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    The age you officially become an 'adult' has been decided and it's not what you might expect
    Home>News>World News
    Published 17:43 13 Feb 2025 GMT

    The age you officially become an 'adult' has been decided and it's not what you might expect

    A survey has revealed the age Gen Z adults, Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers believe you actually 'feel' like an adult

    Poppy Bilderbeck

    Poppy Bilderbeck

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    Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images

    Topics: Life, Mental Health

    Poppy Bilderbeck
    Poppy Bilderbeck

    Poppy Bilderbeck is a freelance journalist with words in Daily Express, Cosmopolitan UK, LADbible, UNILAD and Tyla. She is a former Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible.

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    You may technically become an adult when you turn 18, but when do most people think you actually feel like one - or should really start acting like one?

    In my opinion, your twenties are your teenage years, your thirties when you begin to figure things out more and by your forties, you start having your s**t together and feel more confident in yourself overall.

    But what do other people consider the age which - despite already technically being an 'adult' - you should actually start 'adulting' by?

    Definition of 'adulting'

    A survey was conducted by Talker Research and shared by insurance agency Life Happens titled 'Adulthood Across Generations'.

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    The survey polled 2,000 Americans and split the numbers equally between generations - 500 of each including Gen Z adults, Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers.

    For those of you who don't know the categories - Gen Z includes those born between 1995 and 2012, Millennials include those born 1980 to 1994, Generation X were born between 1965 to 1979 and Baby Boomers were born from between 1946 and 1964.

    The study reports those polled resolved the age you start 'feeling' like an adult is - drum roll please - 27. But why that age?

    What happens if you still don't feel like an adult when you turn 27 though? (Getty Stock Images)
    What happens if you still don't feel like an adult when you turn 27 though? (Getty Stock Images)

    What age you become a 'true' adult

    Well, many polled explained they felt like a proper adult mostly as a result of certain financial goals being met - the age of 'feeling' like an adult coinciding with the age those surveyed noted they started taking their finances a lot more seriously - age 28.

    Talker Research reports the top two answers seeing 56 percent of those polled saying they felt like an adult when they paid their own bills and 45 percent saying it was when they were able to become financially independent.

    Meanwhile, another 46 percent said they 'felt' like an adult the moment they made the move out of their parents’ house.

    And 40 percent of those surveyed said what 'makes you an adult' is actually getting life insurance, with 53 percent of Gen Z specifically agreeing with this.

    Although, this isn't to say the adulting is welcomed, with 56 percent of those surveyed saying they have more financial responsibility they feel like they can handle and 71 percent agreeing it's much harder to be an adult now than it was 30 years ago, with 72 percent also drawing on the cost of living crisis.

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