A comparison of young people's lifestyles
The study series «What makes young people tick?» by the Sinus Institute in Heidelberg has been providing in-depth insights into the lives of young people since 2012. In the 14- to 17-year-old age group, Sinus researchers identify seven «lifeworlds», which are distributed as follows among the 2,000 or so young people surveyed:
1. adaptive-pragmatic
The «Adaptive Pragmatists» group (24 per cent of respondents) set the tone. They see themselves as performance- and family-orientated mainstream and show a high willingness to adapt.
2. expeditive
The «Expeditives» (21 per cent) value success and lifestyle, are educated and see themselves as the avant-garde of their generation. According to researchers, their self-assessment sometimes seems narcissistic.
3. conservative-bourgeois
In contrast, the «conservative middle-class» (15 per cent) are down-to-earth, uphold traditions and are guided by values such as family and home.
4. materialistic-hedonistic
The «materialistic hedonists» (15 per cent) belong to the lower social class. They are characterised by a pronounced consumer orientation and brand awareness, and value leisure time and family.
5. experimentalist-hedonist
«Experimentalist hedonists» (12 per cent) want to stand out from the mainstream and be out of the ordinary. For many, this includes trying alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana at an early age. How comparatively moderate even this rebellion is is shown, among other things, by the fact that it is hardly directed against parents, the researchers write: «Although these young people rebel against «bourgeois» normality, their own parents rarely conform to this image.»
6. socio-ecological
The «socio-ecological» (8 per cent) are open to alternative lifestyles and are guided by values such as the common good and sustainability.
7. precarious
A marginalised group are the «precarious» (5 per cent), young people with difficult starting conditions but who strive to participate. They are characterised as «failures».
A comparison of the most important studies
The youth barometer: Young Swiss in focus
The Youth Barometer, which Credit Suisse has published every year since 2010, provides a broad insight into the lifestyles and views of young people in Switzerland. For the brand new 2016 version, published on 4 October, the market and social research institute gfs.bern surveyed 1048 young adults aged 16 to 25. Due to the high internet affinity of this age group, the surveys were conducted online.
The desire for a family, home ownership and a solid education is widespread.
The most important facts in brief:
The lifestyle of young people in Switzerland is strongly characterised by individualistic tendencies, which are, however, easily reconciled with post-materialistic values. Young people want to try out many things and strive for a good work-life balance. The desire for a family, home ownership and a solid education is widespread - especially among Generation Z, those born after 2000. The youth barometer characterises them as ambitious and goal-oriented.
The Sinus Study: Teenagers under the microscope
The Sinus Institute in Heidelberg has been researching young people's lifestyles in Germany for years. This has resulted in the study series «What makes young people tick?». For the latest version, researchers conducted interviews with 72 14 to 19-year-olds from different social milieus. Teenagers also interviewed each other. Although this research method is not considered to be representative, it is nevertheless informative due to its depth of focus.
The most important facts in brief:
Many teenagers today have almost the same values as adults. The majority agree that a common set of values must apply, especially in today's world, because this is the only way to achieve a «good life». Researchers call this development «neo-conventionalism», characterised by a high willingness to adapt and a natural acceptance of performance standards and bourgeois virtues such as diligence, honesty and punctuality.
The Shell Study: Pioneers of youth research
Every four to five years since 1953, the Shell Youth Studies have analysed how young people in Germany cope with the challenges they face. For the 17th Shell Youth Study in 2015, 2558 young adults born between 1989 and 2002 took part in a survey using questionnaires. In a second, so-called qualitative part of the analysis, researchers also conducted 21 personal interviews.
The most important facts in brief:
Today's youth can be characterised more than ever as a generation on the move, according to the researchers of the Shell study. They are serene without being pessimistic and face the challenges of a fast-moving world with a pragmatic attitude. Young people's willingness to orientate themselves towards performance standards, their need for security and their desire for stable personal relationships are striking.
