From the author: Are modern youth infantile? Psychologist, Gestalt therapist Maria Emelyanova answers the newspaper's questions. Researchers say that people are living longer and growing up later. What positive aspects could this trend have? What could be the negative sides? Indeed, back in 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially confirmed that young (adolescent) age ends at 25 years, and young age at 44 years. This trend is associated, first of all, with the increase in life expectancy in the civilized world - the logic of survival in the conditions of world wars has given way to the logic of quality of life. The logic of quality of life means that the priority is given to the values ​​of freedom, comfort, individualism, as opposed to the values ​​of courage, altruism, cohesion - the values ​​necessary for society to survive. The same thing is observed in Russian conditions: the logic of surviving the economic shocks of the 90s is a thing of the past, children of the 2000s grew up in a rapidly increasing information and technological flow. This is a generation for whom virtual reality is part of everyday life, a natural environment for learning, interaction and self-expression. Their main feature: modern teenagers and young people get to know themselves in a world that is accessible at a distance of a touch screen. From a psychological point of view, the main task of adolescence and the age from 20 to 30 years old continues to be personal and professional self-determination - what is called personal identification . “The time between twenty and thirty is a critical period of growing up. In this period, it is easiest to lay the foundations of the life we ​​want to live,” says psychologist Meg Jay in the mega-popular book “Important Years.” The popularity of this publication is due to the fact that modern 30-year-old young people, “sitting too long” in comfortable armchairs in front of computer screens in their parents’ apartments, often come to the realization that reality “does not bring pleasure and joy, there are no special achievements and in general it is not clear what ten years of life have passed away.”The trend of the 2000s generation is an increase in awareness and activity. There is an opinion that modern students (people aged 18-21) are becoming the center of civil society, as evidenced by the youth volunteer movement. Many young people (as I know from my own practice) are looking for an opportunity to study themselves, their characteristics, and accept their individuality. To do this, they go to psychologists and coaches, participate in trainings, and read books. This is also a global trend - the growing popularity of electronic and printed publications, but just 5 years ago publishers were seriously discussing the possibility of the disappearance of paper books! How can you help yourself grow up if your childhood has dragged on? How to stop being afraid of being an adult and independent? It should be borne in mind that 80% of life-changing events happen before the age of 35. “The life of a person at 20-30 years old is like an airplane flying high in the sky in a zone of turbulence, but if you learn to control it (even if a little), you can get further and faster. It is important to accumulate “identity capital” - a set of personal assets, a stock of individual resources that we develop over time” (Meg Jay) You need to look at your life and see the perspective, understand what actions will bring you benefits in the future, and decide what who a person really is. Finding an opportunity to determine (by studying, researching, trying, seeking help from mentors and specialists) how a young person’s personal abilities and limitations fit into the world around him is how you can realize your true potential. And what are the most common causes of infantilism? Any psychologist on the question - what are the most common causes of infantilism - will answer that it is necessary to look for them in family upbringing. I am no exception: if a child is in no hurry to grow up, then he is doing it for the family system, which “benefits” it. For example, in a family,.