021). Adulting 101 Book 2: #LiveYourBestLife: An in-depth guide to developing healthy habits, becoming more confident, and living your purpose for graduates and young adults. Goodreads. Retrieved April 16, 2024, from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55065193-adulting-101-book-2
Sheth, D. (Director). (2018). ADULTING | (2018) Trailer [Video]. Vimeo. Retrieved April 16, 2024, from https://vimeo.com/251062399
Great topic! The discussion group that I lead at my library spent quite a bit of time discussing the need for high schools to offer, and perhaps require, classes on life skills. Because of budget restraints, these classes have been removed from schools, as well as vocational classes that would teach a skill and employment readiness. I wonder if not teaching these to our youth, and young adults not feeling grown up, are actually related.
Thanks! Yes, there is a need. Life is so different then in the past where we had to do more things hands on and in the slow way. We would learn from our parents and grandparents these life skills, but today so much is automated or done for us. We have to find new ways to learn these life skills! 🙂
I wonder too if many of us were never really taught these skills, so the idea of “you just figure it out” makes more sense to us — GenX is notorious for having been ignored as kids, and then we’re notorious for doing everything for them to bulldoze the path. As the world’s gotten infinitely more complicated, so too do the processes around everything.
I’d bet that a fair few of us could stand to take some adulting classes as well. “Here’s what really happens when you buy property, step-by-step. Here’s how you sew a patch on your jeans. Here’s what all the garbledygook on the new hire paperwork really means.”
I am encouraged to see libraries offering adulting classes. Check out what these libraries are doing https://medium.com/everylibrary/learning-to-adult-at-the-library-41403654efbf.
Also, ALA has a book on Teaching Life Skills at the Library , albeit expensive: https://alastore.ala.org/lifeskills