Getting Lost En Route to Adulthood

Getting Lost En Route to Adulthood explores how generations are shaped by political rationalities through governmental programmes. Previous research details the Millennial generation's delayed transition into adulthood, resulting in the onset of a new phenomenon; the 'quarterlife crisis'. A discourse analysis analyzing quarterlife crisis self-help literature through the framework of governmentality was used to understand how ideal neoliberal subjecthood is communicated through the problematization and proposed reinvention of emerging Millennial adults. Findings confirm that the category of the quarterlife crisis in psy- literature has appeared due to a generation displaying characteristics inconsistent with ideal neoliberal subjecthood. The Millennial generation was problematized directly for their delayed transition into adulthood, while being framed as responsible for shaping their own future. Millennials were encouraged to reinvent themselves according to neoliberal governmental objectives. These findings offer insight into how the lives of a full generation are connected to the aspirations of political rationalities in advanced liberal democracies through self-help literature.