science

Twixter

Twixter is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Twixter rather than just read about it. In short: Twixter is a neologism that describes a new generation of young adults in the United States and other industrialized countries who are trapped, in a sense, betwixt (between) adolescence and adulthood. This Western neologism is somewhat analogous to the Japanese term parasite single.

Key takeaways

Twixter belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Twixter to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Twixter from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Twixter is a neologism that describes a new generation of young adults in the United States and other industrialized countries who are trapped, in a sense, betwixt (between) adolescence and adulthood. This Western neologism is somewhat analogous to the Japanese term parasite single. The Twixter phenomenon was discussed in the 2005 issue of Time.

Behavior Twixters are typically young adults who live with their parents or are otherwise not independent financially. If they are employed, they often have unsteady and low-paying jobs. They may have recently left university or high school, or recently embarked on a career.

Media coverage Time published an article titled "Twixter Generation: Young Adults Who Won't Grow Up" in January 2005, putting this relatively obscure demographic in the spotlight. The article focused on upper- and middle-class Twixters whose parents could support them. The article made no distinction between people who lived on their own with their parents' help and people who lived with their parents, nor did it mention lower-class Twixters similar to NEETs and freeters in other societies.

Parallels in other societies The emergence of twixters is not entirely new, as it resembles social phenomena observed in other industrialized societies. Since the 1980s and 1990s, Japan has seen the growth of a parasite single or "freeter" segment of the youth population who live at home and work at undemanding jobs. The Hodo-Hodo zoku are employees who avoid promotion to minimize stress and maximize free time. Likewise, in Europe since the 1990s, there has been a growing number of NEET, those "Not engaged in Education, Employment, or Training". In October 2007, former Minister of Economy and Finance of Italy Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa called people in their twenties and still living with their families bamboccioni ("big, dummy boys"), stirring controversy within the Italian media. Newspapers received numerous letters from readers who took offense and pointed out that he knew little about the situation of a considerable number of twenty-something Italians who live on approximately €1,000 per month and cannot afford to leave their parents' house. A similar case is also seen in Spain, with the term mileurista to describe the youth who live with €1,000 salary (mil euros). In Greece, the minimum salary is €700 and the Greek media popularized the term the "€700 generation". This generation evolved in circumstances leading to the Greek debt crisis and participated in the 2010–2011 Greek protests.

See also Boomerang Generation Millennials Emerging adulthood Freeters Hikikomori NEET Parasite single Waithood

References

External links On the cover of Time Magazine Twixters, The Indie Comedy Series On The Toronto Star Kay R. Daly calls it "Peter Pan Syndrome" They Just Won't Grow Up

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Twixter

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Twixter claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Twixter before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Twixter ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Twixter

In research: Twixter appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Twixter in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Twixter is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Demography, Human development, Precarious work, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Twixter outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Twixter in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Twixter means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Twixter out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Twixter in simple terms?

Why does Twixter matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Twixter?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Twixter.