Maybe it’s not wise to quote pop stars when discussing issues of cultural and social development among young people. But in this case, singer-songwriter John Mayer said it best in his song “Why Georgia”:

It might be a quarter-life crisis

Or just the stirring in my soul

Either way

I wonder sometimes

About the outcome

Of a still verdict-less life

Am I living it right…

Mayer captures some of the angst typical among a cultural and developmental category of young people in America that over the last half-century has come to be called “emerging adulthood.”

Scholars in human development describe emerging adulthood as the period of life between the ages of 18 and 30 when young people become independent and autonomous. What makes it a modern phenomenon are its unique characteristics: the postponing of marriage and parenthood, increased time spent in pursuit of higher education, frequent job changes, and an extension of financial support from parents. For Christian young adults—and the youth ministry workers who nurture them—the trend holds its own unique challenges.

Freedom and Career Development

There are several factors contributing to the rise of emerging adulthood as a developmental stage.

The first is the trend over the last few decades to delay marriage. Unlike the generations before them, the majority of young people today aren’t in a rush to find a spouse. They view their 20s as a time for self-exploration and freedom.

Where young men once held on to idealized plans of settling down to start a family and take over the family business from Dad, they now cannot wait to graduate from college and gallivant around the French Riviera. Where young women once envisioned a dream wedding with their high school sweetheart, 2.5 kids and a white picket fence, they now hope to climb the corporate ladder and become financially independent.

A second factor is the growth of higher education. Christian Smith, who directs the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University Of Notre Dame, writes in the November/December 2007 issue of Books & Culture that a huge proportion of American youth are no longer stopping school and beginning stable careers at age 18, but are extending their formal schooling well into their 20s. Those who are aiming to join America’s professional and knowledge classes — those who most powerfully shape our culture and society — are continuing in graduate and professional school programs often up until their 30s.

A college degree is basic these days. Young people need postgraduate studies and a wider range of skills to set themselves apart and remain competitive.

In addition, lifelong careers or trades—common in the mid-1900s—are being replaced with “careers of lower security, more frequent job changes, and an ongoing need for new training and education,” writes Smith.