[hey2022]

I used to argue that the rise of popularity of children literature and movies among adults is a sign of an increased infantilization of our society. Star Wars, Harry Potter, super hero movies (and many, many other examples in between).

But over time I changed this view: I don't think it's such a new phenomenon anymore. The mainstream always consisted mostly of simple stories with almost no emotional and philosophical ambiguity. In the 80s we had action movies with "super-heroes" saving the world. In the 90s we had a mix of love stories and blockbusters with a clear cut boundary between good and evil.

Furthermore, cinema attendance in the US has not changed much in decades. It could be argued, perhaps, that movies play a bigger cultural role today, but that could just be the result of recency bias.

My point is... the percentage of people who continue their intellectual and emotional development past adolescence has always been small. It could be that in some ways this phenomenon is more apparent today due to social media. But that doesn't mean that the rate of infantilization among adults has increased.