The Boomerang Trend Disproven, Once and For All (Read our essay at Time.com)
From Po:
Readers of this blog will remember how, last March, we got in a light-hearted spat with the author of "Boomerang Nation" after she was involved in the promotion of the movie, Failure to Launch, which was about a grown man who moves home and stays home, to the chagrin of his parents.
Throughout the last two years, we've constantly seen this trend misreported. We've debunked it and picked it apart on this blog in previous posts, and we've been waiting for a chance to take our criticism national. We knew it would only be a matter of time before yet another news outlet attacks young people.
Well, last week USA Today and ABC News gave us our chance. Our essay is now at Time.com. You can read it here.
Readers of this blog will remember how, last March, we got in a light-hearted spat with the author of "Boomerang Nation" after she was involved in the promotion of the movie, Failure to Launch, which was about a grown man who moves home and stays home, to the chagrin of his parents.
Throughout the last two years, we've constantly seen this trend misreported. We've debunked it and picked it apart on this blog in previous posts, and we've been waiting for a chance to take our criticism national. We knew it would only be a matter of time before yet another news outlet attacks young people.
Well, last week USA Today and ABC News gave us our chance. Our essay is now at Time.com. You can read it here.
posted by Po Bronson at 3:56 PM
3 Comments:
I liked the term "kite" better than boomerang because the word kite appeals to my logical mind.
Several friends, myself included, live at home to pay off college loans or to save money so we can afford to buy a house. It is so true that housing prices, including rent, is very high. Even in the suburbs (in northern CA), rent is as high as 1,000 a month.
Thanks for a great article! It makes us pause and think.
Hayley
Yes, I agree with your article. Having lived abroad for for a decade of my young adult life, I realized that the American culture is very much alone in its seemingly barbaric ways of dealing with children. Not only do we put them into cribs and playpens and strollers (instead of holding them close to our bodies), but we build huge homes that isolate family members, and then consider it a rite of passage to kick them out at 18 years of age.
My husband and I are blessed to have his 85 year old parents still with us who have welcomed us with open arms over the years during hard times. Right after college my husband lived with them for 2 years while working at an entry level job, paying off bills and feeling his way in the world away from the more sheltered and predictable college life. He landed a great paying job, bought a house, married me and started life 'away from home'. Then when we decided to move overseas, we packed up our belongings and lived with his folks for 2 months while tying up loose ends and getting ready for our big move. 10 years later we came home for good (other than summer vacations) to the USA with 3 children and lived with my in-laws for 3 months while securing jobs, a new home and our emotional health upon returning to a 'foreign country'.
My oldest sons are a few years from high school graduation. We already speak to them and assure them they will always have a home, a bed, and a safe place during transitions or hardships. I wish the hurtful media would discontinue the family bashing on all levels.
Thanks for the great article, again...kudos.
thank you thank you thank you for this article!
it's strange the way living at home with one's own family is stigmatized in this culture. i had to move back home a couple years ago for financial reasons, and i really struggled through feelings of depression. i was sure i was a failure on some level: i mean, if i weren't, wouldn't i have a place of my own? wouldn't i be able to "make it" without their help?
i am not a slouch living off of my parents' beneficence; i pay a monthly "rent", and i work a full-time job. i'm getting back on my feet. but i still hate telling people about my living situation, because i hate getting "the look": the one that says, "oh, she still hasn't cut the umbilical cord yet." aaargggh.
maybe those who write articles about the "boomerang" effect could take a longer, closer look at the economic challenges that young adults face, especially in high-cost states like California.
anyway, thanks again for contributing a different point of view to the discussion, one that needs to be heard.
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