"Hey mom and dad! It's me...again!"

"I did everything that I was supposed to do to succeed in life," he said. "And I did it while working predominantly full-time."

Cory Stine, 24 years old, has always been a go-getter. He acted in high school and college theater, mastering the complicated accent of Fagin in Oliver and Einstein's German dialect. He has an active social life, pledged an academic fraternity, and spends time with his family. He took six years to graduate college - one year at a community college in Maryland, followed by five years at a state university. He worked 80-hours per week between school coursework and his retail job in a local mall, as well as additional hours of work required for his major. Cory graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.7 GPA, excitedly clutching a degree in Electronic Media and Film. Today, he lives at home with his parents.

Cory isn't the only one moving back in with dear old mom and dad, a recent PEW study finds. Among young people between the ages of 18 to 25, 53 percent currently live at home with their parents. This so-called "boomerang generation" consists of young adults (like Cory) who often return home to live with their parents after briefly moving out to live on their own (or never moving out to begin with).



"Perhaps young people are too happy at home checking Facebook," said New York Times opinion writers Buchholz and Buchholz, who have dubbed young adults "Generation Why Bother." Young adults don't mind living at home, the PEW study also found. In fact, 8 in 10 of those young adults living at home say they are "satisfied with their living arrangements."

So how do we explain this trend? Do young adults just miss mom and dad so much in college that they're rushing home?  Former White House Press Secretary (under G.W. Bush) Dana Perino seems to think so.

"I have a couple theories," Perino said. "One of them is that that age group, 18 to 25, is very spoiled, and they've got a lot of extra stuff. So they don't want to go and live on their own where they're not going to have all that extra stuff that mom and dad have provided all those years."

"When I hear a politician or journalist or pundit make the claim that my generation is 'lazy' or 'spoiled' or 'entitled,' I feel that I have the right to be enraged," Cory replied. "I worked hard for my degree and the reason I still live at home with my parents isn’t because I’m lazy or spoiled, it’s because I can’t afford to move out."

Cory works two jobs in retail.  Both jobs pay only slightly over minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour. Working 60 hours per week and unable to afford rent in his Maryland town, Cory had little choice but to move back home. After working his two jobs, Cory spends an additional 20-30 hours per week as an unpaid intern in his field of study.

"Essentially, I’m working ninety hours a week and am paid for two-thirds of the work that I do," said Cory. "If that’s lazy, I’m not sure what else I can contribute."

Recent 2010 graduates left college with an average student loan debt of $25,250, a five percent increase from 2009. Among 18 to 24 year old young adults, a measly 54 percent are currently employed - the lowest employment rate for young adults in 60 years. One in five young adults say that they have delayed having a child or getting married due to economic concerns.

Despite an upturn in the economy, recent college grads with bachelor's degrees are notoriously jobless. The highest rates of unemployment are among those with degrees in architecture (13.9 percent), the arts (11.1 percent) and the humanities (9.4 percent). This only counts young adults without any work, meaning Cory would likely be counted as "employed," even if only in a temporary retail job.

"I have some friends who managed to land a job in the field that they studied, but most have simply settled for what pays the bills at the moment," Cory said. "And I’m one of the lucky ones. My parents are generous enough to let me continue to live at home until I can find something more permanent."

Cory's parents support his pursuit of media-making, and applaud the hard work he continuously puts into his craft. The confidence that they have in his success allows Cory to follow his passion without worrying about a warm bed or food in his stomach.

But Cory's family does not live in the McMansion where Perino suggests today's youth are returning.

"If you live in a McMansion and you have your own room down in the basement, and you have your in-and-out privileges and you have your car taken care of, why would you leave?" Perino said.

On The Five on Fox News, the media correspondents joke that young adults moving home is part of Obama's new energy policy - to eliminate the fuel spent on holiday driving by just living with your parents. However, about 48 percent of young adults pay rent to their parents, and 89 percent said that they help with household expenses.

Cory pays for his cell phone, his car insurance, and other assorted expenses. He helps around the house and often drives his younger sister to her various activities.

"The promises we were made before college aren’t panning out for us and as a generation, I think we’re trying to cope with that," Cory said. "That doesn’t mean we’re lazy, it means we were mislead."

Did you move back home after college? Are you a parent who can't get rid of their adult child? I'd love to hear your stories below!