Therapists of America, take note: More than half of millennials consider one mom or dad their best friend.
The findings are part of Fusion's Massive Millennial Poll, which surveyed 1,000 people aged 18 to 34 about everything from politics to dating to race issues. (For full results and methodology, click here.)
When asked, 55 percent of participants said “yes,” they are besties with a parent, while 45 percent said “no.” Broken down by gender, 61 percent of women said “yes,” compared to 49 percent of men. Call it the Gilmore Girls-ification of America.
This BFFery was highest among the youngest millennials: Sixty-one percent of 18 to 24 year-olds said they considered a parent their best friend, compared to 53 percent of 25 to 29 year-olds and 47 percent of 30 to 34 year-olds.
Perhaps the prospect of having to move back home one day (or live at home longer) is inspiring everyone to get along. Forty-six percent of millennials surveyed currently live at home, but only forty percent said they receive financial support from a parent.
Also worth noting: Nearly a third of participants said their parents are not currently married.
With these bonds in mind, it’s perhaps no surprise that parents are also shaping the way millennials see the world. Sixty-five percent said they share the same political affiliation as one of their parents.
Still, there appears to be a limit to parental closeness. When interviewed, only 17 percent of young people said they told their parents the first time they had sex—and a whopping 79 percent said they did not. And of the 37 percent of millennials who say they’ve smoked pot, only nine percent say they’ve lit up with a parent.
Fusion's Massive Millennial Poll surveyed 1,000 people between the ages of 18 to 34, with a general population sample and an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points. The interviews were conducted via telephone from Jan. 6 to Jan. 11. For more on our methodology and poll results, click here.