It Isn T That Deep Analysis

It Isn’t That Deep: How Sensitivity is Ruining Humor “People are having fun on the Internet and being silly with a fake word. Not sorry that offends you”(@BathtubZen). This is the opinion given by a Twitter user, commenting on an article posted by Cosmopolitan entitled “Kindly Shut the Hell Up About ‘Adulting,’” written by Danielle Tullo. The article is written about how the word ‘adulting’ has become commonly used by millenials as an excuse to not grow up, and as a way to demean those that have actual accomplishments. Using an example about her friend, Tullo discusses the way that social media is used by millenials and how the word adulting is making women seem to be downplaying their actual accomplishments. Although Tullo recognizes valid

“Adulting” was created for use in memes about growing up and the new hardships that the millennial generation is facing for the first time such as having to “put ice cream in their granola because they ran out of milk” (Tullo). Typically, one thinks about growing up and imagines buying a nice home, getting a dependable salaried job, or perhaps starting a family. By using the word adulting for something as seemingly childish as putting ice cream in granola, there is a violation between what we expect and what we are seeing, because as Tullo so eloquently states, “Adulting is also known as existing” (Tullo). For someone that isn’t a millennial, it may seem against the norm to joke about growing up using a word that seemingly plays on the definition of an adult. In fact, the word itself is a violation of grammatical rules as it began as a noun which transitioned into a verb, and was then transformed back into a noun. However, the threat in this particular violation is entirely benign. When Tullo states that “saying adulting doesn’t only undermine our talents and make us sound entitled- it also affects our superiors’ perception of us”, she is assuming a threat that is simply not there. The word is benign, and was only ever intended to be a joke, not something that should be offensive. While Tullo most likely had good intentions in her concern for the millennial generation and their ability to celebrate their own

Tullo is clearly concerned about the idea of empowerment, especially centered on women, and the fact that by using a word such as adulting which doesn’t have a clearly set dictionary definition for someone to look up, and which doesn’t perhaps make sense to someone that has already grown up, and doesn’t see the humor in the word itself. However for those that understand the context and the humor behind it, using a word such as adulting creates a way to cope with, or come to terms with the idea of growing up and dealing with things that millenials have never had to deal with before. Coupled with the complaints about kneeling at football games, or cries for help from family members in hurricane affected areas is a need to communicate the daily struggles that millenials face as they come to age. If using a word such as adulting on social media creates a coping mechanism through humor, it shouldn’t be taken as an offensive statement towards empowerment. If anything, the idea that a joking word can alleviate some of the pressures of becoming an adult should be empowering in and of itself for the millennial