(Photo: Jeffrey Betts, Creative Commons)
British young adults were asked to pick five things they felt were necessary for maintaining their quality of life, and the ability to express themselves and connect to the Internet topped the list. That might not be surprising, but the two priorities outweighed others like daylight, hot water, and healthcare.
Obviously, the youth of today value their connection to the internet and view it as an essential aspect of their daily lives. However, it also reveals that this generation of youth may not know how to properly take care of themselves.
The survey, conducted by Nottingham-based blinds company Hillarys, had 2,465 respondents ages 18 to 25, reports Lucy Sherriff of the Huffington Post.
81% picked freedom of speech, indicating that the youth have a political bent in a nation where these kinds of government issues are continually disputed.
69% chose an internet connection, causing uproar among those who are concerned for the technology-addicted youth.
Only 64% said daylight. Shay Knolle of the Examiner notes that these findings should not necessarily be a surprise when studies have already shown that today’s children don’t spend enough time outside. Daylight, and the vitamin D we absorb when we’re out in it, is vital for our health and wellness, but a demographic who can’t afford good real estate in a rainy country (as replies to Sherriff’s Tweets show) might not feel like they’re missing much.
57% said they needed hot water. 43% said a healthy diet, and 37% chose a welfare system (including the NHS), reports Paul Tamburro of Crave Online. At this age, many of them may not have health problems that would make healthcare more important in their lives.
34% felt that their passport was necessary to maintain their quality of life, 21% valued a telephone connection (possibly made redundant for many with the availability of programs like Skype), and 17% couldn’t give up their ability to drive.
Only 11% chose a good night’s sleep.
Those who chose an internet connection were then asked how many times they used the internet each day. The average answer was 78 times.
The young adults were also asked what they would want to change to improve the quality of their lives. 34% said more travel and vacation time (though they ranked their passports as a low priority, coming seventh in the rankings) and only 28% said that they needed to get more sleep.
14% chose a larger social media following, according to Chris Matyszcyk of Cnet, who believed this to be an indication of the self-absorption and narcissism of today’s youth.
