WE all know that our young people are going to be facing very different challenges than we did when we reached adulthood.
Many of them will be saddled with increasingly large education debt, many will find they need more focused training to find work and many will be cobbling together Mac-jobs to pay the rent. You would think they would be facing their future with trepidation.
But most Canadian teenagers believe their glass is half full according to a new national survey commissioned by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada and MasterCard Canada. In fact, a majority of Canadian teenagers (57 per cent) believe their quality of life as adults will surpass that of their parents.
And while that's barely a majority, there are also 32 per cent who anticipate their quality of life as adults to be "about the same" as their parents. Only 11 per cent expect their future quality of life to be worse than that of their parents.
Children and young adults tend to play the cards they are dealt. They may have heard the stories about the lives of their parents when they entered adulthood, but that's just a story. They have also heard about their parents and grandparents facing the wars and the great depression. Now, they have their challenges and generally believe they will survive at least as well as their parents did.
The Ipsos Reid study also shows that a strong majority of Canada's teenagers are community-minded. Eight in 10 teens (80 per cent) say they are committed to giving back to the community. Additionally, 91 per cent of those surveyed believe young people have much to offer to influence positive change.
However, though they feel they have a lot of positive contributions to make to their communities, many teens felt their ideas go unheard. According to the survey, nearly half of teenagers (44 per cent) believe they are prevented
from making a difference simply because no one listens to them. BBBSC in partnership with MasterCard is attempting to change that.
Though they might not tell you, teens do look to adults as role models within the community. The survey reveals that teenagers generally have a sophisticated understanding of the connection between community service and role models. Almost nine in 10 (89 per cent) believe that teens with a parent or adult mentor who sets a strong example of community service are more likely to become socially engaged than those without role models.
"Parents across Canada should take great pride in these findings," says Bruce MacDonald, president and CEO of BBBSC. "Eighty-four per cent of those surveyed report that they have positive role models who have proven to them that individuals can make a difference through their actions. This speaks to the quality of parenting in Canada and the power of mentoring to inspire young people to become socially engaged."
This optimism, however, is tempered by the fact that two in three teenagers (66 per cent) feel highly pressured and stressed about life after high school.
Other interesting findings include: Half (51 per cent) of the teenagers surveyed are optimistic about Canada's future, while 35 per cent are unsure. Nineteen per cent are pessimistic about the country's future.
More than eight in 10 (84 per cent) are confident in their ability to meet whatever challenges the future brings.
Eighty-two per cent have faith in their ability to influence positive change. Nine in ten (91 per cent) think that social engagement is important to improving our quality of life.
When it comes to responsibility for positive social change, the majority of teenagers believe that social media has an important role to play.
"Fifty-six per cent of the teenagers think that social media organizations are responsible, along with governments, corporations and educators, for building a better future," notes MacDonald.
"Today's teenagers appear set to put their generation's unique stamp on influencing change."
Our job is to be positive role models for our children, to mentor our teens and support them in their quest for a responsible and successful adult life.
Kathy Lynn is a professional speaker and author of Who's In Charge Anyway? and But Nobody Told Me I'd Ever Have to Leave Home. If you want to read more, sign up for her informational newsletter at parentingtoday.ca.
