7 ways life is harder for millennials than it was for their parents
Millennials are less financially stable than previous generations
Business Insider's Linette Lopez reported on some disappointing data from the Washington, DC-based think tank Young Invincibles.
Among white Americans ages 25 to 34, median income decreased 21% between 1989 and 2013 — though it increased among Latinos, who started at a disadvantage.
What's more, as Steven Rattner described in a 2015 New York Times op-ed, millennials also have a lower net worth ($10,400 in 2013) than Gen X had ($18,200 in 1995).
Perhaps the most startling finding comes from a 2017 paper by social scientists at Harvard, Stanford, and University of California, Berkeley: Economic mobility has decreased significantly since the 1940s.
Specifically, about 90% of Americans born in the 1940s outearned their parents by the time they hit 30. That figure drops to 50% among Americans born in the 1980s. The authors attribute the change largely to growing income inequality.
Millennials are saddled with student debt — but a college education is more necessary than ever
Rattner also points out that "college is becoming less affordable even as it has become increasingly necessary." (According to the Young Invincibles data, even college grads with debt earn more than people without a degree.)
Between 1993 and 2015, average tuition increased 234% — when the inflation rate was just 63%. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 46% of grads left college with debt in 1995, compared to 71% in 2015.
That makes it harder for millennials to hit those traditional "adult" milestones, like having kids or buying a house.
Millennial men are more likely to live at home with their parents than previous generations
Pew Research Center data reveals that, among men ages 18 to 34, living at home with parents has been the most common living arrangement since 2009. (Women in this age group are more likely to be living with a spouse or a romantic partner than they are to be living with their parents.)
The main culprit seems to be unemployment. Pew reports that research suggests employed young men are less likely to live at home than unemployed young men, and employment among young men has decreased significantly in the last few decades.
Living at home isn't a bad thing per se, but it can make it harder for millennials to feel independent.
Millennials are overwhelmed by the dating pool
Social scientists call it the "paradox of choice": In some cases, the more options we have, the less likely we are to make a decision at all.
Online dating is a prime example of the paradox in action. With thousands of potential dates just a swipe away, how can you choose just one? And even if you do, how do you know you've picked the right one?
Sometimes, that can lead to unhealthy relationship behavior. INSIDER's Kristin Salaky spoke to experts who said that when a relationship gets rough, instead of trying to work on it, millennials may look to see what else is out there — and that's easier to do than ever.
Millennials feel like they have to be 'always on' at work
Digital technology has transformed the way we think about work.
Instead of clocking out at 5 p.m., it's now possible to physically leave the office, then sign back on once you get home. And a lot of young employees building their careers are doing just that.
Randstad's 2014 Employee Engagement Study found that 45% of employees feel pressured to respond to email after hours. Millennials, the study found, are the generation most likely to stay "on" during off hours.
Millennials' self-image erodes in the face of ever-present social media
People have always compared themselves to their peers — and typically, we think everyone else is happy while we're the only ones struggling.
But social media — which wasn't available to Gen X and Baby Boomers as young adults — has exacerbated this phenomenon.
One 2015 study, for example, found that "passive" Facebook use — think scrolling through your newsfeed without posting any comments — use seems to make us feel worse about ourselves. The researchers say that's largely because of the envy we feel seeing everyone else's fancy vacation photos and adorable kids.
Millennials are shelling out more than previous generations on childcare
Another report from Young Invincibles, highlighted in The Washington Post, shows how the cost of raising a child has skyrocketed in the last half-century.
As The Post's Jonelle Marte reports, in 2013, child care and pre-college education comprised 18% of the total cost of raising a kid, compared to just 2% in 1960.
The fact that millennials are earning less and burdened by student debt only makes the situation more untenable.
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