The Neet's Got Talent

So, I have to ask...are there any other 20 somethings out there staying in tonight to watch the final of Britain's Got Talent while their 40 something mothers are out on hot dates??!

It seems to me that we must be the first generation whose parents go for all-out American personal ads style dating. The BF has a theory that the reason we are so sensible is that we are merely rebelling against the outrageousness of said parents. However, I should point out that the BF is an actual artist, living in an actual Parisian garret, with an actual Frenchman. She is hardly the most likely poster girl for sensible living. Yet somehow she pulls it off.

I've been wondering what else could have led to the death of 20 something decadence. I suspect it was university top-up fees. Or the grotesque modern term 'Neet' (not in employment, education or training), apparently used solely to foster a sense of worthlessness in today's young people. No job? You're a neet, niet, nowt.

One of my brothers has spent the last year running charity marathons, doing up our decrepit house and selling all our old crap on eBay. To me, he has become a brilliant fundraiser, skilled labourer and entrepreneur. To the government, he is a Neet, of no statistical value whatsoever. Similarly, the BF, when she quits her job and begins the process of conquering the art world with her brilliance, will be a Neet. Employability and accreditation seem to be more desirable attributes than creativity and individuality.

Just to cap off this rant, I recently saw 2 separate but equally disturbing scenes: the first was an 11 year old girl playing on a phone, pretending it was a Blackberry and she was a businesswoman. The second was a group of children pretending to drive a car. In their imaginations, were they robbing a bank, flying to Hogwarts or even just driving to the beach? No. They were practising parallel parking.