The concept of youthful maximalism among boys and girls

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Youthful maximalism

- an extremely dangerous disease that, for natural reasons, affects the consciousness of human larvae at their preimaginal stage of development. In some cases, it can go into a chronic stage of psychological change and accompany the patient for many, many years. In a particularly advanced case, it leads to disability or obvious death, to thunderous applause.

Youthful maximalism arises as a result of the collision of a stupid but vigorous growing organism with this surrounding reality of yours. The unfortunate young underdeveloped brain, fueled by a hormonal boom, is not yet able to recognize more than two shades of any phenomenon, so it divides everything only into black and white, while being color blind. The general rule is the more radical the better.

[edit] Radicalism of thought

The first and main distinguishing feature of youthful maximalism is the desire for a radical refutation of any social dogma, almost always in the format of a demonstrative opposition of one’s own picture of the world to the generally accepted one. Not everyone who opposes generally accepted paradigms suffers from youthful maximalism, however, in the case of the subject, the opposition itself becomes an end in itself and a matter of the principle “either me or them,” even if most people are quite capable of achieving a compromise with this. Arguments with such people often become endless with everything not because of their radicalism, but because even an informal loss of an argument is perceived as a collapse of one’s radical ideals. All or nothing, yeah.

It is from teenagers and young people with youthful maximalism that those very classical radicals turn out, who try, and fuck up others with this, to achieve the maximum edge of confrontation with anything. Trans activists who are trying to deny the very concept of gender, metalheads and punks who bring the heaviness and non-mainstream nature of music to such a state that it is no longer possible to listen to even savvy people, oppositionists who, in the fight against the regime, border on wanting to destroy everything Russian, or vice versa, patriots, who consider the use of non-Russian words to be a betrayal of the Motherland. All this begins precisely in late adolescence, when the child begins to form his first views and, in his desire to establish his identity, he simply takes them to the point of absurdity.

However, you should not think that youthful maximalism is always a direct opposition to the surrounding world. In people with too strong a herd feeling, the JM takes on a peculiar form, which among older people is usually called “protection” or “border protection.” Such people bring to maximum radicalism not the ideas opposing dogmas, but the dogmas themselves. Such a teenager can be terribly annoyed by everyone who does something “not according to the rules,” for example, dressing “unmanly” or even wearing a red briefcase instead of a black one.

General signs of youthful maximalism

The manifestations and direction of youthful maximalism are specific at different ages. But what is common to all categories of people experiencing a similar state boils down to the following manifestations:

• selfishness;
• rejection of criticism and hostility towards it;
• nihilism;
• categoricalness.

Youthful maximalism is characterized by the expression of constant discontent. You are depressed by your own wardrobe, the decor in the room, the color of the tiles in the bathroom, “extra” school items, and more.

[edit] Special patients

Those who carried maximalism into adulthood, but learned to subtly disguise it, deserve special words. They are distinguished by an arrogantly patronizing tone, as well as a demonstrative lack of emotion, which they practice portraying in front of the mirror. They do not advertise their illness, but on the contrary, they can pretend that any hint of pathos causes persistent disgust in them (mixed with shame for the “Aria” robe and Perumov, who was well-read in childhood).

In fact, it's just the opposite. Emotions simply boil inside the specimens, so much so that logic is cut out as unnecessary. Instead of correct argumentation, they are content with amorphous demagogic posts, where they can pass off synonymy as a cause-and-effect relationship or even use “argumentation to argumentation.” Most often - to turn the tables and call your opponents maximalists, without leaving guru mode. It is impossible to calmly analyze the situation; too much effort is spent trying to hide the violent emotional outburst. And in general, refusing an opinion is against the rules of paladins.

A typical example is many science freaks. They do not step out of the role of “reasonable educators,” but their discoveries do not stand the test of elementary logic, which indicates a lack of it in patients. But there are plenty of black and white teenage emotions. Those who bring criticism are not an illusory criminal group, “official science” is a dirty curse, whoever is not with them is against them, but they made a Great Discovery

in the history of human civilization, in the history of the existence of Reason on Earth.

