http://tbwanyplanning.tumblr.com/
Who are Emerging Adults? Those 18-30s who are in limbo between adult responsibility and autonomy and parental dependency. Have a job but still get $ from parents. Unemployed after college and still living with parents but “trying to find their calling”. Working a temporary job while they “figure it out”.
http://tbwanyplanning.tumblr.com/
1. EMERGING
ADULTHOOD
A NEW LIFE STAGE FOR
FIRST WORLD BRANDS
Friday, February 3, 12
2. NEW LIFESTAGE DISCOVERED: EMERGING ADULTS
Defined by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett,
psychology professor at Clark
University in the 2000s
Age: 18-30
Young Adults who are in limbo between
adult responsibility and autonomy and
parental dependency
-- Have a job but still get $ from parents
-- Unemployed after college and still living
with parents but “trying to find their calling”
-- Working a temporary job while they
“figure it out”
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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3. THE IDEA HAS BEEN GAINING TRACTION
2005
2010
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4. WHAT DO WE CALL THEM?
GENERATION D
YOUNG ADULTS
GENERATION NEXT
THE THUMB GENERATION
THE FIRST TWIXTERS
GENERATION Y
NEXTERS AND NESTERS
DIGITALS YOUTHHOOD
MILLENNIALS THRESHOLDERS
ADULTESCENCE
THE DOTCOMS 20SOMETHINGS
THE ECHO-BOOMERS KIDULTS
SOCIAL MEDIA GENERATION FLEDGLINGS
BOOMERANG KIDS THE NET GENERATION
THE DIGITAL GENERATION
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5. WH0 DECIDES WHEN AN ADULT IS AN ADULT?
brain considered mature
by NIMH
vote median age of marriage
rent a car
last years to be on
parents’ health insurance
drink legally
18 21 25 26 28 30 34
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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6. HOW DO WE DEFINE THIS PHASE OF LIFE?
YOUNG ADULT YOUTH EMERGING ADULT
Defined in the 1950s Defined in the late 1960s Defined in the 2000s
Age: 20-40 Age: Post-Adolescent Age: 18-30
A stage of human Characterized by pervasive
Young Adults who are in
ambivalence toward self and
development, faced with the society, and enormous value limbo between adult
hurdle of intimacy vs. placed on change, transformation, responsibility & autonomy and
isolation and movement parental dependency
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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7. SCIENCE SUPPORTS “EMERGING ADULTHOOD” DEFINITION
The brain keeps changing up until 25
From 18 to 25 the most significant changes happen in the prefrontal cortex
(emotional control) and cerebellum (higher order cognitive function)
The weighing of the future keeps changing into the 20s and 30s
“The prefrontal part is the part that
allows you to... answer the question
‘What am I going to do with my life?’”
Jay Giedd, Director of NIMH study
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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8. WHY SHOULD MARKETERS CARE?
DECISIONS AND ACTIONS DURING THIS
TIME HAVE LASTING RAMIFICATIONS
Most people are accumulating formal education,
meeting future spouses, making friends they will
keep, and starting on careers that will last during
this time
Adventures, experiments, travels, relationships
are embarked on with an abandon that will
not happen again
tio n enters their
On ce this genera st
b e in the highe
30s, they will index categor
y
g
cons umer spendin
e 55)
(+270 until ag
Source?
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9. EMERGING ADULT PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE
CHARACTERIZED BY
self-focus
identity exploration
a sense of possibilities
feeling in-between
instability
the “age 30 deadline”
ambivalence
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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10. SELF-FOCUS
The task of “finding yourself”
while struggling against
someone else’s idea of who you
should be requires some focus
College students today are
40% less empathetic than
those of 30 years ago, with
the numbers plunging
primarily after 2000
(NYT, 6/10)
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11. IDENTITY EXPLORATION
The curiosity and desire for self-
expression that are part of growing
up are especially strong in this
generation (Roper, 2009)
Identity issues arise in young
people’s answers to many different
questions, suggesting that these
issues are so prominent that they
pervade many areas of life (Arnett, 2006)
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12. A SENSE OF POSSIBILITIES
They have not yet
tempered their idealistic
visions of what awaits
42% say chances are
very good they will
achieve “the good life”
(Roper, 2009)
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13. FEELING IN-BETWEEN
60%
say they feel like both grown-
ups and not-quite-grown-ups at
the same time
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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14. INSTABILITY
Instability is the hallmark of Emerging
Adults’ school and work life
“Across the country, the American Dream
seems increasingly out of reach. But nowhere
is it in greater danger than among today’s
unemployed young people, who threaten to
become a lost generation” (Huffington Post, 9/24)
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15. THE AGE 30 DEADLINE
“This isn’t your mother’s 30.
