This is a man's world

Am I early twenties or mid twenties? No one can seem to answer that question, and it is one I have started asking myself more and more recently.

It is of great importance whether I define myself as an early twenties male or a mid twenties male, because if I’m in my mid twenties, that is a clear indicator that I am officially an adult, and who wants that?

The difference? That’s what I’m just about to tell you:

Being around this age is a strange time for just about everyone I know. It is a time when you still feel like a young, energetic 18-year-old but you are starting to get the responsibility of a proper adult, a real adult.

There is a whole new generation rising below us that have a completely different set of interests to us. Is this what our parents meant when they asked ‘What’s that rubbish you’re listening to?’ as Linkin Park blared out of our window or ‘Do you want me to sew those ripped jeans up for you?’ The same thoughts now cross my mind as I see youngsters in shirts that look like pyjama tops and hairstyles that resemble the old ‘mixing bowl cut’ of our younger years.

Generation Z, as they are affectionately known, watch terrible TV shows, even though they have hundreds more channels than we did. They listen to whatever music the X-Factor tells them to; Jessie J, Cheryl Cole and the likes all sound eerily similar to me.

Generation Z don’t listen to different things and make their own minds up and worst of all; they’ve had smart phones from birth, meaning they don’t remember a life without them.

I can remember a time when phone companies like Nokia and Motorola battled to make the smallest handset, and whoever owned that handset was immediately the coolest kid in school. In fact, they were often referred to as ‘too cool for school’.

Now all handsets are the size of a 1990s Panasonic TV remote and require two hands to operate rather than the ‘old fashioned’ one hand.

And what about the internet? I can remember when we first got dial-up in our spare room and if someone used the house phone it cut off!

Now, the young blood of today get the face on if their Wifi connection fails while they are out on a family meal.

My generation is basically the last generation to grow up remembering a time without the internet in every home, on every device, in everyone’s hands.

You may call me bitter because I no longer mix with the youngsters in the clubs and pubs, but looking at them, why would I want to?

I have just found myself in the situation of leaving university, getting my first full time job in a career I hope will last a long time, and I have recently moved into my own house with my partner.

Scary right?

So looking at the facts of whether or not I can still class myself as early twenties, I think the evidence stacks up against it, but so what?

I’m mid twenties and proud, because it means I can enjoy being almost half way to 50 with other similar aged people who have the same thoughts on Generation Z as me, and are going through similar experiences on the road to getting old.

With that in mind, being in my mid twenties doesn’t sound so bad after all, does it?

As Blink 182 once said: “Well I guess this is growing up.”

If you're peeved off with Generation Z for any reason, comment on this post and tell me why!