By Emmanuel Rivière, Director of International Polling & Political Advisory, and Editor-in-Chief, PUBLIC Journal
One of the constant challenges of parenthood is accepting that our children’s experiences of growing up are different from our own, and therefore that some of the lessons we learned from our own childhood are not applicable to them.
Some of what they experience and feel is beyond our scope, and we have to take that into consideration.
To a large extent, this also applies to policymakers. They must recognise that policies designed for the younger generation – those who are currently completing their studies or taking their first steps in the world of work – can only be properly designed by taking into account the unique nature of their experience, which cannot be equated with that of previous generations.
This is perhaps even more true of the Millennial and GenZ generations, which are featured in this issue of PUBLIC.
David Shanks, who shares here his experience as Chief Censor in New Zealand, and discusses some learnings from our ground-breaking work together on young people's exposure to pornography, points out that today's teenagers and young adults engage with the internet in ways that can only be properly understood by listening to them.
The other specific experience that distinguishes the younger generation on which we are focusing in this issue, is the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, already reported on in previous editions of PUBLIC.
The situation of German youth examined in this edition, shows how young people have suffered more than their older counterparts from the indirect consequences of a disease that affected them less directly, giving them the feeling of an unfair priority setting by policymakers.
Of course, while recognising the specificity of young people, we would be wrong to consider them as a homogenous generation.
Seeking to understand them, listening to their concerns, and expectations, and identifying their needs, inevitably highlights sociological differences within the same generation.
This in turn stresses the imperative for tailored approaches in terms of policies.
This point is illustrated here by examples as diverse as the different situations of the Kenyan youth living in rural and urban areas when it comes to access to vaccination or the stakes and values that mobilise young Europeans, which differ both in terms of location and social status.
This necessary distinction applies both to the design of public policies and to the communication strategies that promote them.
Digital communication in particular, must reflect the fact that behaviours evolve dramatically and at pace within the same generation, between the oldest and the youngest.
However, emphasising the need to actively listen to young people and explore their behaviours, attitudes, and expectations, does not mean that policymakers or older generations have nothing to teach them.
Our work in India on sexual and reproductive health highlights how the combined weight of inexperience and stereotypes exposes young people, and in particular young women, to dangers and an acute lack of awareness of their own rights.
What we want to emphasise above all, are the indisputable benefits of understanding young people in order to design appropriate policies.
Indeed, to do so implies giving them a voice as often as possible, even when this might appear problematic.
The work carried out in the United Kingdom with looked-after teenagers shows that if the appropriate methods are applied, these vulnerable groups can contribute to the design of effective policies that concern them directly.
This case study also highlights the value of giving young people feedback on the research that they themselves have been involved in.
Lastly, it is important to stress here that the benefits of investing efforts in understanding the younger generation are not limited to designing appropriate public policies or enabling their integration into present-day society: it also offers a perspective for the future.
The reflections shared here by Professor. Sharon Gewirtz, a specialist in educational sciences at King's College London, illustrate this.
Her perspectives to tackle inequalities on a world of work becoming more learning-friendly, revising the work-life balance, and integrating forms of unpaid work (such as care work), remind us of this essential stake: understanding young people is not only a pre-requisite to better serve them, but also a means of anticipating what tomorrow's society will bring, and preparing ourselves for it.
01. Europe's digital natives: how policymakers can engage and connect with youth
02. Breaking the taboo on youth and porn: conversation with Chief Censor of New Zealand, David Shanks
03. Sexual and reproductive health education in India: closing the information gap amongst young people
04. Generation Z and COVID-19: the risks of increasing generational and social divides in Germany
05. Covid-19 vaccine perceptions and Kenyan youth: formulating policies to curtail vaccine hesitancy and accelerate uptake
06. Consulting with vulnerable young people: how the UK government sought to shape national standards for unregulated accommodation
07. How to address inequalities in access to good quality vocational education, training and employment: conversation with Sharon Gewirtz
08. How Kantar Public is helping clients shape the next generation of youth policies
09. Meet our contributors
10. Read our other editions
