Here’s a little something we’ve been giving a little thought lately: nowadays, our society seems to be full of adulescents trapped in a limbo between childhood and adulthood. They have been dubbed the ‘Peter Pan Generation’. Who are they? Typically men between their late 20s and late 30s, smart, educated and professionally successful.

Don’t tell us you don’t know any. We definitely know some.

They hide behind the “I’m not ready for a relationship yet” or “It’s not you, it’s me”, “You’re fantastic but I have issues to fall in love” BS. Yeah, right. Of course, this won’t come out in the very early stages of your new relationship. Just to make sure you bluntly get down from that cloud 9 you happily climbed on.

Living in a sort of denial, these people refuse to grow up and prefer to escape marriage, children and any other type of commitment. When asked what their projects are (even for next month, for Tink’s sake), they answer in bewilderment “I dunno, I’ll see, there’s plenty of time for that later”. They even present it as a sort of “carpe diem” philosophy, which, we’re sorry to say, is NOT. 

So what do they do instead? Work-travel-party like there is no tomorrow. 

Let’s be honest guys: scenes like “LOLing vampires and chillaxin’ over Quidditch”, as Hannah Betts of The Guardian wittily describes, are not exactly a turn on. And it’s actually freaking frustrating. We can’t help but wonder why.

The Peter Pan Generation is spoilt for choice. The world is their oyster.
With ever more single children, many parents treat their trophy kids as if they were the most absolutely special thing in Neverland and, emboldened with a sense of entitlement and a king-size ego, Peter Pans have nothing but great expectations. Overwhelmed by the ginormous choice in front of them, them narcissistic creatures are bitten by self-doubt and depressed.

It’s like they’re in a supermarket aisle, in the cookie section and there are only so many cookies one can eat. So, comes the question: which cookies will they choose and, what if the others are better? Even if they pick a damn good cookie, how could they be sure that the next one wouldn’t be even better?
Peter Pans assure us that their immature behaviour is a deliberate carefree lifestyle choice, but what if it was all fear?
With a gloomy economic conjuncture, the soaring prices of education and housing, the exacerbated global competition and what not, Peter Pans are terrified of taking risks.
Gosh, it seems they’re even scared of doing their own laundry! With nesting mothers cooking and ironing for them, modern Wendys don’t seem to match their awesomeness’ height. Soon men clothing labels will be:
Let’s talk about dating and the whole Peter Pan approach to relationships. Have dinners and mojitos become so expensive that they don’t want to spend the buck on unnecessary dates?
Have careers become so important that committing in a relationship is perceived rather as a burden impairing their edge?

Or is their heart so wasted? Is the thought of taking risks really so unbearable? Is getting out of your comfort zone so frightening?

Or are they too busy playing with Tinker Bell that they overlook the caring Wendy? Or are we simply too lousy at Playstation?

This is, of course, just one side of the matter. We, the Wendys of this world can’t help but wonder when is Peter going to take a grow-the-f..k-up cup of’ tea.

So how do you handle a Peter Pan specimen when you meet one? Well, ladies, most of the times, we’re afraid you don’t. First of all, unfortunately, there is no warning sign in the beginning. A Peter Pan can only be identified in time. You might even be impressed by his professional ambition, by his frequent travelling (attention, do not mistake it for wanderlust! This is just them escaping). If you’re lucky, you will realise it before it’s too late for your heart. 
But if not, no matter how good you are or what you do to make it work, it won’t. Even worse: the more you try the more it will fail. 

At this point, unless you have an awesomely high self-esteem, this will result in some serious questioning on your own worth. In that case, you’d better have amazing friends to surround you.
 
Hey Peter, we know you just care for fun & games. But if you come out of Neverland, we could play together.

Anita & Sara