YOUTH 2020 - The position of young people in Slovenia

314 Figure 9.8: Social engagement – bought certain products for political, ethical, or environmental reasons. 10% 20% 30% 50% 40% 60% 70% 80% Already have. 13.5 50.6 6.4 68.3 36.0 24.8 Probably would. Definitely would not. 0% 2020 2010 Sources: Mladina 2010, Mladina 2020. Compared to 2010, there is a significant shift towards more active political, ethical and environmental views in 2020, related to shopping or boycotting certain products. However, in addition to the importance of such initiatives, young people interviewed also presented a number of related problems, pointing out the pitfalls of political consumerism, which for the average young person is also limited by financial means. Interviewees also made observations about the range of alternative products and services available. “I seem to live a pretty normal life in terms of consumption. My consump- tion patterns depend mainly on traditions, habits, and the thickness of my wallet. My consumption patterns are not much influenced by ‘social justice’ initiatives.” (Gregor, 26 years old, young activist and extreme leftist) Young people’s consumption habits revolve around an axis that is much stronger than so-called ‘slacktivism’ or ‘liketivism’. This is also shown by the following statement, which suggests that political consumerism re- quires a great deal of renunciation and self-discipline, which goes well beyond the burden of a conventional form of political decision-making in