Why do society and young people drift apart?

About the "Reiwa: Future Survey 2019"

Last May, the era name changed to Reiwa, marking the dawn of a new era. What kind of era will Reiwa become? We at the Future Prediction Support Lab believe clues to this lie within the aspirations of the young people who will lead the Reiwa era. Therefore, to understand what kind of future they desire, we conducted the "Reiwa: Future Survey of What Young People Want 2019."

This survey defines the youth leading the Reiwa era as men and women born during the Heisei era (aged 15-29 on the survey panel). The main survey, conducted in June 2019 with 10,000 respondents, used open-ended questions to capture young people's thoughts. To confirm and deepen the understanding of youth gained from this June survey, an additional multiple-choice survey was conducted in December of the same year with 600 respondents.

This series will present a summary of the survey in three parts. Part 1 focuses on "The Gap Between Society's Expectations and Young People's Thoughts."

Society expects young people to "actively contribute to society"

First, let's examine the environment surrounding young people. The national curriculum guidelines, which reflect the expectations placed on youth at any given time, reveal that the state seeks "individuals who learn alongside others and proactively engage in applying their knowledge."

Furthermore, a Keidanren survey reveals that companies seek new graduates who can "actively engage with their team" more than those with logical reasoning or leadership skills. From this, we can infer that society's expectation of young people is "proactive contribution to societal development."

Conversely, the environment society provides for young people has become increasingly harsh due to constraints, primarily economic conditions. While national budgets for social security have surged dramatically, those for education and culture have seen only modest increases, fostering perceptions of favoritism toward seniors.

Companies, too, have significantly reduced wages over the 30 years of the Heisei era. Furthermore, the increase in non-regular employment has made regular employment increasingly difficult to obtain. While the economy has shown a recovery trend in recent years, tax burdens and other costs have also risen, meaning the harsh environment for young people remains unchanged.

What young people seek from society is "equal burden" and "freedom of living."

How do young people perceive this environment? They understand the harshness of their circumstances. This is evident from opinions such as the following:

Will young people, who express strong concerns about increasing burdens and instability, choose growth that meets society's demands? Wouldn't they first consider their own lives? This tendency can be seen in "Growth They Want to Achieve" (Figure 1).

[Figure 1]

Young people's image of growth centers on personal development—such as income, steady skill improvement, and obtaining qualifications—rather than growth premised on organizations or society, like starting a business or promotion within a company. This clearly indicates young people's focus on safeguarding their lives. Underlying this is likely the belief that "society cannot provide personal stability." This sentiment is strongly reflected in their vision of "The Society They Want to See in 10 Years" (Figure 2).

[Figure 2]

What they desire is "social stability" as the foundation of life, encompassing themselves and those around them. Young people strongly desire stability over development. So, what exactly does this desired stability look like? Hints can be found in the following descriptions.

One form of stability young people seek is "equal burden." They affirm the necessity of contributing to society. However, they desire this contribution to be equitable. It also becomes clear they seek a future where each individual's "free lifestyle" can be realized.

Young People's Concerns Regarding Technological Development

While young people desire social stability, this does not mean they are negative about societal progress. What kind of societal development do they envision? As society progresses, various technologies and services emerge. By delving into young people's thoughts on technology, we explore the form of progress they desire. First, their expectations for technology.

[Figure 3]

Regarding "Expectations for Technological Advancements like AI and Robotics" (Figure 3), 50% of young people express expectations for technology. While young people enjoy the convenience of various communication services, this indicates that their expectations for the technology itself remain limited to about half. Could this be one reason for the low expectations for societal development mentioned earlier? Because young people hold the following perceptions about technology.

While young people expect technology to complement human capabilities, they also harbor concerns about technology, particularly AI, potentially replacing human roles. While they understand technology brings convenience to people and contributes to social development, they also seem to believe technology is not omnipotent and can threaten human roles, especially the human heart. Expanding this interpretation, it can be considered that young people seek "humanity" and "the existence of the human heart" as one of the foundations of society. This is also reflected in how young people want to interact with technologies like AI.

[Figure 4]

From "Attitudes Toward AI, Robots, and Other Technologies" (Figure 4), it is clear that they expect technology to "support people." This support involves decision-making assistance, with humans retaining the initiative, including timing. In daily life, complete automation like in factories cannot be the ideal.

They also seek thoughtful communication, not just output. Rather than simply obtaining convenient output at the push of a button, they seek a sense of understanding about the process leading to that output.

The final risk perception shows some divergence. While they desire risk reduction, they also accept risk as the optimal solution for changing the status quo. This may seem contradictory at first glance, but it likely reflects the recognition that "while there is an underlying desire to avoid risk, the current situation necessitates change even if it means taking risks." This is a very human-like fluctuation.

These results indicate that people expect consideration for human needs when introducing technology. Applied to societal development, this means convenience alone won't resonate with them. For societal development to truly reach them, it must prioritize enriching people's hearts over mere convenience. This vision of progress must concretely embody emotional richness and clearly present the process for achieving it. The desire for stability in today's society can also be seen as an expression of prioritizing emotional richness over convenience, even if it means letting go of convenience.

This time, we examined the following three instances of misalignment between society and young people's perspectives:
[Mismatch in Personal Goals]
"Young people prioritize honing their personal skills for self-defense over contributing to society as society demands."
【Discrepancy in Social Goals】
"Young people strongly desire stability over societal development."
【Discrepancies in Technological Development】
"Young people are more interested in ensuring technology does not compromise our humanity than in pursuing convenience through technological means."

This divergence in technological development reflects young people's sentiments toward society. They fear that societal progress driven by technologies like AI may threaten fundamental human values—such as the act of working and the essence of one's will and thought. Consequently, it seems young people place greater hope in a society driven by the heart than in one solely defined by convenience. In Part 2, we will introduce the budding seeds of a new society emerging among young people.

[Survey Overview]
Survey Title: "Reiwa: The Future Young People Want Survey 2019 - June Survey"
Survey Period: June 2019
Survey Method: Internet survey
Survey Participants: Men and women aged 15-29 living nationwide (10,000 samples)
Survey Company: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.
 

Survey Title: "Reiwa: The Future Young People Want Survey 2019 - December Survey"
Survey Period: December 2019
Survey Method: Internet survey
Survey Population: Men and women aged 15 to 29 living nationwide (600 samples)
Survey Company: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.
 

*This report is based on a survey conducted prior to the spread of the novel coronavirus. Therefore, new attitudes may have emerged since then that differ from those reflected in this report.