"Country Doctor"
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21st
century youth: the new British sophisticates
Britain
is nurturing a generation of mature, sophisticated, more abstinent and
culturally adventurous young people. In contrast to the images of binge
drinking and thuggish public behaviour commonly projected by the media,
the reality is that To
mark the tenth anniversary of the launch of R.O.A.R.,
OMD Insight and Channel 4 decided to revisit the generation of young
people first interviewed in 1995 to gauge how their attitudes have
changed over the past decade and to compare their attitudes with those
of today’s generation of 15-24 year olds. Responsibility
is the new rebellion In 1995, 40% of 15-24 year
olds agreed that they “never wanted to get tied down with lots of
responsibility”. Ten years on,
it’s clear a more conventional life has become more appealing to the
nation’s youth; only 21% of today’s 15-24 year olds and 15% of the
original respondents (now aged 25-34 years old) agree with this
statement. R.O.A.R.’s findings also indicate that in this age of cheap travel and more flexible working, there is now less pressure on young people to squash in new and challenging experiences while they are young. Ten years ago 84% of 15-24
year olds felt that travelling to new places while they were young was
important, but that figure has dropped to 69% amongst their modern
counterparts and to 64% amongst the original R.O.A.R. kids, now aged
25-34. Life’s
no longer just one big party The proportion of 15-24
year olds stating that the most important thing in life is to have fun
has fallen considerably – from 88% back in 1995 to 74% today, dropping
even lower to 71% amongst the 25-34 year group of original respondents. It’s good to note that
young people appear much more optimistic about what the future holds. A
decade ago, 45% of 15-24 year olds said they thought their prospects
were better than their parents’. In 2005, 58% of 15-24 year olds and
51% of 25-34 year olds said they expected to have a rosier future than
their parents. This optimistic attitude is
matched by positive moves to make their hopes become reality, with many
more young people committing to further education today than 10 years
ago. In the 15-24 age bracket, the proportion of those studying at
school has risen from 22% in 1995 to 30% today. Even more markedly, the
number of those studying at university has risen from 12% ten years ago
to 32% today. No
longer creatures of habit As
choice has increased and attitudes have altered, so young people have
become more varied in their leisure activities. Ten years ago, 56% of
15-24 year olds said that they visited the same places when socialising
week after week. A decade later and this figure has dropped to 31%
amongst the original ROAR kids (now aged 25-34). But amongst today’s
15-24 year olds we can also see a definite increase in their range of
leisure activities, with just 46% visiting the same places every week. All
clubbed out Once
a mainstay of socialising, clubs have become far less important to young
people, with just 35% of today’s 15-24 year olds and 18% of 25-34 year
olds considering them central to their social life in 2005. Ten
years ago, the original R.O.A.R. kids were much more strongly tuned into
club culture: 45% felt clubs played a big part in their life, with 38%
going clubbing once a week or more, 16% going every fortnight and only
15% never going at all. This
R.O.A.R. finding may mirror the demise of the “superclubs”, but it
also reveals a broader trend towards more varied, sophisticated and less
hedonistic youth lifestyles. Amongst today’s 15-24 year olds only 27%
go clubbing once a week or more, and only 11% go fortnightly and a
quarter never go. The older group, the original R.O.A.R. kids, are also
hanging up their party gear – a quarter never go clubbing, 33% go
clubbing less than once every 3 months, and just 8% regard themselves as
hardcore clubbers who go every week. Last
gasp of the lager louts? Binge
drinking youths may have grabbed the headlines in recent months, but for
most young Brits, getting legless has lost its appeal. When asked
whether they often went out intending to get drunk, only 30% of
today’s 15-24 year olds agreed, compared to 39% of their counterparts
ten years ago. Amongst the older, original group (now 25-34 year olds),
the figure dropped to 26%. But
it’s the men who are struggling harder to shake off the lager lout
image, with 32% agreeing they go out to get drunk, in comparison with
