Does Age Quash Our Spirit of Adventure?

[Alex]

I think it just shifts around. My interest in music is pretty much exactly the same as when I was 18 (which is to say zero) but I'm much more adventurous on food and body art than I was then (I don't expect to make it out of my '30s with inkable space on my back and I ate a raw oyster the other day even though I know I don't like oysters). I don't know if I'm more adventurous with reading. I hardly ever read fiction and when I do it is most often to return to old genres and favorites. But I read non-fiction on a scale I never would have tried when I was young. I'm at least equally adventurous on travel and am much more open to making friends and socializing than when young (though I still have my bad days).

And the story seemed awfully quick to dismiss the psychological element. Particularly for music and body piercing. Much of hte motivation for adolescent behavior is to differentiate yourself from your parents without differentiating yourself from your piers. Once you've done the former, continued change just increases the likelihood of the latter. Growing up I never felt any need to differentiate myself from my parents because I already felt fully differentiated because I was (to be blunt) much more intellectual than them, even at a young age. What I find is that to the degree I want to differntiate myself from my past it is to differentiate myself from what I was like at 20, not what my parents were like when I was 10.

I also wonder also if the original example wasn't based on an anomoly. That kid who was listening to a completely different kind of music every day. That certainly wasn't true of most of the kids I knew. They might go through a couple major phases but for the most part they were in genre ruts of incredible proportions.

[Stan4dSteph]

Cool! A Stanford guy!

I'm still in an adventurous phase at the moment, although most of the music on my iPod is by one musical group.

[Not Afraid]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

I also wonder also if the original example wasn't based on an anomoly. That kid who was listening to a completely different kind of music every day. That certainly wasn't true of most of the kids I knew. They might go through a couple major phases but for the most part they were in genre ruts of incredible proportions.

I've always had a penchant for "adventerous" things. Musically, I'm all over the world - literally and have always been. I have always sought out a variety of experiences in all areas (some even got me in trouble ). It hasn't really changed much as I've gotten older other than I have less time and more discretionary income. There are many things I don't have time to do and I do choose carefully. I've given up TV and only listen to public radio because I don't have the time or desire to listen to commercials and I find most TV show unfulfilling, but there are ALWAYS exceptions.

I find that I, as I get older, I am an actually less likely to dismess concepts and ideas without at least some consideration. I will eat almost anything once. I will read almost any genre - although the time issue always factors into it. But, I do take into consideration what I've learned and try not to repeat the stupid things over again.

I have always love to be challenged artistically and love when an artist, musician, writer, etc makes me think. That desire has grown even stronger with age.

I still haven't gotten a tattoo after all of these years and I dress how I want to - usually influenced oi some way by fashions of yesteryear. I was never an outlandish dresser (compared to many of my friends) but I do dress to my own drummer.

I will probably never settle into the age rut talked about in the OP's link. If I suddenly started listening to Air Supply or even The Ramones over and over, I'd really start to worry about myself. Of course, I'd save a whole lot of money as well.