Thursday, January 23, 2014

20 and Something: Have the Time of Your Life (And Figure It All Out Too)..

This slender volume (88 pages) contains a wealth of information about the Millennial generation, including graphs, charts, illustrations, and other eye-catching images. While the subtitle “Have the Time of Your Life and Figure it Out too” suggests a multi-step application plan, the true value of this book lies in its succinct analysis of 20-something culture and its causes.
As a member of this age group, I can confirm that many of the observations are right on, though others surprised me. For example, 82% of Millennials want to be married, and 77% want to have children. But due to the high rate of divorce among their parents, many are choosing to put marriage off in hopes of being better prepared. These statistics also illuminate the high rate of cohabitation among young adults—they want to test each other before committing.
Another area that surprised me was the definition of adult.  57% said emotional maturity, while 20% said economic independence. No traditional marker—age, marriage, or education—even reached double digits. With the challenging job market and the abstract nature of “emotional maturity,” it’s not surprising that many Millennials are caught between adolescence and adulthood.
This book is one of the first in the Barna group’s Frames series, which attempts to provide a Biblical worldview of common cultural issues.

I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review.

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