27% of women. Today’s
young people also spend less time propping up the bar. In 1995, 39% of
the younger group went to the pub two and four times a week, whereas
only 23% of their counterparts today and 17% of 25-34 year olds visit
the pub this often. Similarly,
theatres, galleries and exhibitions have succeeded in widening their
appeal to the youth market. A quarter of today’s 15-24 year olds and
25-34 year olds regularly indulge in these cultural activities, up from
19% of 15-24 year olds in 1995. The
just say no generation This more mature outlook is also reflected in young
people’s view of drugs and smoking. In 1995, 56% of 15-24 year olds
did not agree that “Drugs are less damaging than alcohol”, compared
to 67% of 15-24 year olds today. This compares with 64% of the supposedly
more mature generation of 25-34 year olds, suggesting that young people
are now more able to distinguish between the dangers of drugs and
alcohol. There’s also been a real
backlash against smoking – the number of 15-24 year olds who ‘think
smoking is stupid’ has climbed from less than a third (31%) in 1995,
to almost half (48%) today. The original ROAR kids, now 25-34 years old,
have also had a wake-up call, with 40% scorning smoking. And it’s not just talk
– 30% of today’s 25-34 year olds consider themselves to be strong
anti-smokers, compared to 23% in 1995. There’s also been an increase
in those who have never smoked, from 24% in 1995 to 26% today, while 21%
of the older group are now reformed/ex-smokers. Young people also seem
to have moderated their smoking habits – while 26% of 1995 ROAR
respondents considered themselves medium or heavy smokers, now just 18%
of 15-24 year olds are regularly puffing away. Interestingly, across the
younger group, the anti-smoking backlash is most fierce amongst men,
with 33% against smoking compared to 27% of women. The number of male
medium to heavy smokers in the 15-24 year old bracket has actually
halved over the last ten years from 30% in 1995 to 16% in 2005. The
decline has been less marked amongst women, dropping from 23% to 18%
today. Mine’s
a Chardonnay As the behaviour of young
people has become more sophisticated, so has their choice of
refreshment. Lager, the stereotypical drink of the young, has plummeted
in popularity over the last decade, making way for wine and spirits as
the new drinks of choice for today’s sophisticated young palates. Reaping the rewards of
young people’s newly refined palates, spirits brands will be pleased
to hear that over a third (35%) of 15-24 year olds state that spirits
are their favourite drink and a further 35% drink spirits on occasions.
This compares with ten years ago when more of the younger group (57%)
drank spirits occasionally, but just 13% said spirits were their
preferred drink. The most profound change in
preferences can be seen amongst women. Whereas in 1995, 55% sometimes
drank bottled lager and it was the favoured drink for 15%, 15-24 year
old women are now turning their noses up at lager, with only 27% ever
drinking it and only 7% naming lager as their favourite drink. Canned
and draught lagers have suffered similarly. Instead, the favourite
drinks for 15-24 year old women are spirits (42%), wine (34%) and
alcopops (32%). But the problem for the
breweries is not limited to winning female drinkers. Ten years ago, 70%
of 15-24 year old men sometimes drank bottled lager and 58% occasionally
drank canned/draught lager. In 2005, far fewer men occasionally drink
bottled larger (35% of 15-24 year olds) and canned/draught lager (32% of
25-34 year olds). Perhaps the biggest worry
of all for brewers though students. After all, if you don’t drink
lager as a student, when will you drink it? The
number of students citing canned/draught lager as their favourite drink
has remained largely static, but R.O.A.R. found that – outside this
core of lager lovers – only 25% of students now drink lager
occasionally, compared with 64% ten years ago. Bottled lager is also
increasingly out of favour. In 1995, 64% of students said they sometimes
drank it compared to 29% today. Instead, students have increasingly
turned to spirits (favoured by 32% and drunk occasionally by 35%),
alcopops (the favourite for 26% and sometimes consumed by 33%) and wine
(the drink of choice for 23% and drunk by occasionally by 36%). For
more information contact The Media Foundry: Patrick
Barrett: 0207 243 2738 - patrickbarrett@themediafoundry.com (12/5/05) |
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