As less young people meet major economic milestones such as moving out and getting married, the concept of adulthood is changing.

Fewer young adults are achieving economic and family milestones typically associated with adulthood, according to a recent working paper from the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to the working paper, “Changes in Milestones of Adulthood,” almost half of all young adults in 1975 had reached four milestones associated with adulthood: moving out of one’s parents’ home, getting a job, getting married and having a child.

Five decades on, that progression has changed dramatically. The share of young adults that have followed the traditional pathway to adulthood has dropped to less than a quarter, according to the paper.

  • Hobo@lemmy.world
    6·
    14 hours ago

    Completing education is the 5th. From the census study linked in the article

    …reaching five milestones of adulthood: living away from their parents, completing their education, labor force participation, marrying, and living with a child.

    They also mention it later in the article:

    The completion of education, another marker of adulthood, has overshadowed other milestones over the years as an increasing number of young adults enroll in college, according to the paper.