She acknowledged that some parts of being of empty-nester age can indeed be scary. “Your kids are gone. You have to re-meet your partner, you have to re-establish who you are in yourself, and it’s a ...

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jack Sheard. It has been edited for length and clarity. My now-wife and I started dating toward the end of my senior year in college.

In addition, 72 percent use their smartphones to visit social media sites. ?We found that this is a generation that will Google you, and nine out of 10 empty nesters consider themselves ?texters,??