Youth 2016: Realistic. Pragmatic. Customised.

«Young people have bad manners, they despise authority, have no respect for older people and discuss where they should work. They contradict their parents and bully their teachers.» These are not the words of Austrian psychotherapist Martina Leibovici-Mühlberger, who, as critics say, has written the most pessimistic book about our youth. Here, someone from antiquity is already scolding the coming generation; it is said to have been Socrates himself. The Greek philosopher was not the first to do so either, as it is written on four-thousand-year-old clay tablets from Mesopotamia that young people are without rights and that the end of the world is therefore near. The anger of adults towards the young is as old as humanity itself - which, after all, has not perished because of all the adolescents it has had to put up with so far.

The anger of adults towards the young is as old as mankind - which, after all, has not perished.

So far, everything has remained the same, but we too shake our heads at least occasionally at young people: as parents of teenagers we rack our brains over them, as teachers who encounter resistance, as work colleagues of young professionals who, it seems to us, think life is a pony farm. The longer we remember our own youth, the more difficult it becomes to empathise with those who lived through these turbulent times. If you don't have children yourself or don't have to deal with them professionally, you may find it even more difficult to understand this colourful group of people who are on the threshold of adulthood, who make demands, have dreams and want to have a say.

What makes our youth tick? Recognising that there is no one-size-fits-all answer, we want to explore this question in this dossier. We talk to researchers who are taking the pulse of tomorrow's generation, consult the most important youth analyses, ask the psychotherapist - and last but not least the real experts in youth matters: Teenagers who tell us about their lives.

Young people no longer set themselves apart

All youth cultures, from the hippies to the '68ers to the punks, began with provocation and the need to set themselves apart from their parents and social norms. That's why we associate youth with rebellion. This connection has lost its validity, say researchers. «There are fewer and fewer typically youthful efforts to set themselves apart from the adult world,» says Peter Martin Thomas from the Sinus Institute in Heidelberg, which published the third instalment of its study series «What makes young people tick?» in 2016. The analysis provides an unusually deep insight into the lives of young people, right down to the nursery. Researchers conducted interviews with 72 young men and women aged 14 to 17 in different social milieus, and young people also interviewed each other.

Although this qualitative research method is not considered statistically representative, it is significant due to its depth of focus. The study shows that many young people, regardless of whether they have a migration background or not, have almost the same values as adults, says co-author Thomas: «The majority of them agree that a common set of values must apply in today's world, because this is the only way to live a good life in a functioning system.»

All youth cultures began with provocation and the need to set themselves apart.

The Sinus researchers call this development «neo-conventionalism», characterised by young people's high willingness to conform and their natural acceptance of performance standards and bourgeois virtues such as diligence, honesty, helpfulness and punctuality. Unlike a few years ago, many young men and women also consciously want to «be like everyone else». «Mainstream is no longer a dirty word, but a key concept in young people's self-image,» says the researcher.

The parental home as a safe haven

More than ever before, respondents expressed a longing to feel safe and accepted and a desire for security in an increasingly confusing world. However, typical youth values, such as the desire for self-development, freedom and consumerism, are still important.

Of course, there is no such thing as the model young person who represents everyone. «14 to 17-year-olds are a heterogeneous group,» says Peter Martin Thomas, «but they are moving closer together.» The Sinus study identifies seven different «lifeworlds» (see box below), with the «Adaptive Pragmatists» setting the tone. According to the authors, these are performance and family-orientated teenagers who combine bourgeois virtues with modern values such as freedom, openness and fun.

More than ever, young people are expressing a longing to feel safe and secure.

They are willing to adapt and compromise, see themselves as realists and are sceptical about ideologies. They focus on what is feasible instead of tinkering with a better world and try to find their place in society. They want a secure and orderly life, but realise that the future will demand a great deal of flexibility from them. They set themselves apart from «lazy people» and believe that they can achieve a lot with ambition and self-confidence. The benchmark here is the normal middle-class biography: successful entry into working life, starting a family and building a home.

