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April 13, 2005
the youth "lifeworld"
Before we try to engage young people in politics and civic life, it's important to understand their day-to-day concerns, habits, and background assumptions--what Lew Friedland calls their "lifeworld." As a start, consider the following data from the Reboot survey that I mentioned yesterday (pdf; go to p. 19). Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 said that they were "very worried" about the following issues:
getting a sexually transmitted disease | 35% |
your grades at school | 26% |
finding a job when you get out of school | 23% |
maintaining good relationships with your friends | 19% |
getting along with your parents | 18% |
your relationship with God | 18% |
deciding who to vote for | 15% |
making sure you are contributing to your community | 11% |
finding a spouse | 7% |
finding a girlfriend or boyfriend | 4% |
Posted by peterlevine at April 13, 2005 07:19 AM
Comments
The poll here is asking if you are "worried". Do you really think your age cohort would be "worried" about finding a significant other?
Posted by: Electoral Math at April 13, 2005 11:06 AM
I was!
But it's a good observation. Probably dating doesn't "worry" most people, whereas STD's are purely and simply worrying.
Posted by: Peter Levine at April 13, 2005 11:41 AM
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