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Brandon Slade
November 20, 2024
Summary: Young adults today face a tougher transition into independence than previous generations. Complex challenges like navigating health insurance, managing finances, and securing jobs require strong executive function (EF) skills—such as planning, organization, and decision-making—yet many graduates lack this foundation. Factors like increasing responsibilities, high screen time, reduced independence during childhood, and an education system focused on theory over practical skills have widened the gap. This has left young adults overwhelmed, anxious, and unprepared for real-world demands. Closing this readiness gap requires a shift in how EF skills are developed through education, parenting, and support systems, empowering young adults to confidently face the complexities of modern adulthood.
In recent years, young adults have been stepping into the world of adult responsibilities with degrees and high hopes, only to feel overwhelmed by the challenges that await them. Studies reveal that nearly 70% of recent college graduates feel unprepared for “real-world” tasks like managing finances, securing health insurance, and navigating a competitive job market. While some trial-and-error learning has always been part of the post-college experience, today’s gap between the skills needed for “adulting” and the skills many graduates actually have has widened considerably.
So, what’s missing? Executive function (EF) skills. These skills, such as planning, organization, self-management, and decision-making, are needed for managing the increasingly complex demands of adult life. Yet, many young adults leave college without this foundation.
As adult responsibilities grow more challenging, this preparation gap continues to expand, leaving many young adults feeling unprepared, anxious, and uncertain about their future.
Case Study: Graduating College in 2005 vs. 2025
Let’s look at two hypothetical graduates: Alex from the class of 2005 and Taylor from the class of 2025. Their experiences highlight how the demands of adulting have transformed over the past 20 years.
Alex, Class of 2005
Alex graduated with a degree in marketing in 2005. Although he lacked extensive real-world experience, he felt relatively prepared for what lay ahead:
- Job Search: Alex’s job search involves sending resumes directly to companies and visiting local businesses to apply in person. After a few months, he landed an entry-level role with a straightforward onboarding process that included health benefits and a 401(k).
- Health Insurance: Alex’s new employer offers a basic health insurance plan with limited options. An HR representative walks him through each choice, making the process simple and manageable.
- Managing Finances: With moderate student debt and reasonable rent prices, Alex could budget his entry-level salary without significant strain. Family and friends offer budgeting tips, and living costs aligned with his starting income.
While adulting was a challenge, Alex’s experience is one of manageable adjustments. The demands of adult life aligned reasonably with the skills he had developed. This allowed him to gradually build confidence in handling new responsibilities.
Taylor, Class of 2025
Fast forward 20 years, and Taylor, a 2025 graduate, faces a very different landscape:
- Job Search: Taylor’s job search is conducted entirely online, requiring tailored resumes, video interviews, and social media networking. He faces a competitive economy where securing consistent work demands strong EF skills in organization, self-discipline, and adaptability.
- Health Insurance: Taylor’s first job is a contract position without health benefits. Navigating the health insurance marketplace on his own, he faces overwhelming options, high premiums, and a maze of terms like “deductibles” and “networks,” all without HR support to guide him.
- Managing Finances: With high student debt, steep rental costs, and a limited salary, Taylor’s financial situation is challenging. Managing his finances requires advanced budgeting, financial literacy, and planning skills, yet he lacks a solid foundation in these areas, leading to frequent stress and insecurity.
For Taylor, the responsibilities of adulting feel like a steep climb. Without EF skills to help him manage time, make informed decisions, or budget effectively, the transition to independence is marked by confusion and stress and reflects a gap in readiness.
Why Adulting is So Much Harder Today
So why are young adults like Taylor struggling so much more than those who graduated only a couple of decades ago? Let’s look at a few core reasons:
- Complexity in Health Insurance, Finances, and Careers
Many everyday adult responsibilities, like managing health insurance, budgeting, and applying for jobs, have grown significantly more complex over the years. Health insurance options now involve navigating high deductibles, confusing terms, and varying levels of coverage. Finances require more advanced decision-making, while job searches often require extensive networking, customized resumes, and multiple rounds.
For example, Evelyn, a recent college graduate, spent five hours over three weeks working with her mother to request an appointment with two psychiatrists. This was due to the mountain of information required in the doctors’ portals before they could even submit the request. To complicate matters, Evelyn was the patient, but her mother’s name was listed on the payment method. Her mother said that she was in disbelief about how complex the process was. This example shows the overwhelming nature of what should have been a straightforward task.