Rebellion is out. Peter Martin Thomas is convinced that this is not only due to the fast-paced world, which leaves young people no time for this, but also to a society that declares staying young to be the highest maxim - even in the minds of mums and dads. «Nowadays, nobody shocks their parents with a record by Die Toten Hosen,» says the researcher, «they've long had them in their wardrobes themselves.» Piercings and tattoos are also no longer identification features of youth subculture, but popular beautification methods for adults: «If you want to provoke people today, you have to make a big effort.»

«Today, nobody shocks their parents with a record by Die Toten Hosen anymore. They've had them themselves for a long time.»

Researcher Peter Martin Thomas

«Inherited convenience»

Peter Martin Thomas believes that a little more friction between young and old would be good for everyone. However, researchers do not expect anything of the sort in the near future. Not only the Sinus study, but also the Shell study, for which over 2,500 participants aged between 12 and 25 were surveyed, found an unbroken strong relationship between young people and their parents in its latest version (see box on the studies at the end of the article).

According to the study, 52 per cent of respondents today get along well with their parents, 40 per cent even get along very well. According to the study, the parental home is a safe haven for young men and women, the importance of which has increased in a volatile and conflict-ridden world. However, money also acts as a social glue - as suggested by a study by Zurich sociologist Ariane Bertogg, which is based on data from the national panel study TREE (Transitions from Education to Employment) and examines young adults in their mid-20s. The closeness to parents apparently remains strong even in this phase of life; eight out of ten respondents maintain a close or even very close relationship with at least one parent. And: the more material comfort the parental home offers them, the better the young adults rate their relationship with their mother and father.

The more material comfort the parental home offers, the better the boys rate their relationship with their parents.

Ivica Petrušić, youth worker and managing director of the cantonal child and youth development organisation (okaj) in Zurich, believes it is also an acquired comfort that has buried the once typical urge of young people to change. He is constantly asked why young people today are so conformist. «Apparently we adults expect the opposite from them,» says the youth worker, «perhaps in the hope that at least they want to change something when we are too tired and saturated to do so.» However, taking a stand is not the order of the day in a society that finds anything that restricts the individual in their immediate needs too uncomfortable and whose most important message to their children is to do what is good for them. «We have spoilt our children,» says Ivica Petrušić, «and now we are surprised that they have no desire to make the world a better place.» However, the youth expert also speaks of functional optimism, of young people who can't see the wood for the trees: «Because the information society is overwhelming them, they are focussing on the manageable, i.e. on themselves and their closest circle.» In this context, it is interesting to see how taking care of one's own health, for example, emerges as an important concern in all of the youth surveys discussed here.

In solid relationships, young people seek the stability and security that they miss in the rest of the world.

The same applies to solid relationships, in which young people may have sought the stability and security they lacked in the rest of the world, according to the Credit Suisse Youth Barometer 2016, which the bank published recently. Over 1,000 young adults aged 16 to 25 took part in the online survey. Their top priority is to have trusting, secure relationships, whether they are of a friendly, partnership or family nature. They also emphasise values that make this security possible in the first place: Reliability, honesty, fidelity.

Politics: Why there is a lack of perspective

«If the youngsters get into trouble, it's usually within decent limits,» says youth worker Petrušić. This is also supported by the figures presented by Addiction Switzerland in a 2015 report. According to the report, the consumption of addictive substances has reached an all-time low, with young Swiss people smoking, smoking pot and drinking less than they have for 30 years. According to Ivica Petrušić, many of them already have a third pillar at the age of 18. His tone betrays disillusionment, if not concern. Why? «This self-focused attitude is easy to commercialise. As soon as young people articulate a need or an idea, it immediately becomes an offer. Nobody gives them time to let things grow and mature.» The youth worker regrets that the quality of content is no longer measured by its social relevance, but by its monetary value.

Critical minds who want to make a difference have a hard time. «It's not that we no longer have any problems,» says Ivica Petrušić, «but their context is becoming increasingly abstract from the perspective of the average citizen.» This is one of the reasons for the young generation's lack of interest in political engagement.

