Do not think that this article is a criticism of Generation Y by looking at the title. On the contrary, it is worth discussing that this revolutionary generation determines the rules of “being an adult” by breaking the routine applications that have been in our lives since the previous generations.
A person has a lot of fun at the ages when he is described as a child or a teenager, so they may feel carefree and make mistakes without fear. But when adulthood comes and goes, the brutal truths of life are now waiting for you to face. In this case, it is time to think hard and talk less, make sacrifices for the future and put the logic in front of your childlike dreams. At least, the definition of being "adult" was exactly as in described for the last 10 years. Until the millennials break all the routines about becoming adults…
They do not tolerate being immobile
Losing the joy of life due to responsibilities, payments and commitments is a nightmare for millennials.
When the growing up is the case, a typical ranking that consists of getting married and having a child and getting a property immediately just after graduating from university comes to the mind. However, this ranking, which has been perceived as an unspoken rule for millennials, does not make much sense. Because the views of millennials between the ages from 23 to 37 today are quite different compared to previous generations.
Unlike the X generation who is used to corporate works and being even civil servants between 09: 00-18: 00, millennials are more into the jobs that offer entrepreneurship and flexible work by resisting to monotonous lifestyle in this sense. In fact, a study conducted by Fortune magazine in 2016 reveals that 71 percent of the millennials absolutely want to establish their own business one day. Cognitive flexibility is the biggest difference between the generation Y who has no concern about getting a stable job throughout their lives, and their parents. Emre K., who has been working as a copywriter in an advertising agency for more than three years, is completely an example of this. Emre K. “As someone who studied public administration in undergraduate and sociology in graduate, I first worked as an academician and then worked as a researcher in the private sector. When I was 27 years old, I realized that these are not the main things I want to do and I decided to take some training about creative writing, which is my childhood passion. You can imagine the rest. Resumes, timid job interviews and a brand-new career that started in the advertising agency!” Emre's strongest defence, was “At least, I want to try it” to his parents showing reaction during the stage of turning his career route into a field where he was not trained at all.
"So, when are we going to see you getting married?"
This is one of the most frequently asked questions to millennials breaking the typical rules of being an adult! As a result of overall tendency, millennials who do not find the typical lifestyle very attractive do not favour the idea of marriage, either. In fact, the average age of marriage, which was 20 - 23 in previous generations, is now at the age 28-30. One of the reasons for this situation is undoubtedly that millennials refrain from taking financial-legal responsibility of someone else. The fact that millennials are not so into future planning can be shown as a reason for the low rate of marriage.
According to 32-year-old Gamze S., a self-employed lawyer, marriage is nothing more than the involvement of officials in the romantic life of individuals. According to Gamze S., marriage also brings about problems such as potential divorce, property sharing, child support and custody. Stating that the negative aspects of marriage are much more than the positive aspects, Gamze adds that she prefers not to have children in this era where she can travel as she wishes and wants to have new experiences.
Life is a day and it is today!
In fact, perhaps this motto is the main reason why millennials do not fit into the adult patterns that previous generations have. Because millennials prefer not to invest in the future but to seize the moment in the best way. So, the rate of acquiring property, individual retirement, having a saving account or life insurance is considerably lower among millennials than previous generations. This generation is not going to invest in the future, but to travel with this money; they prefer to have new experiences and get to learn new skills.
Although the sociologists think that the pessimistic views towards the future lay behind this attitude, the examples we encounter motivate us to analyse the situation with a different approach:
