Adulthood, Delayed: What Has the Recession Done to Millennials?

There are some definite headwinds facing America's youth right now.  And quite frankly it's not just America's youth who are having trouble making the journey into independent adulthood, take a look at youth unemployment around the world, especially in Europe.

Facing growing college debt, higher unemployment, and pure financial uncertainty would make most people put off getting marriage, buying a house, or purchasing some other large ticket item such as a car.

As this Atlantic piece points out and I wonder as well is, is Generation Y as they are called, delaying adulthood intentionally or are these headwinds too much to overcome?  Every generation has it's own unique set of challenges so it will be interesting to see how this group of young people handle the challenge

Full article here

• Why won't Millennials grow up? The biggest reason is they can't, according to the Pew Research Center's fantastic new survey "Young, Underemployed, and Optimistic." It begins with school. 
• Average debt for public college students doubled between 1996 and 2006. It's less advisable to invest in marriage with $30,000 in student debt as a couple. "More than one-in-five young adults ages 18 to 34 (22%) say they have postponed having a baby because of the bad economy," Pew reported. "Roughly the same proportion say they have postponed getting married."
• If school years delayed financial independence, the Great Recession just about shattered it. Due to economic conditions, 24% of young adults have moved back in with their parents for a significant period of time. "Among those ages 25 to 29, the share moving back home rises to 34%," Pew reports. One in three!
• Some people liken a career path to a staircase.... The burden of climbing has increased. The rewards have declined.