These challenges demand EF skills, such as critical thinking, planning, and problem-solving, that are often underdeveloped in young adults. Without support, young adults like Taylor find themselves overwhelmed, unsure of how to navigate this increasingly complicated adulting landscape.
- High Screen Time and Dopamine Effects
Young adults today spend more time on screens than any generation before them. Social media, gaming, and streaming services provide frequent dopamine “hits,” training the brain to crave quick rewards. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for motivation, focus, and mood regulation, creates a “feel-good” loop that makes routine tasks seem dull in comparison.
This “dopamine effect” impacts young adults’ ability to complete needed but tedious adulting tasks that don’t provide instant gratification. The routine of budgeting, organizing, or making insurance decisions doesn’t offer the immediate rewards that screen-based activities do, making it harder to sustain motivation for these responsibilities.
- Reduced Independence and Risk-Taking Opportunities
Many young adults today grew up with more parental oversight and fewer chances to explore independence. While well-intentioned, this high level of involvement can limit opportunities to learn from mistakes, manage risk, and develop resilience. Many young adults have had limited experience with tasks like budgeting or problem-solving, leaving them without the practice needed to build self-confidence and self-regulation.
For example, automation has allowed parents to take over life tasks for their children, leaving students unprepared for basic responsibilities. Danny, a college student, had his rent and utilities automatically deducted from his parents’ checking account every month. As a result, he lacked the monthly reminder of how much was being paid. Compare this to his mother’s experience in college, where a red notice on the apartment door about a pending water shutoff served as a hard lesson in planning and communication.
Executive function skills, like self-motivation, resilience, and decision-making, develop through trial and error. Without exposure to these learning moments, young adults enter adulthood without a solid foundation to handle the responsibilities they now face alone.
- Disconnect Between Education and Real-World Skills
Traditionally, education served as a bridge to adult life, but today’s academic focus on standardized testing and theoretical knowledge often leaves students without practical life skills. Many young adults, despite their academic achievements, lack experience in managing finances, making informed healthcare decisions or balancing work-life demands.
Taylor excelled academically but felt ill-equipped to handle real-world tasks. Education today prioritizes subjects that are rarely applied in daily life, creating a readiness gap that becomes apparent the moment young adults face adulting challenges. Without EF skills like financial literacy, decision-making, or time management, the gap between academic success and real-world preparedness only widens.
The Expanding Problem: A Systemic Issue with Lasting Impact
The challenges facing young adults today aren’t just temporary. The widening readiness gap is a systemic issue that reflects changes in our society, economy, and educational system. Here’s why this gap will likely continue to grow:
- Increasing Complexity of Adulting: Health insurance, investment options, and career paths are unlikely to become simpler. As responsibilities continue to grow more intricate, young adults will face steeper challenges without the EF skills to manage them.
- Underdeveloped EF Skills: High screen time, structured childhoods, and education’s focus on test-taking over real-world preparation continue to limit EF skill development. Without a shift in how young adults develop these skills, the gap will only widen.
- Educational Focus on Academic Over Practical Skills: Until schools integrate real-world skills like financial literacy, self-regulation, and time management, young adults will continue to feel unprepared for the challenges of adult life.
Each story of a young adult struggling with budgeting, understanding health insurance, or feeling overwhelmed in their job search illustrates this gap. It’s not just about personal challenges; it’s about a need for change in how society prepares young adults for adulthood.
Why Untapped Can’t Ignore the Adulting Gap
The adulting gap is not going away. Young adults are stepping into an increasingly complex world with fewer EF skills, facing an uphill battle with stress and anxiety. Parents, educators, and policymakers are beginning to recognize this growing issue, but meaningful change will take time.
For now, each conversation about the struggles of adulting serves as a reminder that we need to focus on bridging this gap. Society must recognize the importance of EF skills in helping young adults manage responsibilities confidently and effectively. As adulting challenges increase, the call to better equip young adults with executive function skills becomes all the more urgent.
Need Help?
The shift from student life to independent adulthood has always been challenging, but today’s complexities make it even harder. Modern adulting demands skills that many young adults are still developing.
Recognizing this readiness gap is the first step, and it’s time to begin conversations on how we can better prepare future generations for independence.
Need help with Adulting? Contact Untapped Learning for a free consultation to see how we can help.
