“What is it like growing up today? And how do young people see the world differently?”
These are critical questions UNICEF simply must understand. And there is only one way to find out the answers: listen to children and young people themselves.
Thus, the Changing Childhood Project was born. We teamed up with Gallup, one of the world’s leading polling companies, to conduct a representative survey in 21 countries – big and small, rich and poor. Altogether we asked more than 21,000 people – both children and younger people aged 15-24, and their older counterparts aged over 40 – across the world to share their views on childhood and the modern world that forms the backdrop to children’s lives.
But why stop at just asking children for their views? We want to engage children with the project findings and continue this important conversation about the changing nature of childhood. So, as well as creating a report, we built an immersive website, designed specifically with young people in mind, that asks users to respond to some of the questions in the survey to see how their views stack up against those of other people around the world. Older generations are welcome aboard, too!
There’s a great deal to discover on the Changing Childhood Project website, on dozens of different timely topics. Here are four big takeaways:
1. Children and young people are optimistic.
Despite climate change, the pandemic and destabilizing levels of inequality, children and young people today are not giving up. Far from it: they are almost 50 per cent more likely than older people to believe that the world is becoming a better place with each generation.
Young people say they see progress in childhood too, believing that education, healthcare and physical safety are all better for today’s children than for previous generations.
2. Children and young people are not naïve.
Being optimistic doesn’t mean a failure to appreciate the challenges our world, and children specifically, face.
In rich countries, where improvements in living standards have slowed and concerns about the future of work loom large, only a third of young people believe that children in their country are going to grow up to be economically better off than their parents.
Young people live disproportionately digital lives, but not without concerns: most see serious risks in being online, like encountering violent or sexually explicit content, or being bullied. And not even one in five said they trust social media “a lot” to give them accurate information.
More than half of young people say children today face more pressure to succeed than their parents did – interestingly, the older generations agree.
3. Children and young people are impatient for change.
The survey discovered that young people want faster progress in fighting discrimination, demonstrating stronger support for LGBTQ+ rights than older generations – especially among young women and girls.
They also want countries to cooperate on the big challenges of our time, rather than working alone.
Young people aren’t looking to older generations to solve their problems for them: instead they want political leaders to hear their voices – and older generations tend to agree with them.
4. Children and young people are global citizens.
Above all, we find that this young generation has a uniquely global outlook. When asked if they identify most with their local community, their country or the world, the young are far more likely than older generations to point to the world.
So what do you think? Whether you’re one of the younger generation or from an older one, there is much to discover and explore about the Changing Childhood Project. Jump into the microsite now and see how your views on childhood and the world compare to others…. you might be surprised.
Thus, the Changing Childhood Project was born. We teamed up with Gallup, one of the world’s leading polling companies, to conduct a representative survey in 21 countries – big and small, rich and poor. Altogether we asked more than 21,000 people – both children and younger people aged 15-24, and their older counterparts aged over 40 – across the world to share their views on childhood and the modern world that forms the backdrop to children’s lives.
But why stop at just asking children for their views? We want to engage children with the project findings and continue this important conversation about the changing nature of childhood. So, as well as creating a report, we built an immersive website, designed specifically with young people in mind, that asks users to respond to some of the questions in the survey to see how their views stack up against those of other people around the world. Older generations are welcome aboard, too!
There’s a great deal to discover on the Changing Childhood Project website, on dozens of different timely topics. Here are four big takeaways:
1. Children and young people are optimistic.
Despite climate change, the pandemic and destabilizing levels of inequality, children and young people today are not giving up. Far from it: they are almost 50 per cent more likely than older people to believe that the world is becoming a better place with each generation.
Young people say they see progress in childhood too, believing that education, healthcare and physical safety are all better for today’s children than for previous generations.
2. Children and young people are not naïve.
Being optimistic doesn’t mean a failure to appreciate the challenges our world, and children specifically, face.
In rich countries, where improvements in living standards have slowed and concerns about the future of work loom large, only a third of young people believe that children in their country are going to grow up to be economically better off than their parents.
Young people live disproportionately digital lives, but not without concerns: most see serious risks in being online, like encountering violent or sexually explicit content, or being bullied. And not even one in five said they trust social media “a lot” to give them accurate information.
More than half of young people say children today face more pressure to succeed than their parents did – interestingly, the older generations agree.
3. Children and young people are impatient for change.
The survey discovered that young people want faster progress in fighting discrimination, demonstrating stronger support for LGBTQ+ rights than older generations – especially among young women and girls.
They also want countries to cooperate on the big challenges of our time, rather than working alone.
Young people aren’t looking to older generations to solve their problems for them: instead they want political leaders to hear their voices – and older generations tend to agree with them.
4. Children and young people are global citizens.
Above all, we find that this young generation has a uniquely global outlook. When asked if they identify most with their local community, their country or the world, the young are far more likely than older generations to point to the world.
So what do you think? Whether you’re one of the younger generation or from an older one, there is much to discover and explore about the Changing Childhood Project. Jump into the microsite now and see how your views on childhood and the world compare to others…. you might be surprised.
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