Per this article, Gen X and Gen Baby Boom were taught to seek independence, and not rely on parents. Today, this is reversed: Parents Are Risking Their Retirements to Support Adult Children
Is this true for Gen Z/BB and the opposite true for Gen Z?
I worked from age ten onward, left high school one year early, stayed at home for 2 years while attending a local college, then transferred to a university for my last two years. I had to pay my own tuition, fees, and books, buy a used car myself, pay for insurance, do my own maintenance- and get a full-time job immediately after graduation. A “gap year” did not exist then (I entered the job market with the largest young cohort of entering new workers in history and taking time off was not an option).
This could influence differences between the “generations” (Reminder – the generation labels were invented by Pew Research Center and even they say they are mostly meaningless – yet they have become a focal point for media reporting that is often aimed at pitting generations against one another.)
In this fertility rate chart, you can see the “baby boom” peaked in about 1959/60 – and that meant 20 years later, this large cohort was entering the job market, together, in about 1980 +/-.
From the linked article, the first Gen Z subject they profile is living at home – while spending $900/month on his sports car. Personal money is for luxuries not essential items like housing and health insurance – essentials are to be paid by someone else … it’s a topsy turvy world now.
