Welcome to Crowd Source.

Issue eight, The Boomerang Adult Issue.

CrowdDNA's monthly digest.

Enough about Generation Boomerang, and the endless hand-wringing that the kids are not alright. As the cost-of-living crisis forces grown-up kids to stay at home for longer, we’re watching the glorious and good side effects of this protracted childhood unfold in real time – and we’re tracking what this looks like for parents, not kids (they’ll be, fine).

We’re talking about the emergence of boomerang adults. How this has created a new kind of kinship, with The Atlantic describing today’s average parent-child bond as: “An intensified emotional closeness of the kind once reserved for friends and romantic partners.” And a fresh life stage where adults are embracing the learnings of adolescence.

Make no mistake: this goes deeper than ‘Kidulthood’...?

1. Spongebob Sliders

A new familial bond...??

Recent research puts 40% of 18-to-34-year-olds in the UK as living with their parents? (The Financial Times, 2024). But what of the impact on mum and dad? When The Face magazine talked to them, they described it in broadly positive terms: as bringing, “a renewed sense of closeness and friendship that somewhat transcends the parent-child dynamic”.

We are welcoming in a new parent-child bond that more closely resembles that which exists between peers and partners, offering far more in the way of emotional scaffolding - and, crucially, it now goes both ways.?

Read more here.?

2. The Happiest Place On Earth

We're seeing child-like joy in very grown-up fashion.?Luxury fashion brand Coperni is hosting its SS25 fashion show at Disneyland Paris, (AKA) “The Happiest Place on Earth” and Balmain’s creative director Oliver Rousteing has created a collection that celebrates The Lion King and Rousteing’s own cultural heritage. By putting a grown-up cultural lens on childhood classics, this embraces adult-lescence.?A gimmick? Potentially. An injection of youthfulness? Undoubtedly.??

Read more here.?

3. Stylish Nostalgia

Childlike Luxury...

Luxury brand Miu Miu is bringing back a trend that kept children in the 00s very busy - making colourful scoobie bracelets for their friends. Although possibly inspired by the friendship bracelet craze among Swifties, this isn't a DIY thing. It comes with a hefty price tag, and needs to be hanging from your expensive bag...

Read more here.?

4. Dolls House Accommodation

Pocket size joys...

Airbnb are offering the opportunity to stay inside a life-size Polly Pocket house, a novelty that capitalises on an appetite to re-find youth and immerse ourselves in the world of the cultural icons that define the best days of childhood.?The listing itself is phrased as a ‘playdate’, as the brand goes all in for the wonder that comes with rediscovering childhood favourites.??

Read more here.?

5. Adult Gap Years

A new market for the travel industry??

Breaking news. There’s a cultural move to extend the period in which it’s acceptable to embark upon a ‘gap yah’. The tourism sector is witnessing a trend whereby adults (as opposed to just fresh-faced 18-year-olds) are taking time out to recharge, reflect and, presumably, to find themselves. The resounding message? Make like a 20-something and hit up Australia.??

Read more here.??

Meanwhile, we asked the Crowd team:

How do your parents keep you young???

"My mother wants a grandchild, and I’m best substitute." Celine, Cultural Strategist?

"When my mother starts using young language. She told me I had ‘dusty creps’ once. It was devastating." Liv, Cultural Strategist??

"By still treating me like a child." Jennifer, Editor

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