0:00:16.667,0:00:22.293
I think we all agree that it takes longer[br]to grow up today than it did in the past.

0:00:22.295,0:00:25.362
That seems like a fairly[br]uncontroversial statement,

0:00:25.363,0:00:28.042
and it is backed up by a lot of facts.

0:00:28.043,0:00:31.822
So in 1960, if we take 1960[br]as a baseline year,

0:00:33.082,0:00:36.899
relatively few people got[br]any education beyond high school,

0:00:36.900,0:00:39.371
if they even finished high school.

0:00:39.372,0:00:42.151
And 40% of people[br]didn't even get that far.

0:00:43.621,0:00:49.156
In 1960, the median marriage age[br]was 20 for women and 23 for men.

0:00:50.676,0:00:56.432
Now it's 27 for women[br]and 29 for men, and it is still rising.

0:00:56.433,0:00:57.804
So a lot has changed

0:00:57.805,0:01:00.981
in the course of the last 50 years[br]in the lives of young people.

0:01:00.982,0:01:03.845
So much has changed[br]in fact, that I propose

0:01:03.846,0:01:08.479
that it is helpful to think of it[br]as a new life stage of emerging adulthood

0:01:08.480,0:01:12.579
in between adolescence[br]and young adulthood.

0:01:12.580,0:01:16.470
But why does it take so long[br]to grow up now,

0:01:16.471,0:01:18.180
so much longer than in the past?

0:01:18.181,0:01:21.765
Why is there this new stage[br]of emerging adulthood?

0:01:22.645,0:01:28.390
There are four revolutions that took place[br]in the 1960s and the 1970s

0:01:28.391,0:01:33.051
that set the stage in many ways[br]for the society that we know today,

0:01:33.052,0:01:36.664
including the new life stage[br]of emerging adulthood.

0:01:36.665,0:01:39.893
Those four revolutions[br]are the technology revolution,

0:01:39.894,0:01:41.768
the sexual revolution,

0:01:41.769,0:01:45.737
the Women's Movement,[br]and the Youth Movement.

0:01:45.738,0:01:48.033
First, the technology revolution.

0:01:48.034,0:01:52.379
The technology revolution[br]is not just iPhones and iPads,

0:01:52.380,0:01:55.293
or even laptops and the Internet.

0:01:55.294,0:01:59.794
Another huge technology revolution[br]of the last 50 years has been a transition

0:01:59.795,0:02:04.759
from a manufacturing economy[br]to a knowledge economy.

0:02:05.709,0:02:09.398
We've gotten so good at making[br]things with machines

0:02:09.399,0:02:12.534
that we no longer need[br]so many people to make them.

0:02:13.854,0:02:15.830
Most of us are also aware

0:02:15.831,0:02:19.410
of how a lot of jobs in manufacturing[br]have gone to other countries.

0:02:19.411,0:02:20.973
But it's not just that.

0:02:20.974,0:02:24.599
Our manufacturing output[br]is actually six times greater now

0:02:24.600,0:02:26.595
than it was in the 1950s.

0:02:26.596,0:02:29.961
But we are able to do that[br]with only half as many people.

0:02:29.962,0:02:31.952
So gone are the days

0:02:31.953,0:02:37.239
where a young man could walk[br]in an automobile factory or a steel plant,

0:02:37.240,0:02:41.125
and make enough money to support[br]not only himself and his family.

0:02:41.865,0:02:45.358
The new jobs in the knowledge economy

0:02:45.359,0:02:48.948
are in information[br]and technology and services.

0:02:48.949,0:02:53.588
And all of these require education[br]beyond high school.

0:02:54.398,0:02:58.340
Those are where you get the best new jobs[br]in the knowledge economy.

0:02:58.341,0:03:02.162
You have to have some kind of education[br]beyond high school.

0:03:02.163,0:03:07.398
So now more people get more education[br]for longer than ever before.

0:03:08.298,0:03:10.467
And that pushes everything else out

0:03:10.468,0:03:13.529
because most people[br]won't get a stable long-term job

0:03:13.530,0:03:17.766
for several years after[br]they have finished their education,

0:03:17.767,0:03:21.304
and most people prefer[br]to wait for marriage and parenthood

0:03:21.305,0:03:23.535
until after they have a stable job.

0:03:24.635,0:03:27.154
The second revolution[br]is the sexual revolution.

0:03:28.164,0:03:31.277
The invention of the birth[br]control pill in 1964,

0:03:31.278,0:03:34.317
along with other effective methods[br]of contraception,

0:03:34.318,0:03:38.640
broke the age-old link between sexuality[br]and reproduction for the first time.

0:03:39.660,0:03:40.666
And in turn,

0:03:40.667,0:03:45.826
the link between sexuality and marriage[br]became broken for the first time.

0:03:45.827,0:03:49.400
And so the marriage age[br]started to go steadily up,

0:03:49.401,0:03:53.870
even as the age of beginning[br]first sexual relations went down.

0:03:53.871,0:03:59.728
And today, most people begin having[br]sexual relations in their late teens,

0:03:59.729,0:04:03.950
a decade or more before they enter[br]marriage and parenthood.

