Young adults lifestyles seem to be among the most affected by the recession. This month, Corbis highlights what the company has dubbed the “open nest” syndrome: college graduates returning back home.
The extremely competitive job market has resulted in many recent graduates unable to secure employment. Some have chosen to travel the world along with their boomer counterparts. However, for many, even low-cost travel is not a feasible alternative. According to a recent study by The College Board, private college loans have increased nearly 600% in the past decade, to $17 billion in 2007–2008. Corbis research says that the combination of outstanding debt and no income is sending many college graduates packing for home.
Corbis puts forth staggering statistics of 77% percent of 2008 graduates having returned to their parents’ nest. The image company suggests that the open nest trend is so prevalent that it may displace the more familiar empty nest—in life and in photography that depicts it: “Expect to see more imagery of parents spending quality time with their adult children, multigenerational households and images that convey the strong concepts of togetherness, love and security.”
A slide show of rights-managed images that highlight the trend is available on the recently revamped Corbis Web site. Notably, the Creative Boutique section of the Web site, launched in 2007 to provide advertising and marketing pros with image-related research and other free content, appears to be no more. The new Web site opts for a much more direct sell: it redirects Creative Boutique traffic to a page that offers trend-related imagery instead of a PDF report.