Boomerang Generation

Boomerang Generation is one of several terms applied to the current generation of young adults in Western culture. They are so named for the frequency with which they choose to cohabitate with their parents after a brief period of living on their own - thus boomeranging back to their place of origin. This cohabitation can take many forms, ranging from situations that mirror the high dependency of pre-adulthood to highly independent, separate-household arrangements.

The term can be used to indicate only those members of this age-set that actually do return home, not the whole generation. In as much as home-leaving practices differ by economic class, the term is most meaningfully applied to members of the middle class.

Introduction

The parental expectation of having an "empty nest", traditional in the United States and some other industrialized cultures, is increasingly giving way to the reality of a "cluttered nest" or "crowded nest". The latter term was popularized by Kathleen Shaputis's 2004 book The Crowded Nest Syndrome : Surviving the Return of Adult Children, which takes a critical view of the trend.

University of Western Ontario professor Roderic Beaujot discusses the phenomenon of delayed home-leaving at length. He cites Canadian census statistics showing that, in 1981, 27.5% of Canadians aged 20–29 lived with their parents; in 2001, the figure had grown to 41%. In United States the proportion of adults ages 2 to 34 living with their parents has increased from 9% in 1960 to almost 17% in 2000. However, US census data also suggests that the rate at which adult children have been living with parents has been steady since 1981.)

The 18th through 21st birthdays of this generation coincide with the economic downturn starting with the collapse of the stock market bubble in 2000. This led to rising unemployment until 2004, the same time this generation was entering the workforce after high school or college graduation. Additionally, in the new economy, where globalisation-induced phenomena like outsourcing have eliminated many jobs, real wages have fallen over the last twenty years, and a college degree no longer ensures job stability, this is the easiest, if not only, way for these young adults to maintain the middle class lifestyle they anticipated. Additionally, with the recent economic crisis hitting much of the world, many young people were either laid off or could no longer afford to live on their own. Moving back home allows them the option of unpaid internships and additional schooling without the burden of paying rent at market rates (or paying rent at all).

This generation differs from previous ones in that many members expect to remain with their parents for some years while maintaining their own social and professional lives. Home-leaving remains a priority for most in the Boomerang Generation.

The parents of these adult children have been referred to as "babygloomers."

Trend

The phenomenon of boomeranging / delayed home-leaving has generated considerable inquiry and debate, including academic studies at reputable universities, full-length books, articles in national newspapers, and major motion pictures (cf. "See Also" and "References" below for examples of each).

Support

The primary justification for this phenomenon, as articulated in Kimberly Palmer's 2007 U.S. News & World Report article "The New Parent Trap: More Boomers Help Adult Kids out Financially", is economic. In particular, the term Boomeranger has been used to draw reference to those Gen-X’ers and Gen-Y’ers of the Boomerang Generation that have either returned to an earlier, more modest lifestyle or have simply moved back home with parents and other loved ones, in response to the 2008 economic recession. Where the young person and his/her parents can tolerate the arrangement, it provides tremendous financial relief to the young person. It may also provide non-negligible income to the parents, though in many cultures, the young person retains all or nearly all of this income for disposable income purchases.

Though inter-generational cohabitation is terra incognita for many in modern industrialized Western societies and therefore challenging, those who attempt it can benefit from the experience. The arrangement tends to force all involved to communicate and negotiate in ways they did not when the children were pre-adults. In the best case, this can lead to healthy adult relationships between parents and children.

This can benefit parents when they reach old age. In societies where it is common for children to live with their parents into adulthood, such as Asian, and Hispanic cultures, children more frequently take care of aging parents, rather than devolving the responsibility on a third party, such as a nursing home. Whether the Boomerang Generation will follow suit remains to be seen, as the older Baby Boom generation ages.

Opposition

Critics of the practice of boomeranging, such as Shaputis, worry about the negative effect this trend has on the financial and social independence of the children.

Young adults that are able to return home after an unsuccessful job hunt often become more passive in their search for employment if they continue to be financially supported by their parents. A lack of motivation can delay the start to a young adult's career and cause him/her to miss months or years of job earnings and experience.

Those that return home from the unrestrictive nature of college dorm life may also have difficulty readjusting to their parents' domestic expectations. Where living space is shared, gatherings with friends can be limited in frequency or scope. Dating is similarly constrained, and can also be impaired by the stigma of the young adult's perceived inability to function independently of his/her parents.

See also

• Millennial Generation
• MTV Generation
• Parasite single
• Quarter-life crisis
• Affordability of housing in the United Kingdom
• Failure to Launch (2006 romantic comedy)
• Step Brothers (2008 comedy)