Aug 5, 2013
GIVING A HELPING HAND
Around an eighth of respondents value “travelling” as their number one ambition to help them make a living. Surprisingly around six in ten of these want to travel around the world, some particular countries like China or Japan because it’s always been a dream of theirs, but most others want to travel across the world, obviously when they’ll have time!
About a quarter of people just want to travel more regularly, whether that’s for a long vacation, travel at least once a year. A tenth of people want to live in another country, whether that’s as far as South America or Uzbekistan or another European city like Porto. A small minority want to work abroad, whether that’s to do projects in a specific field like international development or a job that enables them to live in a variety of places.
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Helping
Around one in sixteen of the participants value “helping” as their most important aspiration. For about a third of these, this involves providing for their family and friends. For a quarter, this is also about getting involved in their community, because they want to leave a positive legacy, including leaving the planet in a better state than how they found it, but also to keep up their curiosity in life.Around 15% of these want to do so through provoking social change, whether that’s through the film they produce or the campaigns they’re involved in, particularly for marginalised people. For the same proportion, that’s through volunteering, in particular continuing to have time for this activity.
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Loving
Just over 18% value “relationships” as their most important objective. Over two thirds of participants want to start a family, with some aspiring to become good parents. About 15% want to be in a loving and stable relationship, some even striving to have learnt how to love and the meaning of the word, which they feel this is more important than getting married.
Just under 10% value as very important keeping their best friends and maintaining a happy life with them and their family, with some striving to meet new people. This analysis shows that having children is an aspiration that crosses generations. What’s fascinating is how little marriage is mentioned as an expectation, at best making the relationship official and at worst, a bureaucratic formality.
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Feeling
Only around 7% valued “feelings” as their number one principle. For close to a third of these, this was about staying happy and even spreading more happiness in the world, while for another third, this was about feeling healthy in mind, body and soul – from good karma to being valued by others. Around one in eight want to feel more autonomous and see it as the precondition for meeting their basic needs.
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Our next post in this series will explore how important the other expectations young people have, starting with how important you value the traditional expectations that society assumes you will want to achieve – getting a degree, getting a stable job, buying your own house, getting married and having children. Watch this space!
