Have you ever felt like you’re somehow less mature than, say, your parents were when they were your age? Chances are you have. In generations past, it seemed like a lot more young people knew where they were headed in life and how to get there. In contrast, today’s youths seem to be marred by constant uncertainty and worry for their futures. But, why?

I first came upon the concept of extended adolescence in one of my psychology courses; it alludes to a trend in the younger generations in which individuals remain in a prolonged period wherein they don’t identify as adults. They are largely dependent on their parents and have yet to establish an autonomous lifestyle (i.e. moving out, having a full-time job, etc.).

However, this period of dependence is increasingly being stretched out into one’s early to mid-twenties. Many young adults today (myself included) are living with their parents, often move back in with their parents after moving out, and are marrying and having children later in life.

It appears as though adolescence, or at least the transition from adolescence to “full” adulthood, has become a longer process for contemporary youths, and I believe that this is due to the fact that people now stay in academia longer than ever before. This is a phenomenon caused by Sir Ken Robinson’s “academic inflation,” or minimum job requirements generally becoming more complex.

Those extra school years buffer the responsibilities that come with being a mature, independent adult.

Graduating from high school no longer marks the end of formal education for most, as it did in the past. With each passing generation, more and more people are able to attend colleges, universities, and other post-secondary institutions.

Even so, having a bachelor’s degree used to almost guarantee employment, and having a master’s or higher meant you would never be out of a job. Fast forward to present day, and a bachelor’s degree no longer holds as much prestige as it used to. It has now become necessary, but not necessarily sufficient for a career. People graduating with a BA are now as commonplace as people graduating from high school a few short decades ago, and today’s MAs are near equivalent to BAs of the past.

All this inflation means that people have to stay in school longer to get the required degree for their desired profession, or just for a better chance at getting a job. Today’s youths are thereby remaining in an academic setting for a longer period of time; those extra years serve as a buffer against the responsibilities of getting a job, finding their own place of residence, and everything else that comes with being a mature, independent adult.

Many young adults today are stuck in psychosocial moratorium, not completely dependent but far from being autonomous. Psychologist Erik Erikson says this occurs while people try to find identity during their adolescent years.

It is hard to say whether this extended adolescence is a good thing or a bad thing, as it is a relatively recent phenomenon, and I am personally still on the fence about it.

However, it does help to explain why today’s youths appear to be less prepared and less certain of themselves than the older generations; it’s not because we’re any less competent, but because we’ve been given a few extra years of academic safety from the real world.

Maybe it’s time we personally draw more attention to mixing the school world with the real world, to take advantage of the longer period we spend as adult-children.