You’ve undoubtedly heard about the entitled millennial. No matter how many millennials age into the workforce, get married and even start families of their own, the stereotype persists of teen hipsters sleeping in their parents’ basement spending all day cultivating their makeup tutorials for YouTube. But now, new data analysis from Buzzfeed News provides yet another piece of evidence that the stereotype just doesn’t have any substance to it.
In looking over the Survey of Income and Program Participation conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, Buzzfeed found that roughly 1.4 million American millennials are financially supporting their parents. Crazily enough, that is statistically indistinguishable from the number of boomers who financially support their adult children.
The reporters reached out and asked for stories from some of the millennials who are helping their parents get by, and they found a huge range of experiences. Many parents relied on their adult children to help them with medical bills and disabilities. Often times, single parents struggling with the aftermath of a divorce or the death of their spouse needed extra help from their children as well.
The study also found that for many families, millennials moving back in with their parents was mutually advantageous. Many adult children moved in with their parents to help them with worsening health conditions and to chip in for rent and utilities.
This isn’t unique to millennials. Throughout history and in cultures all over the world, children have taken care of their aging parents. There is no reason that this data should be a surprise, but for the persistent myth that millennials are parasites leeching off the earned wealth of older generations. This study found that millennials love their parents and want to look after them.
Read the full report here.
