Generation Next: Open, Optimistic, Less Religious

By Lillian Kwon, Christian Post Reporter Saturday, January 13, 2007

Meet "Generation Next."

They are the cohort of young adults (18-25-year-olds) who have grown up on personal computers, cell phones and the internet, and the generation that came of age in the shadow of Sept. 11, the Pew Research Center reports.

Most of them think their generation is unique and distinct, a recent Pew survey found, and they believe they have it better than young adults from 20 years ago.

According to the study, 84 percent say young adults today have better educational opportunities; 72 percent say they have access to higher paying jobs; and 64 percent believe they live in "more exciting times."

Gen Nexters, as the research center labeled them, keep in constant contact with friends through text messaging, instant messaging and e-mail. Plus, they are the "Look at Me" generation, posting personal profiles and photos on Facebook and MySpace.

And they're a generation more open and accepting than any other generation. About half of Gen Nexters say the growing number of immigrants to the U.S. strengthens the country and 58 percent say that homosexuality should be accepted. Young people are nearly evenly divided over favoring or opposing homosexual marriage. Also, 89 percent of young adults say it's all right for blacks and whites to date each other, which is a significant increase from 56 percent of young adults 20 years ago.

More than a third of the young adults have tattoos.

One in five members of Generation Next say they have no religious affiliation or are atheist or agnostic, nearly double the proportion of young people who said that in the late 1980s, according to the study. And less young people identify themselves as Protestant (44 percent). Only four percent say people in their generation view becoming more spiritual as their most important goal in life.

Additionally, 63 percent of Nexters believe humans and other living things evolved over time while only 33 percent say all living creatures have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.

Generation Next is also the least Republican generation. They're also significantly less cynical about government and political leaders than are other Americans or the previous generation of young people.

At the same time, roughly twice as many young people (14 percent) say they most admire an entertainer rather than a political leader. Only 6 percent named spiritual leaders as people they most admire.

Overall, young adults are generally content with their lives today with 84 percent saying the quality of life is "excellent" or "good." Compared to previous generations, less young people are "very happy" (30 percent) but more are "pretty happy" (63 percent).

Gen Nexters are more optimistic than previous generations. The study showed that 74 percent have high to medium expectations for their life five years from now compared to 59 percent of older generations.

A higher percentage of young adults today are more apt to say they have greater sexual freedom (66 percent) than young people 20 years ago. Moreover, 75 percent say young adults today have more casual sex compared with 20 years ago.

Major concerns facing Generation Next are finishing college and getting a job. Nearly one in five (18 percent) say getting into college, paying for tuition, handling the workload and graduating are among their most important problems compared to one percent of previous generations. And 16 percent say finding a job, career advancement, job security and job satisfaction is an important problem they face while only six percent of older generations said the same.

How does the future look for Gen Nexters? More than eight in ten say when a person reaches the mid-20s, it is important for them to have a good plan for their future.

While most Gen Nexters are not yet married, the vast majority hope to marry some day. Roughly one quarter of young adults have children of their own. Among those who do not have kids, a large majority say they would like to some day, the study reported.

Top goals they named are fortune and fame. Roughly eight in ten say people in their generation think getting rich is either the most important or second most important goal in their lives, and half say the becoming famous is valued highly by fellow Gen Nexters.

Still, Gen Nexters rely on family for advice and financial assistance. The study showed that 73 percent of young adults received financial help from parents in the past 12 months. At the same time, young people remain closely connected to their families with regular home visits and calls or e-mails.

The lifestyle of a Gen Nexter today consists of attending school and exercising. According to the study, the majority of young adults exercised in the past seven days; 48 percent of male young adults and 34 percent of female young adults drank alcohol; 51 percent of men and 21 percent of women played video games. Additionally, 47 percent say they go out to the movies at least once a month.

Generation Next is "taking their place in a world where the only constant is rapid change," according to Pew Research.

The survey was conducted by telephone on Sept. 6-Oct. 2, 2006 with a nationally representative sample of 1,501 adults, including 579 members of Gen Next; 250 of the GenNext interviews were conducted by cell phone.