Generation Next

OK so now we have babies, children, tweens, teens and (drum roll please) emerging adults! That’s what NPR is saying about you my 18 to 25 year old peep.

Money quote: "Recent studies find interesting differences among today's young people compared with those of decades past. There's even a new term for the generation age 18 to 25: Generation Next. And a new label for this period of development: "emerging adulthood."

Read and hear more.

So for the sake of the thought experiment I am willing to buy into this idea.
Here's my riff. In traditional societies (tribes) today's early teens could be fully functioning hunters and gatherers. As society became more complex we created adolescence. Now in the postmodern 21st century we're seeing this new longer span being created because the world is that much more complex.