This is a really interesting topic, and there are so many complex things to take in.
1. We're noticing that what we once thought were adults were actually adolescents. Physically and biologically, the brain doesn't mature until around the age of 25. That's just science stuff. What we thought was an adult and a 'man' or 'woman' was really still a child. And while this is less noticeable with important crazy things going on (like a family struggling and starving, economic down falls, etc.) it has always been a known issue that young 'adults' do crazy and stupid things. This has been prevalent throughout generations.
2. We were robbing people of their true range of childhood for a long time--mostly out of necessity and ignorance--and so people have to do what they can to adjust. People become harder, and stronger, and.. well.. the generations we see today really. As someone said--people were getting jobs because they NEEDED them, not because they wanted to explore something new and interesting for some independence. That sort of thing robs people of a lot. There are a lot of social implications that come with that. You get into a mentality to survive--and you maintain it because that's how you survived at all.
3. Previous generations have fought very hard for the current condition of things. It's always a fight to make the future better for the future generation. So that they can relax and go to college instead of working in a factory. So that they can afford to enjoy things robbed of those before them. Parents always struggle to give their kids the things they never had. And so, we're coming across a generation of people who are absolutely indulging in that. Adults that are absolutely okay with doing things like playing at parks in their spare time.. not walking through them, or sitting, PLAYING. Adult-themed arcades are big now. We're realizing that, in the wake of all of that hard work and dedication and all of this chaos, that we don't HAVE to give up the wonderment of imagination, and creativity, just for it's own sake. We don't have to be creative in art. We don't have to imagine in our jobs. We can just do it. Just imagine. Just be creative. We don't need to have the excuse of kids being around to do these things. I'm an adult 26 year old that has a serious goal of filling my living room with balloons to jump around in. I also have goals like completing school, or whatever, but the goals that make me happy aren't adult-like at all.
In the end, I think everyone adapts to their environment quite well. We play more because we're growing up in an overly serious world that doesn't take young adults seriously no matter what we do. We're balancing doing things that don't matter to anyone (like playing video games, and spinning in the chair at work, and acting like high schoolers passing notes to people at work), with things that make a real difference in the world (like education, and having children, and voting).
There are consequences with everything you do, both good and bad. And a lot of the bad stems in how we deal with the people around us and the respect we give others. I feel like society is in a sharp decline in things like honor and respect. People just don't take that seriously anymore--and I feel they are valuable things that helped shaped us as children, that no one is implementing now that no one can tell us what to do anymore.