Some researchers consider youthful maximalism to be part of the chain “childhood schizophrenia → youthful maximalism → midlife crisis → senile insanity.”

Consequences

Psychology contains the final stages of youthful maximalism when refusing help:

• Joining a sect. During adolescence or with severe emotional overload, a child may be under the influence of false preachers. A similar picture often occurs when a child has serious problems in the family or in communicating with peers.
• Antisocial behavior. Wanting to prove their fearlessness, teenagers go beyond the law. Boys who are in bad company are asked to undergo an initiation rite, where they are required to commit theft or beat someone up and the like.
• Drug addiction and substance abuse. Usually begins with simply smoking weed or snorting glue in a plastic bag, later moving on to harder drugs. This happens due to an unformed psyche, since curiosity still takes over the mind. Children often follow the proposed persuasion to get pleasure.
• Dysmorphophobia. The child is prone to dissatisfaction with his appearance and tries to eliminate flaws in various ways. Girls are prone to excessive dieting, which results in anorexia. Later they become interested in plastic surgery. Guys resort to getting tattoos or piercings.
• Alcoholism. The first attempts at alcohol at a young age occur out of curiosity or argument. Curiosity arises from frequent observation of adults or, perhaps, children’s peers drinking alcoholic beverages. In order to keep up with everyone else, the child also begins to try alcohol.

[edit] On the Internet

Online subject matter is mainly found in places where you can discuss something or share something with someone. This is why any resources and parties that are popular among young people acquire a reputation as places filled with toxic junkies. They differ, as a rule, only in the “trend” of children with youthful maximalism, which was best strengthened there. Tumblr, and subsequently Twitter, became a place for politically active children, Tik Tok for the most obsessed with celebrities, Discord and Telegram sheltered the so-called “edge” teenagers, and so on. To create such a spherical image of a “spherical teenager with youthful maximalism on the Internet” would be as “easy” as trying to describe any teenager on the Internet, so we will only mention general characteristics.

• The so-called “ironic” nickname a la “Sly Cucumber” or “Fighting Lesbian”, like bae, emphasizing a sarcastic and open-minded attitude to life.
• A sarcastic but at the same time enthusiastic description of one’s occupation and/or personality. Children and people with JM in general really like sarcasticness, since superficial people think that it simultaneously softens their apparent ego and at the same time wins them over.
• Political views are necessarily indicated, which in fact are only a strong exaggeration of the social sympathies of the subject. For example, a teenager who is annoyed by rich people will write that he is a communist. Due to youthful maximalism, in a real political dispute, a teenager will never say that he was a little hasty, so any, even the most strained, marking of himself will be defended with the fanaticism of a passion-bearer.
• Your favorite music must be something “totally radical” or at least something that supports the FWB. For guys it will be hard and heavy music with a tendency to get heavier, for girls it will be some kind of pop or pop-rock performer who loves to sing about “teen spirit” and the fight against prejudice. Due to their age, teenagers are not yet ready for hipster genres, but in both sexes one can already notice rap with the general content “there are all morons around, I’m the only smart one.”
• A classic detector of youthful maximalism for the owner of a page is finding content in his favorite films and TV shows about how a teenager saves the whole world or fights a harsh environment. If up to this point you might have thought that you were simply dealing with a larva of a tall tale, then the mention of such icons as Code Geass, Arcane, Fight Club, Jujutsu Kaisen, Sid and Nancy, Elfen Lied, Joker or any Tim Burtan/Nolan/Darenne film Arafnovski is almost guaranteed to symbolize that this is a teenager with youthful maximalism.
• He must have at least one group, film, game or show that he considers an OBJECTIVE masterpiece and is ready to naturally lash out at those who disagree with it. Some popular and really good shows can have an army of toxic fans with youthful maximalism.
• He jerks off very much to the words best, first, most, top, etc. I am ready to admit that some groups or films have equal or similar merit in something, which is usually considered only as a way to end a long and heated debate about tastes.
• He definitely has a very important opinion on the “bed” issue, naturally full of contradictions and radical judgments. The most common “any criticism of LGBT people is homophobia/transphobia, period!” or gays should engage in gay activities behind the closed doors of their bedrooms, otherwise it is propaganda of homosexuality!” In general, as a rule, carriers of youthful maximalism with a penchant for the gay theme are usually the most malicious and remain unbearable even in adult life, with conditional adequacy beyond “is gayness good or bad?”
• He is a member of some fashionable youth subculture and Internet communities associated with it, or, conversely, he despises everyone who does this. This is especially true for anime fans, rockers, cappers and especially gamers.

