Life is harder now than it was for the previous generation, research has revealed. A detailed study found the majority of the under 30s believe life is tougher now than it was for their parents – and their parents actually agree.
Longer hours, a lack of job security, a flat housing market and the rising cost of living all emerged as factors which the previous generation didn’t have to cope with.
Modern technology, which acts as an umbilical cord to the office, was also revealed as a downside of life today, which was not present 30 years ago.
The over 50′s echoed the belief that today’s technology-driven younger people get a tougher deal than they ever did in their youth.
The study of 4,000 adults was commissioned by health retailer Holland & Barrett to mark the launch of their ‘Good Life’ report, which charts the values of today’s average 20-30 year olds against those of the baby boomer generation.
Despite the consumer revolution in personal technology and comparatively bigger salaries, today’s younger generation believe they face a more significant range of threats to happiness and contentment- many pointed to their parents enjoying overtime if they worked late, better job security, comfortable pensions and a job-and-finish approach to the world of work.
The study revealed 68% of those questioned believe today’s generation are forced to endure more hardship than young people 40 years ago.
Lysa Hardy, Chief Marketing Officer for Holland and Barrett, said:
“We commissioned the Good Life report to better understand what the challenges and pressures really are for today’s younger generation.
“In a world where we’re constantly rushing around and connected 24/7, we found people now have to make more of a concerted effort to keep fit and eat healthy, often fitting it around their busy lifestyle at the expense of having fun and seeing friends and family
“The common view is young people live for today – yet the report shows quite the opposite.
“Today’s younger generation are looking ahead, investing in their health, saving, and making smart choices about healthy eating and exercise.”
The modern generation proved a lot more stressed day to day – 50% of the over 50′s said their average week as a twenty-something rarely saw them get stressed, if at all.
This contrasts hugely to today’s youngsters – just 5% were able to say their usual week is worry-free, while 41% experience regular or constant stress (compared to just 15% 40 years ago).
Money worries, being overworked and concerns about their body image were the most prevalent concerns for today’s youth.
Comparatively, the older generation were much more content with their body shape and image overall growing up rating their looks and body shapes at a seven on average, whereas today’s group could only average a 5.
Both generations placed their aspirations firmly on finding a partner and having a long term relationship when in their twenties, yet today’s youth were much more image conscious and likely to prioritise having a healthy body and keeping fit.
Today’s average twenty-something was also twice as likely to want to ‘make a lot of money quickly’ than the older generation did when they were that age.
There’s an increasing trend to having a baby later in life, with aged 29 the preferred time for the current generation (versus age 27 forty years ago).
While attitudes to marriage have severely declined in modern times- less than half the number of today’s current youth think it important compared to the 54% of over 50′s who placed faith in it when in their twenties.
People had better relationships with the neighbours also in years gone by – one in four over fifties have fond memories of visiting a neighbour’s home and being on very good terms with the people next door, while just 7% of todays’ twenty-somethings can claim the same thing.
Surprisingly, alcohol consumption remains fairly similar but naturally people were far heavier smokers in the older generation – just a fifth of the modern generation smoked compared to over half of people forty years ago. The average smoker back then smoked 15 a day, while those today get through 9.
Dr Catherine Hakim, from the London School of Economics who helped analyze The ‘Good Life’ report, said:
“These results are often surprising, and reveal that young men and women in their 20s are planning for the future, investing time and effort in maintaining health and fitness, and fretting over their finances – rather than the hedonists living for the day. Perhaps this is a response to the current tough economic climate.
“Young men and women are also vastly more materialistic than were their parents’ generation. Having money has become a life goal in itself, as a high standard of living becomes taken for granted.”
