#Adulting

A hashtag celebrating or lamenting the mundane responsibilities of adult life. Used primarily by Millennials and Gen Z to acknowledge everyday tasks like paying bills, grocery shopping, or making doctor’s appointments. Reflects generational attitudes toward adulthood as achievement rather than inevitability.

Quick Facts

Origin Story

The word “adulting” emerged as a verb form around 2008 on Twitter and other social platforms. Unlike most words, it can be precisely traced: early uses appear in tweets joking about performing adult tasks. The verb form “to adult” and the gerund “adulting” allowed users to frame adulthood as an active, optional, and difficult endeavor rather than a natural state.

The term resonated particularly with Millennials entering adulthood during and after the 2008 financial crisis. Traditional markers of adulthood (homeownership, stable careers, marriage, children) felt increasingly unattainable. In this context, smaller accomplishments—cooking actual meals, filing taxes, scheduling maintenance appointments—became worthy of celebration.

By 2011-2012, #Adulting was regularly used on Twitter and spreading to other platforms. The hashtag allowed users to:

1. Celebrate small victories (“Made a dentist appointment and actually went! #Adulting”)
2. Commiserate about difficulty (“How are bills every single month? #Adulting”)
3. Mock their own inexperience (“Just learned you have to clean the dryer lint trap #Adulting”)

The term reflected delayed life milestones compared to previous generations. When your parents bought a house at 25 but you’re renting at 32, “adulting” becomes successfully navigating the DMV rather than traditional adulthood markers.

Timeline

2008-2010

• Verb form “adulting” appears sporadically on Twitter
• Early adopters use humorously to describe mundane responsibilities
• Concept begins spreading in online communities

2011-2013

• Hashtag usage increases significantly
• Millennial financial struggles post-recession create resonance
• Format establishes itself: celebrate minor accomplishments
• Begins appearing in Tumblr, Facebook posts

2014-2015

• Mainstream breakthrough period
• Major publications write explainers
• Book “Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps” published (Kelly Williams Brown, 2013) helps popularize
• Used millions of times monthly

2016-2017

• Peak cultural saturation
• Becomes common in spoken conversation
• Adulting workshops, classes, and guides proliferate
• Some backlash from older generations

2018-2019

• Sustained high usage
• Gen Z begins aging into the hashtag
• TikTok adoption begins
• More critical examination of why adulting feels hard

2020-2021

• Pandemic creates new adulting challenges
• Remote work blurs adult/child boundaries
• “Adulting during a pandemic” becomes distinct subgenre
• Renewed sympathy for the concept

2022-Present

• Remains widely used across generations
• Gen Z fully embraces the term
• Economic pressures make it more resonant, not less
• Evolution toward genuine skill-sharing rather than just humor

Cultural Impact

#Adulting fundamentally reframed how a generation thinks about maturity and responsibility. It transformed adulthood from an inevitable state into a series of discrete actions requiring effort and deserving recognition. This shift reflected real economic and social changes.

The hashtag created permission for vulnerability about life skills. Previous generations might have been embarrassed to admit not knowing how to iron or read a lease. #Adulting normalized asking for help and celebrating basic competence, fostering knowledge-sharing communities.

The term influenced how organizations provide services. Banks, insurance companies, and service providers began creating “adulting” guides and resources, recognizing that their customers needed basic life-skills education their parents’ generation received through different channels.

#Adulting sparked important generational conversations. While some older individuals criticized it as whining about normal life, others recognized it reflected genuine structural changes: Millennials/Gen Z faced higher education costs, lower relative wages, more expensive housing, and less stable employment than previous generations at similar ages.

The hashtag contributed to the “extended adolescence” narrative while simultaneously challenging it. Users weren’t refusing to grow up—they were documenting the difficulty of doing so in changed circumstances. This nuanced perspective influenced everything from policy discussions to workplace benefits.

#Adulting also reflected changing life trajectories. With later marriage, childbearing, and career establishment, people in their 20s and 30s occupied a different life stage than their parents had. The hashtag acknowledged this reality.

Notable Moments

• 2013: Kelly Williams Brown’s book “Adulting” helps mainstream the concept
• 2015: “Adulting” classes and workshops begin appearing in cities
• 2016: Tumblr’s #Adulting content goes viral across platforms
• 2017: Various brands launch “adulting” marketing campaigns
• 2018: Debates about participation trophies and adulting culture
• 2020: Pandemic adulting challenges (Zoom fatigue, pandemic cooking, etc.)

Controversies

Generational tensions: Older generations criticized #Adulting as evidence of entitlement and inability to handle normal responsibilities. “We just did these things without celebrating” became a common response.

Minimizing real problems: Some argued the cutesy framing of “adulting” trivialized genuine economic hardships facing young adults, making systemic problems seem like personal difficulties.

Extended adolescence narrative: Critics worried the term perpetuated stereotypes about Millennials refusing to grow up, when evidence showed they faced structural barriers to traditional adulthood markers.

Class dynamics: The hashtag assumed certain resources (ability to make dentist appointments, buy groceries, etc.). Actual poverty made many “adulting” tasks impossible, not just difficult.

Mental health dismissal: Some used #Adulting to mock people who found basic tasks genuinely overwhelming due to depression, anxiety, ADHD, or other conditions.

Participation trophy discourse: The hashtag became fodder for debates about whether younger generations needed excessive praise for normal activities.

Variations & Related Tags

• #AdultingIsHard - Emphasizing difficulty
• #AdultingSucks - More negative framing
• #AdultingWin - Celebrating successes
• #AdultingFail - Acknowledging mistakes
• #AdultLife - Similar concept, less cutesy
• #GrowingUpIsHard - Related sentiment
• #RealAdult - Ironic aspirational version
• #FakeAdult - Acknowledging feeling like imposter
• #AdultingTips - Advice-sharing variation
• #Adulting101 - Educational content

By The Numbers

• All-time usage: ~350M+ posts (estimated)
• Peak usage: ~5-7M per month (2015-2018)
• Current usage: ~3-4M per month
• Demographics: 70% ages 18-34, 55% female
• Most common contexts: Cooking (25%), finances (20%), household tasks (18%), health/medical (15%), career (12%)
• Platform distribution: Instagram (40%), Twitter (30%), TikTok (20%), Facebook (10%)
• Sentiment: 40% celebratory, 35% commiserative, 25% advice/tips

References

• Adulting - Wikipedia
• The Financial Challenges Facing Young Adults - Pew Research Center
• Emerging Adulthood - Psychology Today
• Why Is Adulting So Hard? - The Atlantic

Last updated: February 2026