Adulthood used to be solid, but now it’s liquid. The traditional markers of adulthood—long-term employment, home ownership, family formation and community—no longer stand on solid foundations. The burden of building a coherent life and identity falls entirely on the self, without the scaffolding previous generations relied on. To extend a concept from Polish-British sociologist Zygmunt Bauman: “In a liquid modern life there are no permanent bonds, and any that we take up for a time must be tied loosely so that they can be untied again.” The same is true today of adulthood. There are now five dimensions to understanding modern adulthood.

Historically, identity was inherited, not constructed. A coal miner in Yorkshire, England would likely work in the same pit his father had worked until the 1970s. In parts of India, the caste system determines your social status, marriage prospects and occupation before birth. For centuries, societal norms confined women to the domestic sphere, with the primary role of wife, mother and homemaker. Until recently, humans didn’t need to answer: “Who am I?” It was predetermined by your family, village, religion, class, gender, occupation and ethnicity.

Around 24% of the world is now nonreligious, compared to 0.2% in 1900, with the fastest change happening in developed countries. Organized religion offered a shared narrative of who we are and the meaning of life. More than 58% of the world’s population lives in urban areas today compared to less than 30% in 1950. Rural communities form stronger bonds and exhibit higher levels of interdependency. Union membership has halved from 30% in 1985 to 15% today following the decline of the manufacturing industry. The institutions which once orchestrated and anchored identity have slowly dissolved. Identity is no longer inherited but something we continuously construct, perform and update. Brands become the primary tool for identity formation, expression and belonging.

The biggest and often least discussed driver of liquid adulthood is the cost of housing. In the U.K., the average house price has jumped from 3.5 times the average salary to 8 times since the 1990s. In the U.S., the median home price has risen from 3.2 times household income to 5 times since the 1990s. Paradoxically, rent and house ownership have surged, while consumer goods—like electronics and clothing—have become more affordable. In the 1980s, mobile phones were a luxury item that would cost $4,000, representing 10% to 20% of annual income. Today, consumer goods are within reach, but adulthood is expensive.

In most global cities, rent exceeds 50% of total salary: New York (81%), London (75%) and Dubai (59%). In an economy where house prices rise, wages stagnate and early-career opportunities are dwindling, young people have less money left after rent to spend on anything other than small treats that make life feel more palatable. For the first time in a century, young people’s future depends less on personal effort or income and more on what they stand to inherit. A $5 matcha replaces a mortgage deposit. A $15 lip gloss replaces a summer holiday. And a $100 pair of sneakers replaces the first car. The desire to enjoy life and seek emotional rewards hasn’t changed; it’s simply been resized to fit the current economic reality. Young adults are staying in the family home for longer into their 20s and 30s, redefining independence. Adulthood is no longer marked by asset ownership. However, consumption doesn’t disappear—it becomes smaller, more immediate and symbolic.

A job was once for life, with a clear path for progression and stability to build the rest of your adult life around. Whereas work prospects today are uncertain, temporary and not promised. Gen-Z’s average job tenure is 1.1 years. Beyond the economic and psychological strain, work becomes another domain for young people to reconstruct meaning. As careers become more fragmented, transactional and remote, work provides fewer of the relationships and routines that once anchored adulthood.

The average young person is likely to have over 10 jobs in their lifetime. That’s if they’re lucky to be able to secure an entry-level job. According to Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, in an interview with Axios in 2025: “AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs - and spike unemployment to 10-20% in the next one to five years.” Only time will tell if the proclamation becomes reality. However, young people are already turning against AI. Recent graduation speeches have been mired with loud booing of AI. A new report shows that 44% of Gen-Z workers have admitted to sabotaging their employers’ AI deployment as a form of rebellion. The backlash against AI implementation is real and growing. This feels weird because historically, young people have been the first to adopt new technologies. From the internet to social media and smartphones. As work becomes more liquid, young people are increasingly seeking meaning, identity and belonging elsewhere.

Liquid Relationships Perhaps the most visible feature of modern adulthood is liquid relationships. Before the internet, relationships were rooted in geographic proximity, meaning they happened face-to-face. In other words, relationships were solid. It was much harder to ghost someone you would bump into in the local neighborhood. Today, relationships are rootless, mediated through apps, screens and algorithms. Before 1995, 0% of couples had met online. By 2017, 39% met online , making it the most common way, overtaking friends, work and family. At the same time—partly driven by housing unaffordability, women’s rising educational and professional attainment and growing individualism—young people are marrying later, having fewer children and spending more time alone than previous generations.

The most visible form of liquid relationships is situationships: romantic connections without clear labels or commitment. They are a symptom, but not the cause of liquid relationships. Dating apps offer an infinite pool of candidates without the need to commit. “Till death do us part” has been replaced by “let’s see what happens.” At the same time, relationships are no longer limited to humans. Young people are using AI companions for emotional support, while the single-person household is now the fastest-growing household type globally. Brands should activate a two-pronged strategy. First, help young people connect in the real world. Second, be inclusive and accessible to individuals who exist outside the confines of a traditional nuclear family.

Liquid Futures Despite the doom-and-gloom news cycle, you could argue we’re living in the best time in human history. In general, we live longer, healthier, safer, wealthier and more peaceful lives. In 1900, the average global life expectancy was 32 years. In 2026, the average global life expectancy is 73 years . We have made tremendous progress in tackling diseases, improving the quality of life and lifting billions out of poverty. However, a longer life expectancy leads to a slower transfer of wealth and power compared to previous generations. In the U.S., Baby Boomers control 52% of the nation’s wealth despite making up 20% of the population. In business, the average age of a board of directors is 60 years old, while 50% of the world’s population is under 30. And if we look at politics, less than 3% of politicians are under 30. There is a disconnect between who makes decisions and whose future is most affected.

Young people are living in a gerontocracy, a system where governments and decision-makers are significantly older than most of the population. Many feel like they can’t shape their own future. At the same time, Boomers remaining in the workplace for longer creates a blockade, stalling and limiting the career opportunities of future generations. Young people are best placed to feel the impact of geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty and environmental destruction, but worst positioned to shape policy and their own futures. Naturally, Gen-Z exhibits historically low trust in traditional institutions such as government, media and big business simply because they don’t serve them. The companies that will win trust will be those that hand the pen to young people to author the next chapter.