With apologies to patio11 [1], we really do need a word for "A denial which is phrased in such a fashion as to make listening observers think it is more likely, not less likely, that the thing being denied actually happened."
That said, very insightful comment otherwise!
I love that smart, frugal, sensible behavior becomes the norm. What could be bad about that?
My problem is that the advantages/payoffs (more savings, faster student loan payoffs, etc) of sensible/smart behavior are removed, while the misery/discomfort/etc (living with parents, being looked at funny, not being able to be alone) remain (or are made worse).
It's even worse if the idiots then repeatedly bring up the advantages (to excuse themselves of what they did and to make it seem there's nothing wrong with what they are doing), as though they still exist.
It's the US that's the outlier here -- in most countries, living with parents at least for some points in time is the normal thing to do, for the simple reason that it's more economical.
The stereotype is that losers live with their parents. It was fairly common for smarter new grads to live with their parents (to save more money). These days, it seems almost mandatory in many cases, especially if they can't find a job.
That said, even with it being obvious what's going on, the idiots can't resist saying the dumbest thing. But that's them in general: no matter what's going, they are always looking for a way to say something stupid.
As for me, I'm 30 and living with my mother, but I'd definitely rather not be. I'm not living with her to be smarter, it's because I'm unemployed and unable to function due to mental illness (though as I said above, I think someone is did this to me).
If your obligations are such that you have to accept samewise conditions just to eek out an existence, it's entirely another thing.
If you choose to live on a dollar a day because you temporarily rely on your family to provide certain externalities, that's one thing.
If you have a dollar to spend per day and spending it poorly means you go hungry, that's quite another.
Similarly, micro versus macro economics: we can end up in a globally bad situation from everyone making locally good changes.
If it made strong sense to live with my mother, rather than on my own, then I'd have done so. How it's perceived by others is irrelevant to me. That said, I can't think when I'm not living by myself and I have difficulties getting along with my mother, so this would've never been an option for me. It's bad enough that I'd be better off alone in a high crime, run down, low cost area than with others in an upper class neighborhood.
If many are still living with their parents, then it implies the recession of 2009 is still inflicting damage, but what's annoying me is the notion that what was previously smart, frugal, and sensible gets baked in as the norm (creating more misery for everyone, but without any advantages). That is, living with parents after graduation is done to just survive, rather than to save more and pay off student loans faster. What BS!