The pursuit of youthfulness, whether it鈥檚 by the way we dress, how we cut our hair, or perhaps even by plastic surgery, has arguably become a cultural pre-occupation, at least in the ways that Hollywood actors and actresses are portrayed in film and the media. Based on historic accounts in literature and other media, it would seem that people have felt nostalgic about their youth for a long time. But it also appears that people today are more concerned than in the past about how to 鈥榮tay younger,鈥 and for 鈥榣onger鈥.
For instance, several researchers and commentators have started to observe an extension of the young adult phase. One explanation is that we simply cannot 鈥榣et go鈥 of our youth, and thus hang on as long as we can to a life stage often perceived to be associated with fewer responsibilities. Another is that an increase in life expectancy could logically contribute to an extension of all life stages. While these factors may play a role, the reality is more complex than that.
Source: Clark, W. (2007). Delayed Transitions of Young Adults. Canadian Social Trends. Statistics Canada catalogue no. 11-008-XWE 2007004. Accessed at:
My friends are here, my girlfriend is here, my work is here鈥 for this period in my life鈥 it just seems that everything I want is right downtown. It鈥檚 like a campus for young鈥 grown-ups.
Sociologists, and researchers in other fields, portray life as composed of a series of 鈥榤arkers鈥 that signal changes in life stages. These markers are context specific and will differ over time and across different cultures and countries. In North America (and Europe) the following markers were often associated with moving from young adulthood to adulthood: getting married, getting a job, and having children.
Changing living arrangements in Canada
Today the norms surrounding family formation and child bearing have dramatically changed. Young people are getting married and having children later, or foregoing these altogether. A combination of factors such as increasing educational attainment, contraception, advances in reproductive technology, the equalization of women鈥檚 rights, and women鈥檚 increasing labor force participation rates have contributed to these shifts.
Changing living arrangements in the U.S.
Some portray these changes as a 鈥榙elay鈥, which is based on underlying assumptions that there is a seemingly 鈥榥atural鈥 sequence of events that one must follow in life鈥攚hen of course the markers are socially constructed. Therefore others suggest that we have to re-theorize altogether what it means to be young and what it means to be aging in today鈥檚 societal context where people are making life decisions in a less predictable sequence than was the case in the past.
Changing household size in the U.S.
The outcomes of these changes are visible in cities by the ways housing developments, entertainment districts, shopping, festivals and urban public space are catering, and marketed, to young adults (and other spaces to different age groups). Demographically, the trends have contributed to decreases in household size, a delay in leaving the parental home, and later entry into the job market. Some neighborhoods are now seemingly remaining 鈥渇orever young鈥 as young people continue to move into cities and neighborhoods where other young people are already living, while those aging move to other parts of the city. Professor Moos has called this phenomenon 鈥測outhification鈥.
