Tremendous statistical news if you’re 27 years old, jobless, and still living in your parents basement eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch all day — Technically, you’re not an adult yet! Legally, you are. But according to TV ratings gurus, you kinda, sorta don’t count until you’re over the age of 30, kicked off your parents family plan, and paying for Netflix and HBO Go on your own — No password sharing!
via The Wrap:
According to new research by CBS’ TV ratings guru David Poltrack and Nielsen Catalina Solutions, the youngest millennials should be graduating college this year — but that doesn’t mean they all consider themselves adults.
The median age of millennials is 30, Poltrack says — meaning that half are older and half are younger. And 30 happens to be the age at which millennials tend to self-identify as adults, Poltrack said. For these purposes, an “adult” is defined as “someone who has moved out of their parents’ home, has a job, and pays their own bills.”
Statistically, half of the millennial generation is over 30. The other half is approaching college graduation age. Allow The Wrap to explain:
How did millennials start seeming so middle-aged? Poltrack says it because of “lazy” classifications that defined millennials as those 18-to-34. Poltrack, one of the most respected people in studying the demographics of TV viewers, uses designations like “millennial” to simplify who’s watching what.
He and the Center for Generational Kinetics both use the term to describe those born between 1979 and 1995, based on years prescribed by William Strauss and Neil Howe’s book “Generations.” It defines a generation as lasting for 18 years, and works forward from the giant Baby Boomer generation. Their kids, the next largest generation, are millennials. People born after 1995 are actually members of Gen Z.
There are all sorts of fingers to point for these trends, according to The Wrap. A LOT of it is trophy generation bullshit from parents, according to the article.
For starters, the December 2007-June 2009 recession made finding employment harder — especially for recent college grads, many of whom happened to saddled with a ton student loan debt. High housing costs, meanwhile, reduced any stigma connected to living at home.
“More controversial is the whole idea that their baby boomer parents have really coddled them,” Poltrack told TheWrap. “They’ve made it too good for them. Why would you leave?”
Sign up for those adulting classes while you can, millennials. You’re out of the next come the big 3-0.