YOUTH 2020 - The position of young people in Slovenia

72 1.8  KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The key conclusions of this chapter can be summarized in the following points: 1. At least for the past 20 years, elements of the private sphere such as friendship, family, and freedom of expression have been much more important to young people than broader social themes such as, for example, the fate of the nation. Young people also do not care as much, at least declaratively, about the values of material- ism and having power. 2. Recent decades have been evincing an individualizing trend with regards to youth values and beliefs, a trend closely followed by a decrease in generalized trust. The following is tied to various as- pects of xenophobia and youth worries about money, job pros- pects, and access to housing. 3. Young people are most worried about a lack of money, environ- mental problems, and success in school or at work. These fears have significantly increased in the past decade. Loneliness has increased the most, which is tied to the specific conditions of the pandemic in 2020. 4. Visions of the future are mostly becoming polarized. In compari- son to 2010, today’s share of young people who think both their personal future and societal future will not change much has shrunk. The rising share of pessimism about the future of society is especially worrying. Such pessimism is mostly the result of wor- ries about aging demographics and environmental degradation. 5. Attitudinal trends having to do with family life are divergent. On the one hand, attitudes are undergoing a strong process of liber- alization as young people are rejecting obedience as a value in raising children much more than a decade ago. They are also much more accepting of same-sex parenting. On the other hand, attitudes about the gendered division of labour are experiencing a mild process of re-traditionalization.