Party membership is considered out. In general, young adults show little group affiliation.

Petrušić cites the comparison with the Swiss youth riots in the 1980s as an example: «We have letters from that time in which young people call on the city council to resign because it was ignoring their needs. They were so aggressive in a way that is unimaginable today, and their anger had a specific addressee.» This shows the difference to today, where social grievances have become so complex that we lack a clear view of who we want to hold responsible. Ivica Petrušić believes that social media will not help. «Let's assume,» he says, «that young people want to find out about world events on the internet. Right next to the war report, they find the latest news from «The Bachelor». Or they end up on other channels that report on umpteen other problems. How is anyone supposed to be able to decide what they want to get involved in? The only option is to withdraw.»

Optimism despite everything

Young people's disenchantment with politics is not because they are not interested in society, says social researcher Peter Martin Thomas from the Sinus Institute. «Young people do have political interests,» he says, "but they wouldn't formulate them as such. They associate politics with people in suits who say incomprehensible things."

A look at the Credit Suisse Youth Barometer reveals that the situation in Switzerland is probably no different, with most respondents considering political involvement to be unimportant. Party membership in particular is seen as out. In general, according to the study, young adults are not very group-orientated, with cultural associations being the most popular. However, a kind of politicisation seems to be underway, «but more of a discursive or ideological one», which is not linked to party membership or participation in demonstrations, but can be seen, among other things, in the worry barometer of young Swiss people.

What moves young people most is the refugee crisis, as well as the fear of terrorism and extremism.

According to the study, the refugee crisis is the most important issue for young people, as it has catapulted asylum and migration issues to the top of the list of the most pressing problems. «Young people want a solution to the refugee problem first and foremost,» write the authors, followed by a desire for solutions in dealing with immigration, the free movement of persons and foreigners in general: «There has thus been a shift in the content of the migration debate; away from the ongoing issue of foreigners and the free movement of persons towards the topical issue of refugees.»

In third place among the top ten problems, and this is new, were concerns about racism and xenophobia. The researchers emphasise that a clear majority of young Swiss consider immigration as such to be unproblematic. 11 per cent see it as an advantage, while 47 per cent - more than ever before - consider it to be little or no problem. This development is due to the increasing influence of Generation Z, i.e. those born after 2000, who are less critical of foreigners than their predecessor generation and the majority describe their relationship with fellow citizens without a Swiss passport as harmonious.

According to the Youth Barometer, the fear of terrorism and extremism has also risen noticeably - in 2014, just under one per cent of those surveyed said it was the most pressing problem, whereas in 2016, seven per cent of young people already cited it as their main concern. This makes the issue almost as virulent as concerns about global warming and environmental disasters. The demand for better environmental protection continues unabated, with young people prioritising the issue just as much as problems in the area of pension provision.

«After all, many of them are already paying into the funds without knowing whether their own pension provision is still guaranteed,» the youth barometer states. In this context, there is talk of gaps in provision, tensions due to different generational interests and the need to fundamentally reform the pension system.

The young men and women concentrate on the here and now.

Pragmatic and serene

While pessimistic tendencies are on the rise when it comes to society's prospects, the majority of young Swiss people are confident about their own future. The trend towards personal optimism is also reflected in the German Shell study. Its authors find this «remarkable for a generation that has to accept a great deal of uncertainty». Young men and women respond to the many uncertainties by focussing strongly on the here and now. They are pragmatic and serene without succumbing to pessimism. However, they sometimes hardly dared to visualise the future, to pursue their own aspirations, as was typical of many young generations. Or, as the Shell study puts it in the epilogue: "The future is imagined in the same way as the present - there should be small developments, but preferably no major changes.

Look further:

• Was uns wirklich wichtig ist - 5 Schweizer Jugendliche im Video-Interview

Weiterlesen:

This article appeared in our October dossier on «Youth 2016 - Generation good». The magazine can be ordered here.