After downloading and printing a copy several days ago, I finally had a chance to read yesterday the Pew Research Center's report on "Generation Next". What I saw discouraged me, yet motivated me, all at the same time. My summation of the report: The current 18-25 year old generation is the most selfish, media savvy, lifestyle permissive, irreligious generation ever seen in America.This seems to fly in the face of reports I saw just a couple of years ago saying that this next generation of young adults (Gen Y or Millennials as referred to by some) was going to turn out a lot like the current Seniors generation (those over 60) because of events like 9-11 & the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars, and as a reaction to their predecessors - Gen X. They would be the most patriotic generation in decades and lead a new wave of volunteerism. They would be the most conservative group politically and socially in years, and they would be driven by their faith.
But this report says the opposite.
And the Pew group isn't the only ones finding these things out. My friend Kim Pagel posted about the book "Generation Me" and the author's similar findings concerning this new generation of young adults. I encourage you to read Kim's excellent post on the subject.
So in regards to the Pew survey, it discourages me because Generation Next contains our future leaders and cultural shapers. And yet this report motivates me because the need for Christ is so readily apparent. I know that some of these attitudes revealed in the survey will shift as this generation begins to marry, have kids, and settle into careers, but the worldview you have in your college years guides much of the thinking in your adult life - and it appears that there is a widen open opportunity to share Christ and a biblical worldview with the new generation of young adults.
1 comment:
Interesting report. It has lots of statistics in it. Statistics can be misleading sometimes. I didn't get through the whole report (maybe 1/2 of the way). From what I read, it seemed like a pretty accurate assessment.
I think one thing to keep in mind is some statistics were "what do you think about your generation" vs. "what is true for YOU". People might have a negative connotation of the people in their same demographic that isn't necessarily true. Like, I can say "all 28 year olds just wanna make a lot of money" but that's a generalization: ask me what I want, and ask all the other 28 year olds what they want, personally, then aggregate to get the real answer.
Overall, I didn't see this report as overly depressing. For sure, the parts about morality and church attendance are... well, expected, but disheartening. But I think there is a lot of potential in the younger generation. Maybe that's just because I share some of their opinions on things...
I could say more, but I guess that's enough for a blog comment.
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