Last year a Newsweek article argued that males of Generation 'Y' – born in the 1980s - sought arrested development. Published on August 30th 2008, Tony Dokoupil stated that the 'delayed adulthood' of men in their twenties is synonymous with a prolonged adolescence. Ignoring conventional markers of adulthood such as leaving their parents' house and marriage, this generation spends their third decade engaged in teenage debauches. They wallow in their own crapulence.
Elsewhere, Albert Mohler has speculated on the implications for society of this tendency. His article of April 19th 2005 entitled 'The Generation That Won't Grow Up' argues that the disintegration of society's moral fibre is exacerbated by these twenty-somethings. Though not exclusively charging males with this abandonment of the 'adult experience,' he calls it 'self-indulgence.' Like Newsweek then, he considers Generation 'Y' chiefly responsible for its own actions.
The Context of Generation Y
Tellingly though, both articles depend on anecdote to support their assertions, with little investigation of the contexts responsible for this 'young adulthood.' Generation Y may be 'self-involved,' but they have not emerged from a vacuum. In a November 18th 2008 post on 'The Transitional Parent,' Laura Schildkraut points to a coddling tendency among parents, perhaps responsible for the adolescent behaviour of their adult children. Generation Y-ers are not pushed to maturity.
Further, Pascale Beaupré writes in 'Canadian Social Trends' on 21st November 2008 of the importance of economic factors in the 'young adulthood' of twenty-somethings. Known as the 'boomerang generation' for their tendency to repeatedly return home, the percentage of young adults living with their parents doubled in the period 1981 to 2001 from 12% to 24%. This is because a need for higher skilled workers has increased the proportion of people staying in education.
In other words, though Newsweek and Albert Mohler include anecdotes by Generation Y-ers representing themselves as 'less grown up' than the young adults of earlier generations, their attitudes are not responsible for these tendencies, but are the consequence of the style and circumstances of their upbringing. Mohler represents members of Generation Y as abandoning society. In fact, if twenty-somethings incline to do so it is owing to the parenting of Mohler's generation.
On July 1st 2001 The New York Times included an article about the Japanese phenomenon of parasaito shinguru. This concerns the young women of the country who, though in full-time employment, live with their parents. Their incomes are fully expendable, and they have no ambitions either to get married or launch themselves on the property ladder. If Albert Mohler predicts an apocalypse stemming from the 'betrayal' of Generation Y, it will possibly take this format.
The Behaviour of Young Adults
Fortunately though, the statistical evidence that exists about the behaviour of Generation Y indicates that Mohler is entirely wrong in his estimation of young adults. Like Newsweek he conflates delayed adulthood with an extension of adolescence, positing that because twenty-somethings are getting married later they must be prolonging the excesses of their second decade. He hence creates a dichotomy of adulthood and adolescence that in fact misrepresents reality.
Instead, evidence suggests that the twenties are emerging as a distinct stage of life. Writing in 'Delayed Adulthood, Delayed Desistance,' published on July 23rd 2009, Sarah R. Hayford et al. discover that the absence of conventional markers of 'adulthood' in Generation Y-ers is not synonymous with an extension of the markers of youthful excess. Though unable to establish reasons for this the evidence is clear: young adults are not would-be Peter Pans but occupy a transition stage.
The Benefits of Young Adulthood
So what are the characteristics of this stage? Obviously some uncertainty among the adults themselves, as well as the parents who house them. Yet Laura Schildkraut notes that closer relationships will develop between parents and their grown children, owing to their shared proximity. In Singapore this situation is culturally advocated, in order that adult children will support their parents post-retirement; a similar trend among Generation Y-ers could only be positive.
Further, the rates of higher education among Generation Y-ers prevalent because of economic demand itself has benefits. In September, 2004 the Current Population Survey discovered that graduates were three times more likely to volunteer for charitable work than those without a degree. Further, though graduates typically spend longer finding work, the roles in which they establish themselves tend to bring greater satisfaction.: they rate their happiness above gross domestic product.
Young Adulthood and the Recession
Writing on everyjoe.com, Toon van Beck of IBISWorld states that the delayed transition to adulthood owes much to market conditions. Married couples typically both work to pay the mortgage, after all: the notion of the 'sole male breadwinner' has collapsed as women seek employment to keep up their economic status. But for 'young adults' who're umarried, this is impossible: house prices force young professionals to stay at home while climbing the career ladder.
The recession is set to exacerbate this. Reports are rife of people even into their thirties being forced back to their parents, owing to redundancy. But crucially, this doesn't mean young professionals are seeking to replicate the trends of 'parasite singles' in Japan, by setting up permanently back home. In an article for MPR News published on November 9th 2009, Jessica Mador notes that young adults are largely as displeased about their forced dependence as their parents.
In short, reports of a 'generation that won't grow up' are alarmist, and misrepresent both the prevalent experience of Generation Y-ers and their intentions. Higher rates of education have produced a generation given to contemplation, more inclined to make sure the path they set themselves is correct than give in to societal expectations. Doubtless a number of young adults exploit this situation, finding in the release from immediate responsibilities an excuse to do nothing. Yet for others, using their twenties as a 'transition stage' can benefit themselves and society.
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