Avoiding adulthood or alternative lifestyles?

Summary The present study is about the traditional adulthood and its alternatives. It is about whether the maintenance of certain characteristics of the eternal child during the entire adulthood is necessarily pathological or socially inappropriate. Therefore a part of the thesis is also focused on Jungian psychoanalysis- Puer Aeternus or eternal boy is still most likely to be associated with the Jungian psychoanalytical theories. It continues with a sociological perspective on youth and adulthood, considering the possible affect of different lifestyles on perception of people happiness and satisfaction in life, and role in the society in which we live today- with its individualization, liberation from traditional societal requirements and exposure to the demands of consumerism. Thereafter I have been wondering how young people decide for their lifestyle, what their values are and which values are socially accepted. Four lifestyles are presented: life without children, singlehood as a matter of choice, extreme sports and itinerancy. In the empirical part I presented four selected films; Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Happy go lucky, Chasing Mavericks and The Motorcycle Diaries. Using hermeneutic research, I found out that preserving the characteristics of the eternal child in adulthood reflects as being happy with yourself and with your life and that an alternative lifestyle, personal satisfaction and self-actualization are connected in such a way, that alternative life creates space for personal development, which leads to self-actualization and thus to personal happiness. I have also found out that people who value personal happiness affect people around them in two ways: either their incidence and happiness give inspiration, or envy and discomfort. There is a negative correlation between personal happiness and the importance of material goods in lives of people who do not prefer adult lifestyle. When comparing selected lifestyles I noticed there are no major differences in their values