What makes teenagers tick? Adults have been puzzling over this question since the AfD received a high proportion of votes in the European elections. The new Sinus study provides insights – and also contains some surprises.
According to a new study, young people are more concerned than ever about problems such as climate change or racism, but feel powerless themselves. Many do not trust politicians to find solutions either. This is the result of the Sinus Youth Study 2024 commissioned by the Federal Agency for Civic Education, which was presented in Berlin on Wednesday. But it also shows that despite fears about the future, 84 percent of the teenagers surveyed between the ages of 14 and 17 are satisfied or very satisfied with their everyday lives.
Study author Marc Calmbach called this the most surprising finding: “The crises are piling up, and young people are still optimistic that they can cope with them, which is astonishing.” The president of the Federal Center, Thomas Krüger, also said: “The generation that is being discussed here has basically only experienced crises.” But this does not lead to pessimism, but to a “conditioned optimism”. According to the study, this means that young people have the feeling, despite everything, that somehow things will work out.
The Sinus study has been around since 2008. It is not an opinion poll with hundreds of participants, but a qualitative study. 72 young people between the ages of 14 and 17 from different types of schools and population groups were intensively questioned at home for several hours about their everyday lives, their wishes, values and plans for the future. “That is the charm, the quality of this study,” said Calmbach. Despite the small sample, the results are meaningful for the 3.1 million young people in the age group because of the depth of the survey.
Because the young people were surveyed in 2023, Krüger believes that no direct answers to the outcome of the European elections can be found in this survey. However, Calmbach classified the proportion of young AfD voters at 16 percent as follows: “This is volatile behavior, I am very sure that things could look very different in two years.” The young people do not have a closed right-wing worldview, they are trying things out. However, the established parties have often disappointed, said the managing director of the Sinus Institute.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
