Battleangel

Yep, it’s that time of year. Time to get serious and pretend that you know what you want to do with your life. Everyone else seems to know .. or so they claim. Oh, well, as long as you find your way eventually there is no hurry really. Life goes on. And I am certainly not in favor of hasty decisions.
If you have been following the blog you of course already know what I am up to. Do a search for “social” xor “psychology”. I suppose that pretty much sums it up. Anyway, I still have tons of projects awaiting completion. I fear that something will indeed suffer from this severe case of bad planning. Hopefully the first couple of weeks will be introductory so that I can mind more critical matters.
Now all that remains is to pray for a minimum of childish trivialities, games, extracurricular activities and other retarded stuff.

You know the drill of academic studies right? It’s a zoo for the most part. People drink, do drugs, fool around and take every opportunity to regress to the level of a five year old. I’m not a moralist in any way but I am an avid practitioner of egocentrism. It’s a scary thought imagining ranks of decadent and reckless young men and women growing up to control our future. Just look at Bill Clinton. The prime example of why it is dangerous for all of us. He must have smoked some bad granola in his days considering the way he turned out. Ha ha, but seriously, you get my point?
Anyway, this does not adhere to the motto of battleangel.org. What do I care if you fry your central nervous system .. it is really up to you. And what do I care if you run around in the city wearing colorful pyjamas embarrassing yourself? You can drink your head off every weekend too. BUT, as long as you exist on the same celestial body as me you should know this. The moment your path intertwines with mine, or your actions affect me in any detrimental way .. well …

Because of this, and for about 97 other reasons, I make a habit of not socializing with my fellow students. Once in a while you can of course have the good fortune to encounter an individual whom you feel a connection to but I NEVER, EVER socialize for the sheer purpose of socializing. I am not one for small talk. This is, as with so many things, a double edged blade. And I don’t feel that either approach is beneficial, except for social withdrawal being easier to adapt to.
If university students in general had even a smidgen of pride and self control they would get their act together and at least pretend that they are adults. But who am I kidding. For the most part university is filled with 19-25 year olds with a family background of academics. It’s predictable and it’s mental inbreeding. And on top of that, today few individuals of 25 years of age can be considered full fledged adults. Yeah yeah, I know that according to theory, the leap to adulthood should occur already around 20. But is that a biological fact or a more mobile threshold that depends on your environment? Of course the nervous system will have fully matured at a certain age (typically), that can be asserted through extensive studies. Still, the whole is always more than the sum of its parts. And in this fashion it is difficult to predict the total effect of both biological and social factors. What is clear however, is that the definition of adulthood has changed over the years and with the spiralling economic growth of the industrialized world many would agree that it has been postponed. With increasing wealth each generation chooses the most comfortable solution given at the exact time. I.e. using a typical christian-moralistic term you are guilty of sloth.

And again I don’t really care but it is fascinating to compare the situation in Sweden today with that of not more than a hundred years ago. Once upon a time, hardship and poverty would have forced most children to plunge into the “real world” around 12 years of age. Now this estimated age is 20 and well beyond that. The real danger here is naturally that the intricate welfare systems that we have all become so accustomed to will collapse. The situation is rather murky if you think about it. The elderly get older and sicker but are kept alive at a high cost. We pamper them and take away their freedom only to discover that this leads to inactivation and in turn a decrease in health. Our youth might be oh so very quasi-mature, with their quick adoption of trends, music, fashion and similar cultural happenings but it is really nothing more than a charade. Are you an adult just because you dress like Britney Spears? I don’t think so.
So, both the top and bottom of the age distribution chart is in an uproar. And additionally there is the problem with diminishing birth rates somewhere in the middle. Everywhere you look there are major kinks. Many of which are side-effects of the much yearned for prosperity. The prolonged adolescence is however a major fumbler since it undisputedly creates a problem for society early on.

Another post that couldn’t stay on topic