User reviews

I've just discovered this series (S2 E8 - I know, where have I been) and I find it very interesting. It takes all the data gathered by census, surveys and studies and then tries to define average Canadian living, as it is demonstrated in such things as raising kids, dating, savings and debt. I think I'll be catcing up on the episodes I've missed. Because it is a CBC (CA) production, I can watch it on their free app, GEM. I give this series a 7 (interesting) out of 10. {Documentary}

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the show. However, I question some of the information they are providing. For example, in the episode on marriage, the narrator makes the outrageous claim that "personalities change and develop up to the age of 30 at which point we become the people we are going to be for the rest of our lives." He apparently got this piece of misinformation from "psychologists" although he doesn't give any names. As someone with a psychology degree and a special interest in personality psychology, I've been researching the subject for many years and the recent research indicates that we change throughout life. In a Ted Talk video, psychologist Dan Gilbert notes that although we change more in our youth than we do in our later years, we still change (far more than we realize). But who needs to listen to a psychologist when all you have to do is take notice of the change that takes place over the years to family members and friends. Why do so many marriages end in divorce? One reason is because people often change dramatically long after they get married and certainly well beyond the age of 30! If you want further evidence that people change after 30, research "Closer to Truth" episodes about the "self" and you will find numerous comments from well-known scientists and philosophers who agree with the idea that a change of self is an ongoing process.