"Avoiding Emotional Contamination" and "Returning to Humanity": Deciphering Young People's New Behavioral Values

Dentsu Inc. Youth Research Department (hereinafter Dentsu Inc. Wakamon) conducted its first large-scale survey in two years, focusing primarily on young people including high school students, university students, and those in their first to third years of employment ( survey overview here ). Based on these results, we created "Youth Comprehension Knowledge 2025," which unravels the values of young people. ( Contact us here )

This series introduces findings from the survey.

Young People Who Can't Speak Their Minds ~ Behavioral Values to Avoid "Emotional Contamination" ~

Have you ever felt anxious while talking to someone, wondering, "Am I hurting their feelings?" In fact, this has become an everyday reality for young people today.

The most symbolic finding revealed by the large-scale survey conducted by Dentsu Inc. Wakamon is the growing behavioral value, particularly among young people, of "wanting to avoid emotional contamination."

Speaking your true feelings in relationships carries risks: it can make others uncomfortable, disrupt the atmosphere, or leave you exhausted. Prioritizing avoiding these risks above all else, people refrain from expressing their own true feelings and avoid probing into others' true feelings, aiming to spare both themselves and others from emotional exhaustion.

Dentsu Inc. Wakamon defined this mindset as an action value of avoiding "emotional contamination." The survey captured voices like these:

Even emotions like joy or dissatisfaction are adjusted while imagining their impact on others... Young people today live in an era demanding caution in how emotions are expressed.

A world where "all-around consideration" is the norm

"Sharing my 'true feelings' with anyone carries risk." A staggering 76.8% of young people responded this way in our survey. This "anyone" includes not only workplace superiors and seniors, but also close friends and colleagues. For young people, expressing their true feelings has become an act requiring caution, regardless of intimacy.

Why has expressing one's true feelings or emotions become such a high-stakes endeavor? In interviews with young people conducted by Dentsu Inc. Wakamon, we heard comments like this:

We live in an era where even joyful news can make someone uncomfortable if the tone is misjudged. It's difficult to express even positive emotions appropriately.

In other words, young people fear that a casual remark expressing everyday feelings might
"tread on someone's taboo"
"become a landmine that disrupts the atmosphere"
or "be misinterpreted in ways contrary to intent."
They are acutely aware of these risks in communicating their feelings.

We believe this becomes especially pronounced because platforms like SNS and LINE—where emotions are visualized, spread, and reinterpreted—are constantly present in their daily lives.

Today's youth live in an era where "being considerate in all directions is considered good manners." Dentsu Inc. Wakamon describes the mindset of young people navigating this era as "omnidirectional consideration thinking."

Expressing one's true feelings might upset someone. Or, receiving someone else's true feelings might emotionally involve oneself. The desire to avoid this "emotional contamination" – to avoid the fatigue caused by the intersection of such feelings (true feelings) and minimize the burden on one's heart – is now taking root as a fundamental behavioral value among the younger generation.

Prioritized over time efficiency? The tendency to avoid "emotional contamination" is spreading to work attitudes and content consumption

"If it wears me down, results can take a backseat." Many young people today are shifting their work values this way.

Our survey found that 75.0% of working adults in their first to third year of employment stated, "I want to work prioritizing my own mental stability over job performance." Furthermore, a significant 77.3% agreed that "smoothly navigating without hassle is more important than achieving something at work." Thus, the principle of "not wearing down one's spirit" is increasingly becoming the primary criterion for career development. This trend is also strongly reflected in job selection criteria.

For example, 76.9% of respondents stated, "I want to work in a workplace that maintains my mental stability, even if career development takes time." This result is the polar opposite of the "time performance" (TPA) mindset once prioritized by young people. It reflects a shift from "wanting to grow quickly" to "wanting to continue without strain." This sense of valuing mental endurance over time is shaping the new era of work.

This value of avoiding emotional pollution extends to everyday content consumption.

63.7% of young people stated, "When I'm feeling emotionally drained, watching long-form video content feels like a chore." Furthermore, 67.3% indicated they "prefer video content that seems okay to just watch without thinking." This reveals an unconscious desire to choose things that require "no thinking," minimizing emotional contamination.

This value of avoiding emotional contamination (minimizing emotional burden) is permeating all behavioral values among today's youth, from work attitudes and career planning to everyday entertainment choices.

Signs of a Return to Human Connection ~ The Longing for Authentic Relationships ~

As we've seen, young people have become cautious about communication, viewing it as highly risky. Yet, simultaneously, a strong yearning for "relationships connected by genuine feelings" is evident within them.

Statements like "I want friends I can talk to about anything" and "I want someone I can share my 'true feelings' with" scored higher among young people than among adults. While they have grown accustomed to suppressing their true feelings, this is not what they desire. Rather, they quietly harbor a sense of loneliness stemming from the difficulty of finding someone they can truly open up to, along with a deep longing for a future where they can build such relationships.

This tendency is also visible in formal settings like the workplace.

If they could just build that connection, they'd want deeper conversations even with superiors or seniors. Moreover, many young people yearn for relationships where they can become close enough to share their private lives. Precisely because maintaining distance is the norm, relationships where true feelings can be exchanged hold special value.

This yearning for "heartfelt connections" is also reflected in the expression "precious," increasingly common on social media in recent years. For instance, relationships where friends can say anything to each other, or lovers share deep affection—connections built on genuine, open interaction—are often described as "precious," conveying envy or admiration. This can be seen as the desire for rare, authentic bonds manifesting as a shared sentiment of the times.

Dentsu Inc. Wakamon interprets this trend as a "sign of a return to human connection." Young people aren't indifferent to human bonds; rather, they are cautious precisely because they genuinely want to engage deeply. It's not a superficial desire to befriend anyone easily, but a quiet return to human connection – a desire to build relationships based on genuine trust – that has emerged as the true sentiment among young people.

"Youth Insights 2025" compiles findings from across a wide range of themes—including workplace attitudes, connection awareness, dating perspectives, media consumption, and behavioral insights—beyond the "true feelings" of young people introduced in this article. This series will explore those findings from various angles.

[Survey Overview]
Survey Name: Understanding Young People Survey
Research Organization: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.
Survey Period: December 2024
Survey Method: Internet survey
Survey Area: Nationwide
Survey Population & Sample: Unmarried males and females aged 15-46 (high school students and above) - 2000 ss (equally divided by gender for each segment below)
(Breakdown) High school students: 400 respondents / College students: 400 respondents / Working adults (1-3 years of experience): 400 respondents / Working adults (4-10 years of experience): 500 respondents / Working adults (11-20 years of experience): 300 respondents
 
*To extract the above sample, a screening survey was conducted targeting general men and women aged 15–69 (high school students and above, regardless of marital status or occupation). Based on the results, 10,000 respondents were extracted according to population composition ratios and used separately for analysis.