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The historical and social developments experienced by young adults over recent decades have been extensive, with changes affecting cultures on both a micro and macro level; however, the shift in the social norms of young adulthood is one of the greatest. The external factors this generation of young adults is subjected to have affected how our lives are constructed. In which the supposed “boomerang kids” (Gee, Mitchell, Wister 1997) struggle to find the independence their modern predecessors fell into, we must look to the individual choices, social pressures, and economic struggle that have prolonged this cohort’s route to self-sufficiency, in comparison to the generations of recent decades. It seems young adults are taking on the same responsibilities and social roles as their grandparents for an extended period. Young adulthood in an orthodox sense is defined through 5 key stages; completing school, leaving the family home, joining the workforce, romantic partnership, and parenthood. However, these traditional milestones are becoming more unpredictable, due to the now, more varied timing and sequencing that these actions are completed (Settersten and Ray, 2010). Young adults are taking more time to undertake these milestones when compared to the generation of our great-grandparents. This is due to factors such as education, financial independence, and the changes in the formation of the family unit. In this essay, I will be exploring how these aspects of new adulthood have changed the concept of young adulthood over recent decades.
As mentioned previously, the idea of the ‘boomerang’ generation defines this cohort of upcoming adults; it depicts a generation who leave their childhood home to live independently and subsequently come back to reside with their parents (Stone et al. 2013). This could be connected to the difficulties young adults experience in becoming financially independent, which is rooted in the international economic situation they were born into, as well as government involvement in how we live our lives. An example of this is the rise in legal school leaving age in the UK; where during the generation of the ‘baby boomers’- were able to leave education at 15, as of the 21st century this age had risen to 18. This caused a lengthening of the time it takes for young adults to join the workforce and ultimately find financial independence. This has led to parents having an increased long-term involvement in their child’s life when compared to parents of the past.
Young people are taking longer to become financially independent, as their schoolwork pathways are becoming more complex (Settersten and Ray, 2010). The recent economic situation which can be shown through historical events such as the financial crisis which developed with remarkable speed during the late summer of 2008 (Kotz 2009) is worse than that of recent decades. This economic decline has drastically changed how young adults plan for their future career prospects. A recent development is the considerable growth of young adults who choose to progress into further education, not just in the UK but across the world; according to data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, 59% of young adults enroll in a two or four-year college program before age 25 (Payne 2012). A lot of this growth can be attributed to the change in work style in the last 60 years, for example, the move from blue to white-collar work. Statistics suggest that there has been a 35% increase in gross domestic product coming from the service sector, with it now being responsible for 79% of the UK economy (ONS 2016). The growth in the cost of living has also meant that most young people need a higher-paying job to enter enhanced aspects of adulthood, such as the property ladder. This has led to a much more competitive job market; where young adults must prove their worth to prospective employers against other applicants. Although not exclusive, most higher-paying jobs require a degree, therefore limiting young adults’ choices of whether or not to enroll in further education. So, in contrast to our grandparents being able to leave schooling early and come across a secure job with relative ease, now more young people are attempting to attain a higher standard of education to improve employment prospects in their future.
Another element that factors into the differences between young adulthood in recent decades is the change in family formation. Partnership and parenting would be considered the roots of the creation of the family unit (Bonnie et al.2015). A few generations ago a partnership would have been defined mostly in a formal sense through the institution of marriage, however recently a partnership can be defined through cohabitation, marriage, or even co-parenthood. So, it seems that young people are taking more time to commit to a legal partnership, alternatively supporting the informal route. Statistics show that the proportion of young adults who have cohabited by the age of 25 (47%) is higher than the proportion who have married (27%) (Payne 2011). This informal route has created a widespread norm of informal partnership across most Western societies, with social behavior evoking social change. Where 60 years ago it would have been considered improper to cohabit with someone before marriage, now it is considered peculiar for marriage to precede cohabitation. We can see a delay in the path to family formation, these longer periods in between steps will therefore push back other stages such as marriage and parenthood.
Parenthood is another area that has been affected by the delay in life stages for young adults. With a rise in couples conceiving children out of wedlock, this is a clear stark contrast to the generations before. Even when considering the factors that caused our grandparents’ cohort to have a rise in children being born before marriage, such as legalized contraception, abortion laws, and the sexual revolution of the 60s; the growth between now and then remains vast. As of 2017 48.1% of babies were born outside of a legal partnership and 67.3% of births have been registered to cohabiting couples. These statistics coincide with the increases in the number of couples cohabiting rather than entering marriage or a civil partnership (Martin 2017). There is also a clear change in not just the way that people decide to raise their children but in what age they decide to have them. The median age for first-time parents in 2017 was 30.5 for mothers and 33 for fathers. This is a 7-year increase from that of the 1960s with the average age for first-time mothers being 23.7 (ONS 2017). This can be due to reasons such as changes in social views; for example, when compared to the ‘baby boomer’ generation the social views towards women and the workforce have changed massively. Women are more likely to be focused on gaining achievements and careers than ever before, which in turn can lead to a later entry into the more traditional family roles they were once aimed for.
Overall it seems that the social and historical changes that have changed the lives of young adults have a distinct domino effect. The change in economic comfortability leads to both a prolonged life at home and a lag in leaving education which links to delayed entry to the job market. This then also affects a young adult’s ability to have the chance to settle down with a partner and think about parenthood. A combination of the economic situation and progress in social stigma has meant that the life stages of young adults in the 21st century are extensively different from those of the decades before. These delays in life stages that universally would be used to define adulthood, will inevitably lead to a pushback back the biological definition of young adulthood.
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