The vast majority of young people and young adults in Germany are optimistic about their own future. Only about one in five expresses pessimism - and also believes that he will be worse off than his parents. This is the result of a survey of the German Children and Youth Foundation and the Sinus Institute, which is the SPIEGEL present and will be presented on Monday.
Researchers surveyed more than 1,000 people aged 14 to 24, looking ahead, at how well they feel prepared for the future and what skills they consider important. The results at a glance:
How do young people see their own future?
When asked how they imagine their own future, 58 percent of respondents said "rather confident . " Fully confident were 24 percent. 15 percent of young people see the future as "rather gloomy" , only 3 percent "very gloomy".
There were no major differences between girls and boys in this answer, but they did differ in the age and level of education of respondents.
- 27 percent of so-called young people and young adults with a low education are pessimistic about their own future. Among aspiring graduates, it is only 12 percent.
- The optimism also decreases with age: the younger respondents are somewhat more positive than the older ones.
How are opportunities for social advancement judged?
Only a third of respondents believe that they will fare better in the future compared to their parents. Almost one in five assumes deterioration. Nearly half expect it will be equally good.
Young men are somewhat more confident about social advancement than young women. Those who are younger and higher educated are on average also a bit more optimistic than others.
Studies have repeatedly shown that social advancement in Germany is more difficult than in many other industrial nations (read more here). Studies also confirm that the educational success in this country depends more on the home than in many other countries.
Majority is pessimistic when it comes to society
Young people and young adults see the future of society in Germany much less brightly than their own future, according to the study. This difference can also be found in studies in which only adults are interviewed, write the authors. He was in the younger generation, however, even more pronounced.
- Around a third are optimistic about the future of society.
- On the other hand, more than half of the study participants see "rather gloomy" in the future of society, 9 percent even "bleak".
- Adolescents and young adults with higher education respond more optimistically than respondents with lower and middle education.
More about the study
Who conducted and funded the study?
The "25Next - Education for the Future" study is a research project of the German Children and Youth Foundation and the SINUS Institute.
How was the data collected?
All data was collected in the Online Access Panel of respondi AG as part of an online survey and evaluated by the SINUS Institute. The survey in June 2019 was attended by 1,102 people. The results were weighted and are considered representative of the German-speaking population at the age of 1424 years.
How well do young people see themselves prepared for the future?
Most young people felt "rather well" prepared for what they expected in the coming years. Around one-third rated their own competences as "rather bad" or "very bad," according to the study. Young men were thus more self-confident than young women: 71 percent compared to 58 percent.
The biggest discrepancy between self-assessment and what it takes to be on the job in the future is revealed, according to the study, in skills that researchers attribute to coolness and charisma .
- Only two-thirds of respondents say they "keep a cool head when it comes to stress," but almost everyone expects it to be important in the future.
- 6 out of 10 attest to "good time management", but 9 out of 10 consider this to be an important future competence.
- Nearly half of those surveyed think they are good at "reading something to strangers," but nearly three quarters expect this ability to be important in working life.
The authors explain these differences with the fact that young people often had little experience. That's why they would answer "shy".