Four ways Gen Z is redefining adulthood
We’re seeing Gen Z start to redefine what adulthood should look like instead of trying to live up to former ideals of maturity.
KARIN CHAN05 Feb 2025 11:00am

More Gen Z are living at home with their parents and trying to recapture their lost childhoods. Photo generated by Recraft.
Issues such as rapidly increasing costs of living, influences from digital and social media, and delayed independence are making it more difficult for younger generations such as Gen Z to achieve traditional milestones of adulthood like financial stability, starting a family and buying a property.
In response, we’re seeing Gen Z start to redefine what adulthood should look like instead of trying to live up to former ideals of maturity. Let’s look at some of them.
LIVING AT HOME IS PERFECTLY OKAY
In some countries, especially in the West, it's unthinkable to still be living with your parents after you turn 18. However, most young adults today are unable to afford moving out due to rapid inflation and housing crises. As such, they're choosing to live at home for longer to cut costs.
In the Asia-Pacific, around 73 per cent of Gen Z still live with their parents — significantly higher than Millennials of the same age at the time.
The good news: there's much less stigma for living with your parents because it's so commonplace now. The bad news: people who do so may find their independence more restricted, leading to potential impacts on mental wellbeing.
SPENDING TO HEAL YOUR INNER CHILD
With Gen Z growing up amidst unprecedented global health and economic crises, it can often feel as though they never had the chance to just enjoy their childhood. Consequently, many want to reconnect with those simpler times via "nostalgic spending".
A 2023 poll of 2,000 American Gen Zs and Millennials found that 54 per cent would splurge on toys and collectibles if they had extra money, while 67 per cent would buy a replica of something from their childhood if they could. This tracks with the recent explosion in sales for plushies such as Jellycats, Squishmallows and Labubus among this age group.
"A lot of people are taking the approach that, well, I don't care if other people think this is dumb, this brings me a little bit of happiness, a little bit of joy, so I’m going to keep doing it," said senior tech and gaming analyst Brian Benway.
Curious to find out if you are in control of your own spending? Take our quiz to find out if you're slaying or winging it with your own money.
DIFFERENT WINS SHOULD BE RECOGNISED
Yes, getting married or buying a house are always going to be big adult accomplishments. However, according to Gen Z, there's more to adulthood than that.
This generation now emphasises following your individual journey and figuring out your wants and timeline, avoiding comparisons with other people — and the pressure — on traditional ideas of what you 'should' be doing and when these should be done.
In a study by the charity Relate, 95 per cent of Gen Zs felt that society should better recognise alternative life milestones such as travelling, running a marathon, exiting a toxic relationship or leaving a job.
When interviewed by the BBC on this topic, one respondent noted: "While traditional milestones should still be celebrated, there is so much more to life too. If we feel like celebrating something then it's worth celebrating, especially if you're proud of it."
HIGHER EDUCATION IS NO LONGER A MUST-HAVE
While previous generations considered higher education essential to both adulthood and career success, Gen Z doesn't share that opinion. In fact, only 14.9 per cent of American Gen Z respondents to a Community Research Institute survey felt that having a higher education made you an adult.
Financial reasons are a major factor in this seeming disregard for higher education. Many Gen Zs are keen on avoiding student loan debt and are choosing career pathways that allow them to save more money or provide good financial benefits.
Others cited wanting to learn on the job, pursuing fields they are genuinely interested in, not having a set path to follow, and the widespread availability of free online resources. Mostly, they simply don’t want to fall into the same 'trap' as other generations.
"I saw the institution of college fail my Millennial friends and family. I watched as Millennials went deep into debt and spent years struggling to balance work and school as well as other aspects of their lives. It looked like an expensive torment," said one Gen Z member of the BuzzFeed Community.
ADULTHOOD IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT
In the end, what it means to be an adult is really up to you. There are some inescapable qualifications, such as the ability to support yourself financially and to handle certain responsibilities, but everyone has different ideas of how they want to live their life and they can all be valid.
As people like to say, life is a marathon, not a sprint — and adulthood is the longest stretch of the marathon by far. Just remember that no one has it all figured out, no matter how well put-together they might look on social media, and that we’re all in this together. You've got this!
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