0:04:04.920,0:04:08.178
And so that changes[br]what the late teens and 20s are like.

0:04:08.179,0:04:11.488
Instead of entering the commitments[br]of marriage and parenthood,

0:04:11.489,0:04:15.248
people now have this longer spans[br]of a decade or more

0:04:15.249,0:04:18.208
when they are making[br]a break in relationships,

0:04:18.209,0:04:21.380
and they are not yet committed[br]to the structure of family life.

0:04:22.871,0:04:25.357
Number three is the Women's Movement.

0:04:26.657,0:04:29.636
In 1960, not many people[br]were going to college,

0:04:29.637,0:04:34.638
but there were twice as many men as women[br]who were college students.

0:04:34.639,0:04:39.993
Today, 58% of undergraduates[br]are female, only 42% male.

0:04:39.994,0:04:42.946
And women are also half of the students

0:04:42.947,0:04:46.806
in med schools, in law schools,[br]in business schools.

0:04:46.807,0:04:49.526
That has been truly revolutionary.

0:04:49.527,0:04:53.762
And that has changed how young women think[br]about their lives and plan their lives.

0:04:53.763,0:04:56.114
It's hard for us to even imagine

0:04:56.115,0:05:01.430
how much pressure there must have been[br]on a young woman in 1960 to find a man.

0:05:01.900,0:05:03.309
Because if you didn't,

0:05:03.310,0:05:05.877
what else were you going to do[br]with your life?

0:05:05.878,0:05:09.273
There weren't really hardly[br]any professions open to you.

0:05:09.274,0:05:12.886
And so that was[br]what they were most focused on,

0:05:12.887,0:05:14.686
not that they can do anything.

0:05:14.687,0:05:16.089
They, like young men,

0:05:16.090,0:05:20.417
want to use most of their 20s[br]for making progress

0:05:20.418,0:05:23.417
in their education[br]and then in their career.

0:05:23.418,0:05:26.391
And that has changed entirely[br]what the 20s are like

0:05:26.392,0:05:29.251
for both young men and young women.

0:05:29.252,0:05:32.072
And finally, the Youth Movement.

0:05:32.882,0:05:37.330
It used to be that adulthood[br]was associated with a lot of good things,

0:05:37.331,0:05:40.327
like social status and authority.

0:05:40.328,0:05:43.861
Well, it still is to some extent,[br]but not so much as it used to be.

0:05:43.862,0:05:48.179
The 60s and the 70s changed that[br]with the Youth Movement.

0:05:48.180,0:05:50.940
"I hope I die before I get old."

0:05:50.941,0:05:53.311
How many of you are old enough[br]to remember that?

0:05:53.312,0:05:56.635
Or "Never trust anyone over 30."

0:05:56.636,0:06:00.520
Those were said somewhat tongue in cheek,[br]but only somewhat.

0:06:00.521,0:06:02.524
Those are truths underlying them.

0:06:02.525,0:06:07.345
Now adulthood and age became diminished,

0:06:07.346,0:06:10.125
and it became youth that was venerated.

0:06:10.126,0:06:14.816
And so young people are no longer[br]in such a hurry to enter adulthood.

0:06:14.817,0:06:17.977
They preferred to prolong their youth[br]as long as they could

0:06:17.978,0:06:20.310
and enjoyed it while it lasted.

0:06:21.420,0:06:24.871
So together, those[br]four changes have resulted

0:06:24.872,0:06:27.871
in this new life stage[br]of emerging adulthood.

0:06:27.872,0:06:32.797
It used to be that people set up[br]the stable structure of an adult life

0:06:32.798,0:06:34.977
by about age 20,

0:06:34.978,0:06:37.906
but now it's really true that 30[br]is the new 20.

0:06:37.907,0:06:41.017
There's a good reason why that phrase[br]has become more popular.

0:06:41.018,0:06:44.648
Because now the transitions[br]that used to happen around age 20

0:06:44.649,0:06:47.742
happen closer to age 30 for most people.

0:06:47.743,0:06:51.438
Instead of moving from adolescence[br]to young adulthood, at about age 20,

0:06:51.459,0:06:55.450
it's the adolescence and then emerging[br]adulthood for most of the 20s,

0:06:55.451,0:06:59.995
and then the entrance[br]into a stable young adulthood follows.

0:07:02.215,0:07:08.545
Not everybody is delighted to hear about[br]the new life stage of emerging adulthood.

0:07:08.546,0:07:10.165
Not everybody is happy

0:07:10.166,0:07:13.131
that it takes longer[br]to grow up than it used to.

0:07:13.132,0:07:16.599
Quite the contrary, a lot of people[br]are very unhappy about it.

0:07:16.600,0:07:20.780
And a lot of people think[br]that the fact that young people enter

0:07:20.781,0:07:23.970
these transitions of a stable[br]adulthood later in the past

0:07:23.971,0:07:26.872
means there must be[br]something wrong with them.

