Recent reports have deemed young people to be a generation of country-hating democracy-sceptics. IF researcher, Toby Whelton, argues that given how the nation has treated young people over the past decade or so, who can blame them?
A new Gen Z stereotype
The trope of young people frittering away their income on smashed avocado toast and specialty flat whites has become untenable even for the most ardent critics of young people. People are starting to acknowledge that the challenges young people face cannot be solved by young people simply “working hard” and “saving more”.
Thankfully, for those whose favorite pastime is to mock and patronise the “snowflake youth”, a new stereotype has emerged.
In recent weeks, young people have been ridiculed and castigated as a generation of authoritarian-loving, nation-traitors. This has been based on recent reports that have investigated the social attitudes of Gen Z.
First came a Channel 4 report which caught the headlines for revealing that 52% of 13−27 year-olds would welcome a “strong leader unbound by elections or Parliament”.
Then, this weekend, a Times survey revealed that only 11% of Gen Z would be willing to fight for Britain and 41% said that there were no circumstances in which they would take up arms for their country.
A generation of extreme beliefs?
There are reasons to take these findings with a pinch of salt.
While the rise of far-right beliefs amongst young people are real and concerning, this should be placed in perspective. In last year’s election, young voters overwhelmingly favored moderate and left-wing parties, with only 8% of 18−24 year-olds voting for Reform, compared to a 14% national average.
Equally, young people voicing a lack of appetite for military service is not exactly unprecedented either. It is a disingenuous barometer of patriotism at best.
Who can blame them?
Exaggerated or real, the young’s supposed lack of faith in democracy and lack of national pride, is not only unsurprising, but in many ways justified.
Why should young people feel indebted to a nation and system that has done so little for them?
The foundations of a stable, fulfilling life that young people had been promised have crumbled. Owning a home, working a steady job, earning a high enough wage to support a family and the opportunity to build wealth have become unobtainable for the vast majority.
Shut out of home ownership
Average house prices are now eight to nine times the average salary, compared to the mid-nineties when house prices were around three times the average salary. As a result, 44% of 25−34 year-old households now hold zero property wealth, a record high.
This is placing young people at the mercy of the private rental market. In all but one region of the UK, rents are “unaffordable”, meaning that the average rent is greater than 40% of the average monthly income. In London, the average rent can take up as much as 57% of an average monthly income.
A decline in the stock and building of genuinely affordable social housing has taken away the safety net and security previous generations could fall back on and exacerbated the housing crisis. The waiting list for social housing currently stands at 1.3 million households, which is forcing vulnerable households into cramped, below minimum standard rental properties.
Some young people are even getting priced out of renting. The number of 25−34 year-olds living with their parents has risen from 13% to 18% from 2006 to 2024. Those without parents to rely on are often being forced either into premature cohabitation with partners or cramped house shares. Key life milestone are being delayed, compromised or in many cases entirely denied.
Over-burdened
Young people were told to get a university education in order to secure well-paying jobs. The young have held up their end of the bargain; around 50% of 21−30 year-olds are university educated. In return, they have received stagnating graduate pay, an additional marginal tax rate of 9% in the form of student loan repayments and an average £45,000 of debt the interest on which increased at 7% last year.
The tax rate is the highest it has been in seventy years. This is at a time when 70% of young people’s weekly expenditure is being dedicated to essentials alone. Under-30s’ households were spending £147 less on non-essentials a week in 2022−2023 than they were way back in 2002−2003. That figure is likely to get worse as new data is released.
Meanwhile, older generations’ discretionary spending, rather than following the pattern of the young and falling during the cost-of-living crisis, has actually gone up by £28 a week. A worker over the age of 65 pays 8% less in tax than their younger colleague and gets their travel subsided. Meanwhile, the generational gulf in wealth continues to widen.
Amidst all of this, pensioners have been further helped by favorable policies such as the state pension triple lock and Winter Fuel Payments, while the benefits and government services offered to young people have been gutted.
A climate crisis and a mental health crisis
Young people face a metal health crisis. One-in-five children and young adults have a probable mental disorder, yet mental health services are being underfunded. Mental health receives 10% of the NHS budget but makes up 20% of all illness in the UK.
Oh, and all this is in addition to the rapidly worsening state of the environment and climate. Young people’s disillusionment isn’t just financial − it’s existential, as they grapple with uncertainty over whether they’ll inherit a livable planet for themselves and their children.
Stuck and unhappy
What much of the coverage of the Channel 4 report failed to mention were equally troubling findings on Gen Z’s loss of faith in social mobility and their own agency.
Only 60% of 13–27-year-olds feel in control of major aspects of their lives, and their belief in social mobility is waning: 55% of 13−27s say wealth at birth matters more for success than hard work (versus 41% of 45−65s). The report also showed that Gen Z are far less happy about their lives than previous generations were at their age.
The generational contract must be upheld
We should not blame the young for their troubling social attitudes but instead reflect on how society has let them down. The only way to truly restore young people’s faith in democracy and the nation will be by upholding the social contracts between generations. Young and future generations must be given the same opportunities and prospects as the generations who come before them. Failing to do this will be at society’s peril.
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Image courtesy of: U.S. Department of Defense Current PhotosSgt. 1st Class Brian Hamilton/108th Training Command- Initial, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons