iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us

by Jean M. Twenge

The trends all seem to be going the same way: fewer young adults are having sex, fewer are in committed relationships, and fewer prioritize marriage and family. The high cost of housing and child care make having children, particularly more than one, economically challenging. All of these trends suggest that fewer iGen’ers will ever have children and that only children will become more common. The United States will increasingly resemble Europe, where birthrates are below replacement level and marriage is optional. The move away from relationships and children might be a permanent trend instead of just a postponement. If so, iGen will be on track to be the generation with the largest number of single people in US history and the lowest birthrate on record.