Are you a "kidult"?

[Andrew NDB]

https://blog.cerdagroup.com/en/kidul...y-so-important

https://www.foxbusiness.com/retail/g...ustry-by-storm

https://thehustle.co/07052022-Kidults/

i.e., apparently a "kidult" is someone -- an adult -- who takes the most pleasure in things (toys, cartoons) that are primarily designed for/directed at children.

[AquaParade]

Idk but you know what term really annoys me? "Adulting". I heard it used in, like, a Heinz Ketchup commercial the other day, so I guess it's really caught on.

It's essentially a derogatory term for having to wipe your own ass. It's embarrassing that the term even exists. "Oh, man, adulting sucks. I wish I didn't have to pay my own bills."

Sorry, just sort of cringe.

[Cowabung-Gal]

I do still watch cartoons, but obviously so does everyone else on this forum.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Cowabung-Gal

I do still watch cartoons, but obviously so does everyone else on this forum.

I watch Rick and Morty. But that's it.

[Autbot_Benz]

no I am not a kidult whoever came up with that term needs to be fired.

[Coola Yagami]

Weird expression.

The adulting one is funny. Yeah I do pay my own bills, but that doesn't mean I want to.

[Turo602]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

Weird expression.

The adulting one is funny. Yeah I do pay my own bills, but that doesn't mean I want to.

Yeah, I've always taken adulting as a jokey way of describing adult responsibilities. I don't personally use the word, but it doesn't really bother me. "Kidult" on the other hand sounds like a more derogatory way of describing a generation brought up by commercialism and video games because neither toys or games these days are necessarily targeted at kids.

[Roseangelo]

Originally Posted by Autbot_Benz

no I am not a kidult whoever came up with that term needs to be fired.

It's like when Playmates tried to coin TMNT fans as "Sewerheads."

No thanks.

And this isn't a new thing. Gen X broke the mold of refusing to give up the things that brought us happiness just because we became adults about 25 years ago.

[Prowler]

Such term doesn't make sense nowadays. Seems heavily outdated.

We no longer live in a time where the majority of adults did not grow up with video games and such. In mediums like video games, animation, etc. there's series for all sorts of demographics. And even if some of that stuff is aimed at kids/teens, it's not like it's Barney the Dinosaur or Teletubbies, anyway. One Piece and DBZ have a lot of violence for kids series.

So yeah, calling some a manchild or a kid adult for still being into that stuff is absurd. What are adults allowed to like according to such people?

[IndigoErth]

Pretty sure it's just human nature. Ancient adults invented games, told stories, and drew on cave walls, leather hides, etc. Sure, that's also early sport and art, but they're also still forms of play and participating in things for fun that are not "adult responsibilities" necessary for survival.

I know baby boomers who watch some cartoons sometimes, this is hardly new. I BET that there are also some old folks who are longtime collectors of Superman and Batman, considering how long those characters have been around.

Nothing wrong with still keeping some of of the fun stuff in life that makes you happy, life is too short to decide to just be about boring responsibilities and little else. Big difference is when it comes to toys adults tend to just collect the stuff related to whatever they're into and, save for maybe things like Lego, they aren't usually playing with them like a child would. The adult version of being into toys, those expected to be "for children," isn't the same. At best there are people who use them for cool photography or like to display them in cool ways or whatnot as an adult form of "play," but still not a kid form.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

I used to be more of that between circa 19–25 or so.

[Zulithe]

By THEIR definition I am, but nobody uses that term other than members of the media or marketing teams who are referring to people over 18 who still collect 'toys' (action figures in my case) and the like.

It's kinda like the word 'tween' which was also fairly recently invented to describe a particular group of people. It gave the media and people in advertising a word to target a demographic that previously wasn't well defined. This is useful for them since their entire business is around targeting things to exploit.

Time will tell rather anyone actually embraces that word, like 12yos probably have come to embrace tween (cause it's a butchered version of the word 'teen' and we all know kids want to become teens and be associated with that world, so it is seen as a 'postive' word, unlike 'kidult')... my guess is NO, it won't be embraced.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Pretty sure it's just human nature. Ancient adults invented games, told stories, and drew on cave walls, leather hides, etc. Sure, that's also early sport and art, but they're also still forms of play and participating in things for fun that are not "adult responsibilities" necessary for survival.

I know baby boomers who watch some cartoons sometimes, this is hardly new. I BET that there are also some old folks who are longtime collectors of Superman and Batman, considering how long those characters have been around.

Nothing wrong with still keeping some of of the fun stuff in life that makes you happy, life is too short to decide to just be about boring responsibilities and little else. Big difference is when it comes to toys adults tend to just collect the stuff related to whatever they're into and, save for maybe things like Lego, they aren't usually playing with them like a child would. The adult version of being into toys, those expected to be "for children," isn't the same. At best there are people who use them for cool photography or like to display them in cool ways or whatnot as an adult form of "play," but still not a kid form.

That's me. I buy action figures and statues, but I don't 'play' with them. I keep them to collect, pose and admire.

Actually even as a kid, once I find out action figure arms wear down the more you move them, I stopped playing with them and kept collecting them for display purposes.

[NeonTurtledude]

I agree with what Zulithe and Indigo said

by the stereotypical definition, I would be considered a "kidult" because I enjoy things like toys and sometimes watching kids shows (mainly ones I'm nostalgic for or ones aimed at general audiences) but I like helping my "inner child" and revisiting old shows/films/games brings me happiness

but It wouldn't be a term I'd use for myself, I'm just me, I'm not a manchild, I'm just a dude who likes a variety of media, including shows/games/series from their childhood

[rav4ge]

I think you could classify me as a “kidult,” but I wouldn’t care either way. Is it surprising that someone can grow up liking cartoons, comics, video games, and action figures, and continue to enjoy them in older age?

Perhaps it’d be worrying if I had a fixation with “nostalgia” and chasing yesterday’s pop-culture euphoria. I don’t. I just legitimately enjoy those mediums (including modern iterations) and will likely continue to.

And to be fair, a lot of “adult” activities are mind-numbing and dissatisfying. Taxes? Car maintenance? Investing? Small wonder people turn to the simple pleasures of childhood.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Never heard of this term until now. No, I don't consider myself one, although I guess technically by that definition I could be. As for adulting, I actually like that term, because it makes perfect sense for how I feel about adult responsibilities- a necessary evil, but not one I WANT to deal with or think about unless I have to. I get enough of adulting at work, and running errands like doing the grocery shopping. At home, I just want to relax and do my thing. Unless there is something that NEEDS to be done.

[Storm Eagle]

I play video games and still enjoy the franchises I grew up on. So while I can see how I fall into this category, I don't understand why there has to be a label for it, if that makes sense.