A long New York Times piece we linked to last week made the case that Millennials in their 20s are actually in a novel life stage, “emerging adulthood”, that defines and explains their reluctance to achieve the milestones of adulthood.

A rejoinder this week in The Atlantic by Derek Thompson points out a more concrete cause for Millennials’ seemingly delayed development: economics.  For starters, it’s well known that Millennials have been hardest hit by the recession – only 40% of adult Millennials have full time jobs.  Some of them might like to start a career if only they could.

What’s more, Thompson argues, is that the economics of being a 20-something have changed over the last few decades.  Student debt has increased substantially, more than doubling in 10 years to an average of over $17,000.  Overall, student debt recently surpassed credit card debt. Moreover, the trend in the workforce toward the use of “consultants” (contract employees without benefits) grew by 25% over the same period, discouraging traditional career paths. Finally he points out that changes in the economy and society have drawn many more women into college, delaying marriage and childbearing.  Women were a third of college students in 1970; today they are a majority.

He concludes by posing the question: Say you are a 20-something.  You have $15-20 thousand in student debt and can’t find a job with benefits.  Mom and dad are part of the most affluent generation in history and, unlike previous generations, you don’t hate them.  Why wouldn’t you live at home?

 http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/08/whats-really-the-matter-with-20-somethings/61938/

One of the paradoxes of Generation X is that it is more conservative in many ways than the generations before and after it.  Although Gen Xers were once tagged as unconventional “slackers” without direction or core values and came of age in a time of economic and cultural turmoil, in recent surveys they identify themselves as more conservative than Baby Boomers on many issues.  In fact, in this year’s Pew Center Millennial study, they were the only generation to list “conservative and traditional” among their top qualities.

Now, a new survey in The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion shows that Generation X is significantly more loyal to its religion than either Baby Boomers or Millennials.  Over the last four decades, Boomers have been 40-50% more likely than Gen Xers to drop their religious affiliations.  Researchers think this might be attributable to what they call “the 1960s” effect – that is, they became adults at a time when all authority was being questioned.  As for the Xer’s steadfastness in religion, the authors speculate the expansion of the “religious marketplace” has given their generation more choices and outlets to express their faith and thus kept more of them involved.

The overall picture for religious affiliation is one of decline.  The number of Americans with no religious affiliation doubled in the 1990s, a trend that has continued in the last decade. 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=generation-x-more-loyal-to-religion-10-08-28

A recent survey by the Pew Center confirms a trend we’ve begun to notice: Baby Boomers are the fastest growing generational segment using Facebook and other social networks.  An update of their 2009 survey on generational internet use shows that the percentage of Baby Boomers using social sites has nearly doubled in a little more than a year.  Now, nearly half of all Boomers online report using social networks, compared to just a quarter last year.  Use of social networks among online Matures has also doubled, and now stands at 26%.  Twitter and other status update sites have grown in use, too, to more than 10% of online Boomers.

Millennials continue to the heaviest users of social media and networking (86%) followed by Generation X (61%).  Gen X continues to be the most likely generation to bank online and, along with Boomers, the most likely to use email and visit news sites.

The authors of the survey offer some possible explanations for the rapid growth of social sites among Boomers. To begin with, one the principal uses of social networking has been for users to reconnect with people from their pasts.  Boomers are simply more likely to have old friends to catch up with, especially as they move into new careers or retirement.  They also suggest that Boomers enjoy the intergenerational nature of social networks, giving them a chance to connect with children, grandchildren, and younger relatives and to be more aware of their daily lives. 

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1711/older-adults-social-networking-facebook-twitter

We were asked to submit an article for TrainingIndustry.com about the generational differences and how that may impact teachers and trainers.  You can read the resulting report here - lots of good information:

http://www.trainingindustry.com/articles/employee-training-and-development-across-the-generations.aspx

All the data that we’ve looked at since the 2008 financial crisis have shown that the Baby Boomers were the hardest hit generation in terms of their investments and retirement savings.  Now economists worry that Boomers are being forced to cut back spending, further slowing the economic recovery. A recent Wall Street Jounal report looks at recent trends in retiree spending combined with Boomer retirement data and sees trouble ahead

"We will have to learn to make do with a lot less in material things," says one Boomer who lost about 40% of his retirement savings and half the value of his house.  If current projections are correct, about 50-60% of near-future retirees will fall short of basic expenses.  Indeed, says a retirement savings researcher, “There are going to be many luxury items that will simply have to be eliminated,” for retirees to make ends meet.

As of the most recent survey, retirees are already cutting back expenses in every category except health and gasoline.  If Boomers continue that trend, or tighten even further, that will be a major drag on the economy, which is dependent on liberal consumer spending.  One way to forestall that drag would be for many Boomers to continue working (and spending) into retirement age.  However, the employment outlook has been less than rosy, too.  Ironically, then, a generation that knew only robust economic growth through most its life may experience the opposite in the retirement years.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703321004575427881929070948.html#articleTabs%3Darticle