Is Millie Bobby Brown’s Engagement Photo Stressing You Out?
A new study suggests that 'Milestone Anxiety' is hitting Gen Z the hardest.
Stranger Things actor Millie Bobby Brown has just announced she’s getting married at the ripe old age of 19, and a recent study suggests that her early dash to the altar actually tracks.
Millie Bobby Brown made the announcement on Instagram earlier this year where she posted a photo of herself looking chuffed in the arms of Jacob Bongiovi — who happens to be Jon Bon Jovi’s son, in case you were invested — posted alongside a Taylor Swift lyric. (Insensitive?)
The news may raise questions as to why someone would get married at 19, an age when people usually luxuriate in not being tied down. But interestingly, recent research coming out of the UK shows that Millennials and Gen Z are actually feeling more pressure to tick off life milestones than the ones before them.
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According to a survey from a British charity called Relate, 83 percent of Gen Z are feeling pressured to tick off traditional life milestones like marriage and kids, along with 77 percent of their millennial brethren. The same charity report that Gen Z are awash in “milestone anxiety”.
Weirdly, though, Gen Z was the least likely of all generations to say that marriage was important, with only 27 percent of those surveyed feeling that it was a big deal.
So, that’s odd. But at the same time, it very much tracks with how the world is set up. You’ve got what feels important to you personally, and that society is telling you is important, and that disconnect will probably haunt you, you know? It will haunt you.
Those feeling milestone anxiety, the researchers say that 39 percent say it was coming from themselves, with 22 percent blaming society and general and 21 percent to their parents. Zoomers felt particular pressure from social media and the media more generally.
The question is, though, what percentage of Gen Z is going to feel pressured to get married at 19 due to this Instagram post from Millie Bobby Brown? At this stage, we couldn’t possibly say.
Photo credit: Instagram, @milliebobbybrown