One newspaper headline, noting that 18- to 34-year-olds were increasingly likely to move back home following the 2007 release of the iPhone, asked: “Did the Release of the iPhone Cause Millennials to Move Back in with Their Parents?” (Novak, 2018). The reporter noted that “the implication, of course, is that people are spending all their money on technology instead of buying homes or renting.”

a. If this is indeed a real correlation, can we draw a causal conclusion that technology expenditures cause millennials to move home? Explain your answer.

b. Is it likely that technology expenditures led young people to move back home? What are some alternative explanations? Might this correlation simply be a coincidence and not a true association?