Peer Balkanization

by phil on Friday Jan 30, 2004 12:34 PM
aging

I can sense a balkanization among my twenty-something peers. Many are isolating themselves into closed-units with their girlfriends/boyfriends. They are also retreating into their little corporate fiefdoms.

Gone are the days of tight packs of wolf-buddies. Here are the days of loosely connected networks of "pals" and "friendsters."

This transition is about 8 years in the making from when we are 16. I guess it's inevitable: your skin, your bones, and your money become too big to keep you locked in a band or clique forever.

Comments

Philip Dhingra said on February 4, 2004 1:21 AM:

Buck noted that I don't place a value-judgment on Peer Balkanization.

This is true. I don't want to label it good or bad, because often times, this is a transition into a girlfriend and a family, which, while not comparable to your wolf-pack buddies, does have great significance.