October 2011
Fear and Hoping in the UK showed that young people (aged 16 to 25) have high aspirations for their future, but an underlying sense of how difficult it will be for them to achieve these in the current climate. When compared to responses to the same survey in 2008, it is clear that young people have reassessed their priorities in light of the current climate, remaining determined to achieve their goals.
Hopes & Fears
The survey asked young people to tell us their one wish and one fear for the future.
- When asked what their one wish for the future would be, respondents were most likely to say they wanted to find a job (32%). More respondents mentioned getting a job as their wish than they did their own happiness.
Top five wishes for the future: Getting a job (32%), financial security (19%), happiness (17%), having a happy family (13%), living in a better world (6%).
- When asked what their one fear for the future would be, more young people said debt (24%), than death (4%) or their own poor health (3%). A fear of death had been top of the list in the same survey in 2008.
- One in five (19%) of young people said they feared being alone/not meeting the right person, up from just 8% in 2008
Top five fears for the future: Debt/money issues (24%), underachieving (21%), loneliness (19%), not finding a job (13%), crime/war (6%).
Education:
- Despite facing rising tuition fees, 84% of people still at school planned to go to college or university.
- When asked what they thought the biggest challenge they faced when planning to go to university, the largest proportion (37%) said ‘getting good enough grades.’
- Concern about being able to afford university has increased since 2008. Just 11% mentioned concern about being able to afford university in 2008, this rose to 24% in 2011.
- Given the importance placed on their education and job prospects, it’s perhaps unsurprising then that the second most recurrent fear for the future was about not fulfilling ambitions and underachieving in life (accounting for 21% of the answers, as opposed to the 13% in 2008).
Buying a house:
- 85% thought owning a house was very or fairly important
- 71% of respondents thought the economic crisis will make it harder for them to buy a house
- 65% of respondents agreed with the statement “It’s too difficult to get on the property ladder nowadays”.
- 30% of respondents also thought it is difficult to get a mortgage.
Having a family
- 83% of respondents wanted to get married, an increase from 2008 (72%)
- 70% of respondents wanted to have children now, an increase from 2008 (65%)
- Respondents thought that the ideal age to have children is 28, one year younger than the average given by respondents in 2008
About the research
Fear and Hoping (2011) is the result on an online survey hosted on YouthNet’s website, TheSite.org, between 22nd August and 26 September 2011. The survey was completed by 1,101 respondents aged 16 to 25 living in the UK.
The research repeats a survey undertaken by YouthNet in 2008 looking at the hopes and fears of young people living in the UK. Fear and Hoping (2008) was also hosted on TheSite.org, the 2008 survey was undertaken between 4th and 24th July and completed by 1,033 respondents aged 16 to 24 living in the UK
The results from 2008 and 2011 were compared and the differences in young people’s hopes and fears for the future are explained in the report. The comparison has been undertaken between the average results in 2008 and he average results in 2011.
Media enquiries:
For further information, interview, a young case study or a copy of the full Fear and Hoping in the UK (2011) report, contact Emma Motherwell or Katy Miller at YouthNet on 020 7250 5716 or out of hours 07766 660 755. Email: media@youthnet.org
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