Episode: 357

Episode Title: The Challenge of Adulting

How can digital natives like today’s young people translate those talents into real-world adulting skills? Let’s talk about it, next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 357 show:

Hello—you’re now in The Perna Syndicate! Regardless of how well parents reared their children to be independent and prepared to leave home, navigating life in the real world is tough. I’m sure we can all remember instances where our lack of experience tripped us up and we had to learn the hard way. That’s how many young people feel today about navigating life on their own—or adulting, as it’s often called. 

Don’t get me wrong—I think young people are hugely intelligent and intuitive in many areas, especially with technology. But it’s also true that many haven’t been exposed to the life skills they need once they’re out on their own. 

Every year, more than 2 million young adults graduate from college. They have all the book smarts, but the street smarts may take some time to develop. Topics like understanding their credit score, negotiating a salary, picking an insurance policy, opening a credit card, and paying taxes can all be potential minefields for young workers who never learned any of this in school. 

But even if they don’t yet know how to do their laundry, young people today are digital natives—and pretty resourceful when it comes to finding out what they need to know. They’re turning to TikTok, YouTube, and apps like Realworld to educate themselves on how to launch a career and create an independent life. 

Realworld app creator Genevieve Bellaire says that many times, they don’t even know what they don’t know. When they bridge those gaps, young people can stop stressing about adulting and focus on building their career and lifestyle dreams. 

Tomorrow: finances are a huge part of adulting—and something not all adults have mastered. What are the basics, and how can we teach them? We’ll cover that and more on the next episode of The Perna Syndicate. See you then!