The survey also suggested that young people’s attitude towards traditional teenage vices are more restrained than among previous generations. More people (42 per cent) thought that the legal age for buying cigarettes should be raised (it is currently 18) than thought it should be lowered (ten per cent). Similarly, 37 per cent would raise the age for gambling (only nine per cent would lower it) and 21 per cent would raise the age at which you can buy alcohol (seven per cent would reduce it).
Young people also believed that 16 was too young to join the army and would raise the minimum age to get married. Yet while 39 per cent agreed with Ed Miliband that the voting age should be lowered to 16, only 13 per cent said they would be certain to vote in a general election when given the chance.
The survey, entitled ‘Generation Next’, also revealed that many young people are worried about their future. Only 37 per cent believe that their lives would be better than their parents, lower than any previous generation asked since the war. Baroness Tyler, the president of the National Children’s Bureau, said: ‘These 11-16 year-olds, growing up in the context of significant economic challenges and with the proliferation of new technology, share some of the concerns of their parents’ generation. They are anxious about getting good grades and a job when they leave school, about their appearance and about their parents working too hard. Many believe it will be harder for them to buy a house or get a job than it was for their parents.’
Bobby Duffy, from Ipsos MORI who carried out the research, said: ‘This major new survey paints a picture of a next adult generation that has a high sense of personal responsibility and drive, are more averse to risky behaviours and who care about a wide range of social issues. But they are also very disconnected from political parties, have very low levels of optimism for their generation and little faith in institutions like the government.’
