A pastor at our church wrote a book called “The Facebook Generation”. Back in Jesus’ time people knew who they were because they were surrounded by family with little to no outside influence. So the kids were adults at the age of 12 or whatever.
1400’s or whenever - more people in cities with more influences. Adult age crept up a bit as it was a bit more difficult for to figure out “who they were”. Of course most people in the town would have the same religion and moral beliefs. But maybe they could be a butcher instead of a farmer?
With the age of the internet there are SO many outside influences that disrupt the family sphere. Even when we were raising our kids we almost always had dinner together, talked about school (and where the school was wrong in many cases), helped with homework, etc. Family outings with no phones, etc.
But society (with the internet playing a huge part imho) still has influenced our kids for the worse in some cases.
I agree that the modern world has so much turmoil that its easy for people to feel completely adrift. And don’t get me started on the internet’s effects on one’s children!
However, I still don’t think the author made a real case for “identity politics,” specifically, as a direct result of family breakdown. For one thing, the concept is strongest in universities, especially elite universities, where the students are most likely to come from intact families.
Maybe she goes into it more successfully in the book, which isn’t in my local library yet: I keep checking the catalog!