Berlin (dpa) - No issue makes according to a survey so many young people in Germany as the pollution of the environment.
71 percent of 12- to 25-year-olds said in a survey that the topic scared them, according to the results of the published Shell Youth Study. In the previous study from 2015, the fear of terrorist attacks was still ahead. According to the most recent survey, this topic still frightens two-thirds of young people today. The fear of climate change comes in third place (65 percent).
The importance of environmental issues is also reflected in the question of values that are important to young people: The authors of the study emphasize that, in comparison to 2002, the value of environmentally conscious life has become more important (71 percent agree with it in 2019/2002): 60 percent). Accordingly, the value of political commitment experienced a similar increase in importance (2019: 34 percent / 2002: 22 percent).
The subtitle of the study is: "A generation speaks up". Nonetheless, less than half of the interviewees refer to themselves as politically interested or keenly interested. Almost four out of five adolescents and young adults (here: 15 to 25 years old) are therefore satisfied with democracy in Germany. Satisfaction rose sharply, especially in eastern Germany. While it was still just over 50 percent in 2015, it now rose to two-thirds.
For the Shell Youth Study since 1953, every three to five years young people are interviewed about their attitudes.