[edit] In silence

Teenagers are the target audience for “adventure” anime. And most of the series are based on manga, which is created by the same otaku - single artists with an ambiguous social status and a rich escapist imagination, that is, great experts in teenage complexes. As a result, the main characters are almost always mortally ill with youthful maximalism. Ordinary Japanese schoolboys and schoolgirls strive to save the world or, on the contrary, “bring revolution there,” and on the way to their goal they easily defeat more experienced opponents. This is true for Death Note,

and
Code Geass
, as well as
Sailor Moon
, where many started.

IRL here is the same problem that faced the storytellers of the Stone Age. A teenager is interested in a story where the main character is a teenager. And he must be as similar as possible to the consumer so that he will believe it. But to make it interesting, this teenager must constantly experience incredible adventures and defeat powerful enemies. And if the creator of an adult action movie can explain the toughness of a seemingly ordinary protagonist by his heroic past (“the best shooter in the state, who is hiding under an assumed name,” “a high-class killer who has retired,” “special forces veteran,” “professional intelligence officer”), then a teenager has to either be given such a cool guy or a kawaii loli with superpowers as a partner, or explain that he is actually the Chosen One, the Heir, the Holder of the Gift, etc. Of course, there are exceptions in art, but the same former child soldier Sagara from Full Metal Panic is perceived so comically because he looks like a teenager and behaves like a stupid officer who does everything in the world the army way.

With all this, even anime and the culture associated with it quietly make fun of youthful maximalism with the help of such a local meme as “chunibyo”, aka “eighth-grader syndrome” - a collective concept that unites geeks, role-players and others who are especially immersed in the world of fantasy from 14 years old. The idea is actually simple: just at this age, every schoolchild begins to feel a hormonal explosion and a strong desire to somehow stand out and assert themselves. Someone goes in for sports or studies science, someone goes into creativity or tries to fuck someone/be fucked by someone as quickly as possible. And some, due to limited conditions and low self-esteem, withdraw into themselves and try to look like a tragic Byronic hero, a warrior with non-violent abilities, or a discoverer of unknown astral anals. This term is actually about them. The pretentious clichés of teenage anime described above and the symptoms of chunibyo are often indistinguishable and even regularly influence each other, which cannot but hint.

Features of the middle phase

15-18 years old. Relationships come to the fore. Under the control of hormones, for the first time you experience so acutely falling in love, attraction, resentment for unrequited feelings, anger for another girl’s claims to the object of your sighs.

According to the “rules” of youthful maximalism, the entire spectrum of emotions is expressed brightly, unrestrained, almost uncontrollably. Unfortunately, this dangerous phase can be accompanied by violent attempts to prove one’s rightness and win reciprocal sympathy. From here, skirmishes, sharp verbal skirmishes and other forms of achieving one’s own goal are possible.

[edit] And finally

There is an opinion that youthful maximalism, as a hormonal phenomenon, cannot be avoided. You can suppress it, try to control it if the subject is concerned about it, but in the vast majority of cases it is important for them to get over the disease and move on time to the next stage, an objective, comprehensive perception of reality.

