Five Key Insights to Understand the Youth Today

Despite the changes in technologies and the world, one thing has not changed: “Being young is about finding yourself, your people, and your place in the world.”

On the first day of the International Conference on Educational Frontiers, Gino Borromeo of McCann Worldgroup spoke about the youth of today and shared the findings of their organization’s international study with 33,000 interviews and a sample covering those aged 16 to 30.

From the key trends and ideas that Gino discussed, we distill five important ideas. Note that there are significant country and cultural differences, and this is but a short–and necessarily limited–summary.

1. Being young is still about finding yourself, your people, and your place in the world.

Despite the many technological changes, adolescence and young adulthood remain characterized by the youth’s desire to find one’s identity, community, and purpose.

These concerns have not changed for the youth since adolescence and young adulthood continue to be  defined by young people’s desire to know more about who they are, who the people they can share interests with are, and how they can make a difference in the world.

2. ‘Adult’ used to be a noun; it is now a verb.

Based on the study, one important shift for this new generation of the youth is  adulthood is no longer considered a milestone. Previous generations regarded adulthood as a numerical age when one can legally enter contracts, drink alcohol, give consent, or drive a car, while today’s youth seem to use “adult” as a verb.

Certain actions are deemed as “adulting.” Adulthood is now a fluid state, an option offered on a daily basis. Examples of adulting includes being able to pay bills, having a regular bed time, going to the movies by oneself, and even having an uncracked phone screen!

3. “Figuring things out” takes longer.

The youth are taking longer to  figuring out a career for themselves. This process is no longer linear, and many don’t stay in the same company for years and just slowly move up the ladder.

As one of the interviewees in the study put it: “The older generations say ‘oh you’re doing this now, you’re doing this, you’re doing this… whereas I’m just planting seeds. At some point, one of the trees is gonna grow.”

Today’s youth choose to do different things as a means of exploring multiple options simultaneously (“sowing seeds”) in the hope that one of them will bear fruit.

4. Young people don’t just have friends; they have an audience.

Because of social media and hyperconnectivity, friendships are no longer just about sharing the same interests. For many young people, it is about showcasing one’s best and most creative self. We may even be living in an age where individuals become their own brands, able to define their own unique identity.

On the positive end, social media have provided opportunities where the young find role models and sources of inspiration. On the negative end, however, social media have engendered widespread feelings of inadequacy and insecurity because of social media envy.

Despite living in a world that engenders social media envy and personal insecurity, many more young people are valuing sincerity, honesty, and loyalty.

5. The desired adult’s role is to to provide the young wisdom in an age that’s chaotic and confusing.

The world has become so complex that the youth are actually looking for adult perspectives. They’re in search of parental figures for advice and wisdom to navigate this confusing, chaotic world.

This is true globally, but even more so in the Philippines where the youth continue to live in multi-generational households with parents, grandparents, and even older and younger cousins, uncles and aunts. Our collectivist culture also still values respect and the wisdom of elders and those around us.

In this fast-changing and often chaotic world, the youth need anchors to help them in their finding of themselves, their people, and their purpose. Educators are called to provide these much-needed anchors.