The Trouble With Adults Today

Could it be that young people today actually want their parents to be more involved in their lives? Yes, according to a recent Primedia / Roper National Youth Survey.

In the survey, 3,000 students between 12 and 19 (who are typically the children of baby boomers) were asked to identify the country’s top societal woes. When given a list of 15 problems facing America today, 56% chose “selfishness, people not thinking of the rights of others” as the country’s biggest issue. Fifty-two percent cited “people who don’t respect the law and the authorities.” “Wrongdoings by politicians” and “lack of parental discipline of children and teens” also received high rankings.

Self-critical, they see themselves as the group most responsible for problems at school. But they also chose themselves as the group most likely to effect change and improve the future.

“Students today are independent thinkers. They believe in acceptance of responsibility, and they stress the value of education and the significance of family,” according to Joan Chiaramonte, vice president of Roper Starch Worldwide.

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Society’s Worst Problems, To Students

Selfishness / people not thinking of the rights of others: 56%

People who don’t respect the law and the authorities; 52%

Wrongdoing by politians: 48%

Lack of parental discipline of children and teens: 47%

Courts that care more about criminals’ rights than victims’: 45%

Too much emphasis on money and materialism: 41%

Lack of morality / ethics in society: 33%

Too much commitment to other nations of the world: 31%

Lack of leadership: 29%

Lack of involvement by citizens: 27%

Lack of government action: 22%

Not enough government support of technology / science: 13%

Too much government action: 12%

Too little interest in other nations of the world: 11%

Lack of leadership by business and industry: 10%