The problem is that a teenager is short-tempered by default. AT 15 YEARS OLD I'M AT THE MAXIMUM, BLZHAD! And you can’t do anything about it: the body is preparing to become autonomous from its parents, and the danger detectors are turned up to maximum. Those who are stupid were eaten by tigers back in the Stone Age, and those who are stupid now will live with their mother until they are 40. Over time, of course, the temper goes away because the person learns to recognize a false alarm. Even the science of criminology confirms: if a person did not enter the zone from 15 to 28 years old, then most likely he will never enter again.

But of course, it is a person in such a state who imagines the favorite food for green fauna. It's very easy to get a temper tantrum going, and they spew out tons of food in the process. And if you remember that many retain this cute trait until old age...

It is often found in fights between fully grown people: if a person has firm confidence in something, he will immediately be reproached for youthful maximalism. Why sometimes you want to take it and fuck it.

Psychologist's advice

Parents should pay attention to these recommendations so that their child matures and maintains a healthy psyche.

Provocation

If a child thinks that peers are unworthy of attention, you should not contradict him. After his similar thoughts, protest to the child when communicating with his friends, because following his thoughts, they are unworthy of communicating with him. The teenager will face internal protest and will want to go against the judgment of his parents. As a result, communication with peers will resume.

Formation of critical thinking

When you have a healthy assessment of your own strengths, you do not impose your own conclusions. Parents are tasked with influencing the development of independent analysis of their child’s own actions, without paying attention to other people’s opinions.

On the contrary

Stop coddling your child and have a frank and adult conversation. He needs to understand that you consider him an adult, and being an adult means having obligations that require fulfillment.

Psychological impact

If you discover that your child is not in the best company, you should resort to the following actions. The example is controversial, but in some cases it works. When you go to an interesting and entertaining place with the whole family, you leave the rebel at home. The argument is that he is employed in a new company and maintains other interests.

[edit] Alternative opinion

This opinion was written by one of the patients discussed in the article. Plus, it is flavored with some good schizophasia. Enjoy.

In fact, psychology, of which this term is a part, is not a science at all. Science, which distinguishes man as a social animal without the participation in his life of objectively existing matters such as weather elements, celestial bodies and others like him, has no right to be called science in view of the study of what cannot be detected, and, as we remember, the subject of the study of psychology is psyche, that is, soul, which a person does not have, but he has higher nervous activity, like the most developed organism among all existing on the planet.

Based on the assertion that psychology is not a science, youthful maximalism is the same empty and pseudoscientific (more precisely, even pseudoscientific) definition as, for example, the Age of Aquarius and other anti-scientific crap published by freaks from the world of the only industry that helps humanity in objective knowledge of the world .

The manifestation of emotions is characteristic of any person, and if we talk about the correct sciences that influence the formation of human thinking objectively (more precisely, their areas that these sciences study), then it would be advisable to recall logic, genetics and medicine, since logic is responsible for the search for correct thinking, genetics - for the influence of genes obtained during the formation of the fetus with behavioral patterns and mechanisms inherited from different generations of different sexes, starting with the father, and cognitive neurobiology studies mental operations and cognitive processes from a medical point of view, for example.

The end is a little predictable: everyone who uses this crap cliche should be sent to hell with a blow to the fuck with a volume of biology (including scientific treatises and monographs of cognitive neurobiology), genetics with Mendel’s first law and not only with its presence and participation in the growth of a human fetus from an embryo , as well as many, many, many different works and scientific theories, confirmed and tested by time and associated not only with people as just one of the types of living beings on the planet, but also with all other nature, taken into the arms and not yet thrown away in the trash by numerous media corporations and the owners and their flock who are fattening on their profits.

The goals of maximalism at the final stage

From 18 to 22 years old. At this age, you already have some life experience and can boast of the cones you have previously filled. The game of winning the heart of the “ideal guy” interests you less. The subsiding hormonal boom helps to establish a more or less stable order in thoughts, but the maximalism inherent in this age dictates its thoughts: if it’s a job, then the coolest one, if it’s a house, then a luxurious penthouse, and so on.

Photo by Kyle Roxas from Pexels