評論
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Rachel Weinstein, a psychotherapist, ran the Adulting School in Maine for several years.
心理治療師蕾切爾·溫斯坦在緬因州運營成年學(xué)院很多年。
She found that her patients in their 20s were looking at “other people’s Instagram accounts and feeling like everyone else just has it together and they’re lagging behind”.
她發(fā)現(xiàn)，她的許多二十多歲的病人們“看著別人的Instagram賬號，然后覺得其他人都過得很好，只有自己落后了”。
She set up informal classes over beers at happy hour; students decided what they wanted to learn.
她在酒吧的歡樂時光進行非正式課程，讓學(xué)生們一邊喝啤酒一邊決定自己想學(xué)什么。（注：歡樂時光指價格優(yōu)惠的下午時間段。）
One session would cover money management, the next how to sharpen your knives.
上一節(jié)課會講財務(wù)管理，下一節(jié)則是講如何磨刀。
Why are such books and courses needed?
為什么人們需要這樣的書和課程？
To many, these skills will sound like basic common sense.
對許多人來說，這些技能聽起來像是基本的常識。
Yet, as the aphorism goes, common sense is not so common.
然而正如那句格言所說，常識并不那么常見。
The rise in need for adulting classes reflects, in part, the changing nature of childhood and adolescence, which have grown more digital and less physical.
成年課程的需求上升，部分反映了童年和青春期的性質(zhì)發(fā)生了變化，這兩個時期更多地與數(shù)字世界互動，而缺少與現(xiàn)實世界的接觸。
American teens spend up to nine hours each day on screens.
美國青少年每天的屏幕使用時間長達9個小時。
TikTok and YouTube do offer handy tutorials on all manner of household chores.
抖音和油管確實提供了各種家務(wù)活的實用教程。
But most young users of these platforms are more interested in dancing than dishwashers.
但這些平臺的大多數(shù)年輕用戶對跳舞的興趣遠大于洗碗機。
In “Infantilised: How Our Culture Killed Adulthood”, Keith Hayward of the University of Copenhagen argued that there has been a generational shift and that young people are less mature than their forebears were at the same age.
在《幼稚化：我們的文化如何扼殺了成年》一書中，哥本哈根大學(xué)的基思·海沃德認(rèn)為，代際變遷已經(jīng)發(fā)生，如今的年輕人遠不如在他們這個年紀(jì)的前輩們成熟。
They are shrinking from responsibilities such as marriage, homeowning and child-rearing because “adulting is hard”, as one of his students put it.
他們在逃避婚姻、買房、育兒等責(zé)任，海沃德的一名學(xué)生說，這是因為“當(dāng)一個成年人太不容易了”
Western culture, Mr Hayward wrote, indulges childish fancies.
海沃德寫道，西方文化縱容幼稚的幻想。
He adds that young people today are also less interested in what their elders have to offer: “Parents and grandparents are seen as morons who can’t work the Wi-Fi.”
他還提到，如今的年輕人對長輩的建議也越來越?jīng)]有興趣：“父母和祖父母被視為連Wi-Fi都不會用的笨蛋。”
If parents are not providing advice on life’s many essential tasks, “You’re left with these classes picking up the slack.”
如果父母沒有在生活的許多重要事務(wù)上提供建議，“那么就需要這些課程填補空缺”。
Such sentiments may ring true.
這種情緒可能聽起來很真實。
But young people are remaining in education for longer, meaning that financial independence, partners and children necessarily come later.
但年輕人接受教育的時間更長，這意味著經(jīng)濟獨立、結(jié)婚生子必然來得更晚。
And parents have always had gaps in their knowledge.
而且父母也總有一些知識空白。
Some know their way around an investment portfolio but not a car engine; others are the opposite.
有些父母精通投資組合，卻對汽車引擎一竅不通，另一些父母則恰恰相反。
And adulting is, in fact, hard.
而且事實上，成年人的生活并不容易。
The world is more complex than it was a couple of generations ago.
如今的世界比前幾代人的世界更加復(fù)雜。
Take financial decisions.
以財務(wù)決策為例。
People opening their first bank account have to choose between a convenient main-street branch and an array of online banks and bank-like institutions, all offering different yields and fee structures.
首次開設(shè)銀行賬戶的人必須在便利的街道支行與各種網(wǎng)上銀行及類似銀行的機構(gòu)之間做出選擇，這些機構(gòu)提供的收益和費用結(jié)構(gòu)各不相同。
What makes one better than another, and why?
什么因素會讓一種機構(gòu)比另一種更好呢？以及為什么？
At a time when the financial landscape is already volatile, trial and error is not an ideal strategy.
在金融格局已然動蕩的時期，試錯并非理想策略。
Romance has also grown more complicated.
戀愛關(guān)系也變得愈發(fā)復(fù)雜。
Less than 15 years ago, American couples usually met through friends, but today most meet through dating apps.
不到15年前，美國情侶通常通過朋友介紹相識，但如今大多數(shù)人通過交友軟件相遇。
Old singletons may not know where to start; young ones may find the shift from online banter to the real kind daunting.
年齡大一點的單身者或許不知從何開始，年輕的單身者則可能畏懼從網(wǎng)聊過渡到現(xiàn)實交流。
The prospect of having any mishaps blasted out on social media is nerve-racking.
一想到任何小錯誤都可能被放在社交媒體上大肆宣揚，就讓人神經(jīng)緊繃。
Many will see adulting classes as proof of youngsters’ stunted development.
許多人會將成年教育課程視為年輕人發(fā)展受阻的證據(jù)。
But coddled children do not acknowledge the gaps in their knowledge and try to fill them.
但嬌氣的孩子不會承認(rèn)自己的知識不足并試圖彌補。
Only a grown-up would willingly spend precious free time doing something as dull as learning how to mend a shirt.
只有成年人才會心甘情愿地把寶貴的空閑時間花在學(xué)習(xí)縫補襯衫這樣的無聊事情上。
