Last year's UN human development report for Egypt said many of the nation's young people were trapped in "waithood", defined as a prolonged period "during which they simply wait for their lives to begin".

In global surveys young Arabs turn out to be relatively optimistic about the future. The frustrations they experience as they turn into adults—notably the years of "waithood" that are typical before they find jobs and, therefore, before they can marry and enjoy sex (premarital relations are taboo in much of the Arab world)—are hardly the stuff of which political revolutions are generally made.

Economists speak of the phenomenon of "wait unemployment," or enduring long periods of unemployment, particularly by educated young people in countries with large public sectors, to secure a high paying ‘permanent’ position with good bene?ts. In a similar vein, many young people in Egypt and throughout the region experience "wait adulthood" or "waithood" as they negotiate their prolonged adolescence and remain single for long periods of time while trying to save money to marry.