Twixter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (October 2007) |
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007) |
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.
Contents |
[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. Historically, 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.
The 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 1976-1985 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. The efficacy and usefulness of this article is currently in dispute.
[edit] Twixters, The International Multiplatform Comedy Series
Based on the definition by TIME Magazine, comedians Dan Speerin and Wes McClintock created a comedy series aptly titled Twixters. They co-produced the series with Alan So and Aravinth Vince Kesavamoorthy [4]. Twixters airs on BITE_TV in Canada and Propeller_TV in UK [5]. The show’s indie success is mainly due to its utilization of interactive social platforms as YouTube, Facebook, MySpace and Blogs. This success was featured in Toronto Star [6].
[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".
In Italy, in October 2007, banker Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, then Minister of Economy and Finance, defined people 20-30 years old still living with their family (a considerable part of population) “bamboccioni” (big dummy boys) [1], thus creating a big fuss in Italian public opinion. Newspapers received numerous letters from readers personally taking offense and accusing him of understanding little about the situation of a considerable part of the 20-30 years old Italian population, who live on approximately 1000€ per month and cannot afford to leave their parents’ house [2].
