USA Today looks at “the sociology of recession” – how the economic crisis is changing some key features of American society. A quick overview: Americans are getting married later, the birth rate for 20 to 34 year olds has dropped, the divorce rate has dropped, more Americans are now living with relatives, the home vacancy rate is up, driving alone more, and fewer children are attending private schools.

This article suggests these features could become “the new normal,” particularly for younger generations who are facing more uncertain futures, but I’m not so sure. If the economy turns around, which of these would continue to decline and which ones would reverse direction? I suspect the marriage age and birth rate would still decline – these are longer term trends in the United States that also mirror patterns in other industrialized nations. The divorce rate was declining prior to the economic recession, at least according to the 2011 Statistical Abstract (see Table 1335), so perhaps this would continue. The last four I suspect would change course with a better economy.