0:07:27.452,0:07:31.986
And their parents and grandparents[br]can't help but look at the progress

0:07:31.987,0:07:35.206
or lack of it of their children[br]and grandchildren

0:07:35.207,0:07:40.636
toward adult life in their 20s[br]and think, and maybe say,

0:07:40.637,0:07:42.314
"When I was your age..."

0:07:43.544,0:07:49.644
Because the timetable has really changed,[br]but I'd like to challenge you

0:07:49.645,0:07:53.975
if you think that way today[br]to try to think about it differently.

0:07:56.375,0:07:59.554
It doesn't mean there is[br]something wrong with them.

0:07:59.994,0:08:03.923
It takes longer to prepare yourself[br]for the knowledge economy

0:08:03.924,0:08:08.264
than it did for a manufacturing[br]economy, first of all.

0:08:08.265,0:08:10.743
So that's not their fault.

0:08:10.744,0:08:15.003
They are very intently involved[br]in preparing themselves for their world

0:08:15.004,0:08:18.477
and are trying to find a place[br]in a very complex economy.

0:08:20.127,0:08:24.013
Secondly, the Women's Movement[br]has opened up

0:08:24.014,0:08:27.163
a huge range of opportunities[br]for young women.

0:08:27.164,0:08:28.754
But that is not a bad thing.

0:08:28.755,0:08:32.625
I think few of us would view that[br]as a negative development.

0:08:32.626,0:08:35.331
It's a good thing. It's a great thing.

0:08:35.332,0:08:38.820
And so, having this life stage[br]of emerging adulthood,

0:08:38.821,0:08:44.104
allows both young men and young women[br]to develop their skills for the workplace.

0:08:46.954,0:08:51.523
There is also that wouldn't most of us

0:08:52.373,0:08:55.122
make a better choice of a marriage partner

0:08:55.123,0:09:00.624
at 28, or 29, or 30,[br]than we would've at 19, or 20, or 21?

0:09:01.964,0:09:04.909
Wouldn't most of us be a better parent

0:09:04.910,0:09:10.249
if we begin at 30 or 31,[br]rather than 20 or 21?

0:09:10.250,0:09:12.883
I don't think there is[br]any doubt about that.

0:09:12.884,0:09:14.772
There is also this.

0:09:16.262,0:09:19.314
Having the space for emerging adulthood

0:09:19.315,0:09:24.321
gives young people an unprecedented[br]and unparalleled period of freedom.

0:09:25.061,0:09:27.324
It's a time when you can do things

0:09:27.325,0:09:30.324
you never could do before[br]when you were a kid,

0:09:30.325,0:09:33.372
and you really won't be able to do later.

0:09:34.122,0:09:37.665
So if you have a taste for adventure,

0:09:37.666,0:09:40.767
if you'd like to see[br]what it is like to live

0:09:40.768,0:09:43.751
in a different part of the country[br]or the world for a while,

0:09:43.752,0:09:46.109
and maybe do some kind[br]of service project there,

0:09:46.110,0:09:48.069
this is the time to do it.

0:09:48.070,0:09:51.752
If you'd like to take a stab[br]at a long-shot career,

0:09:51.753,0:09:56.042
like actor, or musician,[br]or something else in the arts,

0:09:56.043,0:09:58.469
this is the time to do it.

0:09:58.470,0:10:00.668
Because later, it would be[br]much more difficult

0:10:00.669,0:10:02.739
when you've made those commitments.

0:10:02.740,0:10:07.798
Right now, in emerging adulthood,[br]nobody else really depends on you.

0:10:07.799,0:10:10.790
That's one of the unique things about it.

0:10:10.791,0:10:13.274
And eventually, people will depend on you.

0:10:13.275,0:10:15.673
That will narrow the range[br]of your choices.

0:10:15.674,0:10:17.516
During emerging adulthood,

0:10:18.186,0:10:22.361
you have a rare freedom[br]and a brief freedom,

0:10:22.362,0:10:24.232
and you should make the most of it.

0:10:27.052,0:10:30.202
I'd like to close by saying

0:10:30.203,0:10:35.372
to the young people[br]who are emerging adults or about to be:

0:10:35.373,0:10:40.493
don't let other stampede you[br]to adulthood before you are ready.

0:10:40.494,0:10:44.186
Adulthood will still be ready[br]when you are.

0:10:44.187,0:10:49.168
And a lot of well-meaning people want you[br]to get there as soon as possible.

0:10:49.169,0:10:51.397
But it's not their life.

0:10:51.398,0:10:53.286
It's your life.

0:10:53.287,0:10:56.747
And you should remind them[br]of that if necessary.

0:10:56.748,0:11:01.669
Adulthood is something[br]almost everybody enters eventually.

0:11:01.670,0:11:06.133
And it's a land that once you enter,[br]you can never really go back.

0:11:06.883,0:11:10.721
So make the most[br]of your emerging adulthood freedom

0:11:10.722,0:11:12.371
while that lasts.

0:11:12.372,0:11:13.695
Thank you.

0:11:13.696,0:11:15.046
(Applause)