Twixter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Twixter is a neologism that describes a new generation of Americans who are trapped, in a sense, betwixt (between) adolescence and adulthood. This Western neologism is somewhat analogous to the Japanese term parasite single.

1 Behavior
2 Media Coverage
3 Parallels in Other Societies
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Behavior

Twixters are typically young adults (ages 18-29) who live with their parents or are otherwise not independent by other means, primarily financial. If they are employed, it is often unsteady and low-paying. They may have just recently exited college or high school, or recently entered their first career. This is a cultural shift in Western households. Typically, whenever a member of the nuclear family becomes an adult, they are expected to become independent.

These young adults also typically marry later than usual and gain more college or career training.

Term used to lightly describe the MTV Generation as well as other cusp generations. "If you couldn't neatly place yourself in any of the (generations), then you're probably a Cusper. 1943-1947, 1962-1967 and 1976-1983 are each considered transition times. Many people born during these cusp periods identify with the generations on either side. Often, Cuspers feel like they belong to neither and belong to both. They are generationally bilingual. They can act as translators and ambassadors between the generations." [1] [2] [3]

[edit] Media Coverage

TIME Magazine published an article on twixters in January 2005, putting this relatively obscure demographic in the spotlight. The article focused on upper- and middle-class twixters whose parents could support them. The article made no distinction between people who lived on their own with their parents' help and those that lived with their parents, and didn't mention lower-class twixters similar to NEETs and freeters in other societies.

[edit] Parallels in Other Societies

The emergence of twixters is not entirely new, as it is similar to social phenomena observed in other industrialized societies. Since the 1980s and 1990s, Japan has seen the growth of a parasite single or freeter segment of the youth population who live at home and work at undemanding jobs. Likewise, in Europe since the 1990s, there has been a growing number of NEET, those "Not engaged in Education, Employment, or Training".