Buffet-of-life choices come with the pressure to
not only have it all, but to make it perfect.
In addition to the pressure for perfection, today,
we also have the added anxiety of living our
lives more publicly than ever before.”
“People have two primary questions as they
near 30: Is this what it feels like to be an
adult? And am I normal?”
(“20-somethings -- get ready for a ‘Thrisis’” CNN 11/9/10
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16. AMBIVALENCE
They are less certain of the
future, yet also more optimistic
96% say they are very sure that
someday they will get to where
they want to be in life
But there is also a distinct sense of
dread, frustration, uncertainty, and not
quite knowing the rules of the game
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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17. NEW INSIGHTS AND EMOTIONS FOR BRANDS TO CONSIDER
{ Excitement vs. Uncertainty }
{ Wide open possibility vs. Confusion }
{ New Freedom vs. New Fears }
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18. EXCITEMENT VS. UNCERTAINTY
{ trying new things } { am i taking the right path? }
{ will i succeed? }
{ starting something new }
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19. WIDE OPEN POSSIBILITY VS. CONFUSION
{ not held back by what’s socially acceptable } { what do i want to do? }
going to scho
{ getting a job,
star ting an
ol,
}
{ how can i do it? }
adventure
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20. NEW FREEDOM VS. NEW FEARS
{ no one is telling me what i have to do } { am i makin g the right choic
es? }
{ will they have negative consequences? }
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21. RESTLESSNESS AND MOBILITY
They go through an average of
7 jobs in their 20s
more job changes than in any other stretch
1/3 of people in their
20s move to a new
residence every year
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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22. OPPRESSIVE IDEAS OF SUCCESS
“It’s somewhat terrifying to think about all the things I’m
TO DO! supposed to be doing in order to ‘get somewhere’
successful. When is there time to just be and enjoy?”
Volunteer Live your dreams
Take risks Think about or
go to grad school
Fall in love Be financially
responsible
Network with
Find mentors the right people
Follow your
Work passions
Maintain personal well-being,
mental health, and nutrition
“There is pressure to make decisions that will form the
foundation for the rest of your life in your 20s. It’s almost
as if having a range of limited options would be easier.”
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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24. NEW TIMETABLE OF EXPECTATIONS
Early 20s Late 20s 30s
THEIR PARENTS
EMERGING ADULTS
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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25. COMMITMENT COMING LATER AND LATER
2/3
spend at least some time living
with a romantic partner without
being married
SHIFT IN MARRIAGE AGE
1970s: 21 for women and 23 for men
2009: 26 for women and 28 for men
Anthropologically speaking cultures all over the world have
shared a common belief that marriage marks not only
the life-long joining of two people in a partnership,
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010) but also the attainment of full adult status
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26. 5 TRADITIONAL MILESTONES OF ADULTHOOD
1 Complete School 2 Leave Home 3 Financial Independence
Have a Baby 5 Get Married 4
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27. FEWER HITTING ALL 5 “TRADITIONAL” MILESTONES
65%
of men hit all 5 in
1960
33%
of men hit all 5 in
2000
77%
of women hit all 5 in
1960
<50%
of women hit all 5 in
2000
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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28. WHAT MAKES “ME” AN ADULT?
