Jack becomes a boring grownup if he doesn’t have any fun. But nowadays, Jack or Billy is more than just that; he is a ‘kidult,’ one of the countless adults who keep the toy business viable. A study by the NPD group found that children bring in $9 billion in income for the toy sector each year, with Christmas and New Year’s being particularly prosperous periods for business.
It’s interesting how the distinction between a child and an adult is fading. Kidults spend money on model cars, action figures, Lego sets, dolls, and other toys made with kids in mind because they enjoy cartoons, superheroes, and collecting. According to reports, the epidemic is rapidly transforming adults into children even though livelihoods and careers are in danger.
Then, may it be said that the adult’s journey back to a second childhood while riding a Mattel automobile is actually a means of escapist escape to an idealised existence free of duties and obligations? It’s likely that what makes adult play enjoyable—whether it involves toys or not—is its capacity to provide relief from failure anxiety. In a society that tends to evaluate and hence categorise adults into stereotypes, the capacity to express oneself without restriction or fear must be therapeutic.
It’s important to distinguish between play and sport because the latter involves competition and consequent demands. Play, on the other hand, is more flexible. According to studies, the unstructured nature of play fosters creativity and enables both kids and adults to solve bothersome difficulties. In fact, ‘adult play’ has started to develop as a health fad, with designated ‘joy strategists’ instructing people to find the joy of play once again. Playing with toys in particular is a sensory experience that may be restorative.
However, play has a broader purpose than only providing intellectual stimulation. In a post-pandemic society characterised by isolation, loss, and despair, playing together with a Lego set or a Bagatelle board can help to reestablish social bonds. The National Institute for Play, a nonprofit, has shown that recreation between grandparents and grandkids can lessen loneliness and keep seniors’ minds engaged. This highlights a bigger issue: Shouldn’t the conventional stereotype of grownups as sombre beings bereft of playthings and enjoyment be corrected?
However, kidults also raise troubling moral issues regarding the workings of the market and commerce. Toy manufacturers are capitalising on adults’ weariness. According to a study by the NPD, more toys are being manufactured with adults as the target market rather than children. By 2020, Disney is expected to have earned $41 billion from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, exceeding the sum of all prior Marvel movies. The irony is equally clear. According to modern thought, adult play is crucial for surviving the soulless, depleting grind of modernity and capitalism. However, the kidult is probably going to continue the materialism culture, which is one of the things that leads to adult boredom and a need for toys.
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