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Millennials Continue to Reverse Negative Social Trends |
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Millennials Continue to Reverse Negative Social Trends
One of my biggest beefs is the negative image of youth that we
constantly hear in spite of the contrary. In the mini-book I'm writing,
"Millennials and Entertainment," I ascribe this to the fact that the
"culture creators" of society are largely between 25 and 40. This means
they remember the child era centered around 1970 or so when these same
social trends were getting very much worse. At the same time, those
between 25 and 40 are unlikely to have teens in their household, so they
don't have a reality check. So they appear to be talking about today's
youth but are actually discussing their own past.
Here's another report indicating that the new, "Millennial" generation
(born after 1982) is (slowly) reversing negative social trends of
Gen-X/Y. Nice to see one age group in society where behavior is actually
improving -- as compared to the daily corporate scandals which only seem
to get worse.
Considering the incredibly strong "moral headwinds" these kids
encounter, it's amazing the trends are going down. The only
"bad"›up-trend was a rise in the small number of cocaine users during
the 1990s.
A few tidbits: pot use is dropping again, after rising in the 1990s.
Those 13 and under having sex has fallen almost by half since the early
1990s, with an even greater decline among African-Americans. Cigarette
and alcohol use are dropping very fast. There's a big drop in the number
of kids willing to get into a car with an intoxicated driver. More
Caucasians carry weapons to school than›blacks. Teen suicide attempts
fell by 1/3 in the past 10 years -- they've never fallen before.
One area where Millennials aren't improving is weight -- fewer are
exercising, and obesity is becoming a major issue -- notice how the kids
on The Osbournes are a bit chunky.
Check out this generational website:
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Report --- United States Summary of
Trends During 1991--2001:
During 1991--2001, the percentage of students who ever had sexual
intercourse and had sexual intercourse with >4 partners decreased
significantly (54.1%--45.6% and 18.7%--14.2%, respectively). During
1991--1999, the percentage of currently sexually active students who
used a condom at last sexual intercourse increased significantly
(46.2%--58%) and then leveled off by 2001 (58%--57.9%).
The percentage of students who reported current cigarette use and
frequent cigarette use increased significantly from 1991--1997
(27.5%--36.4% and 12.7%--16.7%, respectively) and then decreased
significantly from 1997--2001 (36.4%--28.5% and 16.7%--13.8%,
respectively). During 1995--2001, current smokeless tobacco use
decreased significantly (11.4%--8.2%), and from 1997--2001, current
cigar use decreased significantly (22%--15.2%). While the percentage of
students enrolled in PE class remained constant from 1991--2001
(48.9%--51.7%), the percentage of students enrolled in daily PE classes
decreased significantly from 1991--1995 (41.6%--25.4%) and then
increased significantly from 1995--2001 (25.4%--32.2%).
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