TOP 4 Accept responsibility for the Decide on personal beliefs and values
TONES
MILES 20-
consequences of my actions independently of parents or other influences
to
according
s
so mething
Become less self-oriented, develop
Financially independent from parents
greater consideration for others
(“Emerging Adulthood,” Jeffrey Jensen Arnett)
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29. ONE THEORY: BOOMERS WON’T GROW UP, SO NO ONE ELSE CAN
“ Aging in America is like LaGuardia on a Monday morning. A long line
of traffic and no one can take off!! The Boomers have the departures
”
blocked for the younger generations.
(Marian Salzman, Futurist)
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30. FAILURE TO LAUNCH
Boomers not wanting
Young Adults
to let go
not
ready to grow up
Helicopter parents problem
solve for children long past
40% when children should be
problem solving for themselves
move back home
Parents regret having jumped
with their parents into marriage or career, so
at least once they push their children to make
more considered choices
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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31. BOOMERS HOLD ON EMOTIONALLY
Helicopter parents need their center of gravity
Parents’ sense of well-being depends largely on how close they are to
their grown children and how their children are faring
-- Karen Fingerman, Developmental Psychologist, Purdue University
MORE SUPPORTIVE THAN EVER
{ 86%
month
had provided advice in the previous
Less than half had done so in 1988
{
{ 2 in 3 had given their son or daughter
practical assistance in the previous month
1 in 3 had in 1988
{
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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32. BOOMERS HOLD ON FINANCIALLY
American parents give an average of
10% of their income to their 18-21
year--old children This percentage is basically the same no
matter the family’s total income, meaning
that upper-class kids tend to get more than
working-class ones
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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33. IS THIS TEMPORARY OR A PERMANENT CHANGE?
CULTURAL, LEGITIMATE NEW
ECONOMIC vs. LIFE STAGE THAT IS
FORCES UNIVERSAL
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34. SOCIO-ECONOMIC FORCES CREATED ADOLESCENCE
Adolescence was made in America
Created by psychologist G.
Stanley Hall in 1904
With the passage of child labor
laws, children under 16 were
forced to stay in secondary
school, prolonging the period of
dependence
And now it’s global
This distinct stage is characterized by
emotional upheaval (storm and stress)
and a curve of dependency that starts
at age 11 and wanes over time
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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35. SOCIO-ECONOMIC FORCES ARE CREATING “EMERGING ADULTS”
The need for more education to survive in an
information-based economy
Fewer entry-level jobs even after all that schooling
Less rush to marry because of general acceptance
of premarital sex, cohabitation, and birth control
Women can delay pregnancy beyond their most
fertile years due to wide range of career options
and access to reproductive technology
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36. A FIRST WORLD SELF-ACTUALIZATION PHENOMENON?
Emerging Adults are at
liberty to pursue more
elevated goals since
their basic needs of
food, shelter and sex
Self- are being met
actualization
Esteem
Love/Belonging
Safety
So
urc
e:
M
as
Physiological
low
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37. WILL EMERGING ADULTHOOD GO GLOBAL?
WILL IT BE AN EXPORT ECONOMY FOR THE FIRST WORLD?
First World
Young people are allowed to forestall adult
obligations without fear of public censure - so
the rate of societal maturation can finally fall
into better sync with the maturation of the brain
“It is a double-edged sword, because on the one hand
I am so blessed with my experience and endless
options, but on the other hand, I still feel like a child.”
“Walking home, in the shoes my father bought
me, I still feel I have yet to grow up.”
Industrial and Developing World
More often, people are forced to adopt
adult responsibilities early, whether or not
their brains are ready. Is this changing?
(“WHAT IS IT ABOUT 20-SOMETHINGS?” NYT 2010)
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39. YOUNG ADULTS
Defined by Erik Erikson in 1950
as a stage of human development
in Childhood and Society
Age: 20-40
The primary conflict is intimacy
vs. isolation
During this stage, Young Adults
decide whether to commit to a
lifelong intimate relationship and
choose the person to commit to
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40. YOUTH
Defined by Yale psychologist
Kenneth Keniston in the late
1960s
Age: Post-Adolescent
Post-adolescents who have not settled questions
whose answers once defined adulthood:
questions of relationship to the existing society,
vocation, social role and lifestyle.
Characterized by pervasive ambivalence
toward self and society, and enormous value
placed on change, transformation, and
movement
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