Posted on 01/09/2007 4:34:27 PM PST by qam1
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Generation Next is more optimistic, more tolerant and more likely a Democratic voter than its predecessor, according to a new study.
The group's tilt toward the Democratic Party is far different from the previous younger generation, known as Generation X, who grew up during the Reagan administration of the 1980s and was more inclined to support Republicans.
``This portends a significant political impact as they get more engaged,'' said Scott Keeter, a researcher from the Pew Research Center. ``If they carry their party leanings with them, that will make a big difference.''
Forty-eight percent of young adults age 18 to 25 said they were Democrats or leaned that direction while 35 percent said they were Republican or leaned that way in 2006, according to Pew polling.
The study also found a great acceptance for same-sex marriage. Forty-seven percent of those age 18 to 25 favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry while 30 percent of those 26 and older favor gay marriage.
While they are a generally optimistic group, large majorities think that casual sex, binge drinking, illegal drug use and violence are more prevalent among young people today.
Asked about their generation, most say getting rich and being famous are top goals.
The study found that the young adults:
_Are less inclined to vote than older generations, though young voter turnout was up significantly in 2004. About 54 percent of those from 18 to 24 voted in 2004, and 74 percent of those 25 and over voted, Keeter said.
_Have more liberal views than other generations on questions of race and homosexuality and immigration.
_Read the newspaper and follow the news on television and radio less than those in older generations.
_Keep in close touch with their parents, both for advice and for financial help.
_Are inclined to use online social networking sites like Facebook and My Space. More than half had used one of these sites.
_Tend to most admire people they personally know rather than the famous. Entertainers were twice as likely to be named as political leaders.
_Have gotten a tattoo, dyed their hair an untraditional color or had a body piercing.
The study, a collaboration of the Pew Research Center and MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, is based on Edison-Mitofsky exit polls, past Pew polls and a Pew survey of 1,501 adults, including 579 people from ages 18-25, taken Sept. 6-Oct. 2. The study had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, 5 percentage points for the young adults.
Sounds like a tough road but seems like you are on the right path.
One suggestion: I would advise stockpiling an arsenal of modern weaponry so that you'll always have the upper hand when someone decides to attack you with an arsenal of medieval weaponry.
Yes, that is definitely in my future plans.
If you're young and conservative, you have no heart.
If you're old and liberal you have no brain.
They'll learn.
Other surveys say they are more conservative with the only liberal streak being on gay marriage.
I am in this age group and while am opposed to gay marriage, it is not my one issue and don't think it is the end of the world despite being sinful.
By the way, Gen Y or Gen Next or whatever you call it is shown to be more anti-abortion than Gen X.
Hey, I and most of My grade school class -- I think it was 3rd grade -- voted overwhelmingly for Gerald Ford. We KNEW carter was a loser. Little kids can see through people far more often than most folks think.
"Keep in close touch with their parents, both for advice and for financial help."
Keep in close touch with their parents, for financial help.
Says it all.
Definitely is a big problem.
Isnt anyone gonna mock this stupid study? I mean, Pew Center? Exit pollls?
Thus leading one to the conclusion that they aren't as bright as their predecessors. Many will get wiser as they get older - and more conservative as they begin to see through the thinly-veiled facade that the liberals have presented them for their first 25 years of life.
You are absolutely right. If the government has to be in the student loan business at all, it should at least limit its loans to those students who will most likely be willing and able to pay the loan back. It does neither the student nor the taxpayers any good to lend a student $100K+ to get a graduate degree in oppression studies, dead languages, or some other impractical field. All it does is leave the government with a bad loan and the student with a lifetime of debt that they will never be able to pay off.
Who cares if this upcoming generation is liberal? They all were! I was an idiot at that age, but luckily my Republican Dad "told" me who to vote for and I did, LOL!
Besides, these kids are way too busy:
*Experimenting with no boundaries sexuality...
*Hanging out on "My Space"...
*Unemployed and living in their parents' basement...
*Watching "E" TV for the latest on the "Skank of the Week"...
*Dying their hair with Kool Aid, piercing themselves and getting tattoos...
...to actually GET TO A VOTING BOOTH every 2 or 4 years.
Nature/Democracy has a way of preserving the Status Quo. ;)
Well, the government sets student loan limits arbitrarily, so a student majoring in ethnic studies, gender studies, etc. (who are useless in the real world) will receive the same loan limits and rates as a student majoring in engineering or nursing (who will earn more money). Take a guess as to which group is more likely to pay the amounts back plus interest without significant difficulty.
That's not to say that programs like the foreign languages, history, archaeology, anthropology, etc. are not useful but that there are way too many folks in this field of study.
Most 18-25 year olds earn less than $30,000/year.
They will grow, believe me with the increase in taxes coming in the next two years, they will grow.
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