-
Industry vs. Inferiority: Jenna takes an interest in and begins creating videos to post on YouTube, something she has watched older girls make a career out of.
Jenna (age 11) has watched YouTubers develop careers online. Jenna experiments with editing and shows her family the videos she creates. Her parents and sister give her positive feedback. Because Jenna’s family is supportive of her videos, Jenna continues to work at refining her filming and editing skills. In Erikson’s 4th stage, the crisis is between having the ability to do useful work, and feeling inferior upon receiving negative feedback from their attempt and interest at their work. -
Identity vs. Identity Confusion: Jenna begins to question herself and her abilities as she decides against attending college.
Jenna (18) now has a successful YouTube career. Her friends are going to college, but she doesn’t know if it's the right choice for her. She questions her identity, if she’s strong enough to move on her own, if she’s smart enough, if she’s hard working enough, and if she has enough courage to tell everyone that she isn't going.
In Erikson’s 5th stage, adolescents experience a crisis between developing and identifying a sense of self and becoming confused with who they are if they do not. -
Generativitiy vs. Stagnation: Jenna (50) has a successful career, but she didn’t end up having children as she planned. She experiences stagnation after her desire for wanting to nurture the children she doesn’t have consumes her thoughts at this period.
Jenna did not go to college, but her hard work paid off. While she had romantic partners over her life, she was too busy focusing on her career to settle down with any of them. She wanted kids, but time flew by. Instead, her career took priority.
Erikson’s 7th stage is a crisis in which adults in middle adulthood want to contribute to the bigger picture by nurturing those that will outlive them or they experience stagnation, failure to contribute to more than outside of their own lives.
