Road to 5**：42% of young people quarreled with parents
【明報專訊】◆News summary
Youth I.D.E.A.S. published a research report on ''Strengthening intergenerational understanding'' on 9 December 2019. In late October, the organization had interviewed 300 young people aged between 18 and 29 and 302 parents aged between 54 and 73. It had found that 42% of young people interviewed had ''occasionally'' or ''often'' argued with their parents over the previous half year. Over 70 percent of the arguments were about social events or political stances.
◆Source A
The study found that interviewees tended to agree that ''communication is difficult between the older generation and the younger generation'', giving an average rating of 5.84 to this view (a rating of 10 means complete agreement). 84 % of those interviewed agreed that ''people from different generations are vastly different in their views on social issues''. Among them, more than 70% believed that differences in values were the reason for generational conflicts.
The study found that the young people and parents interviewed had different views on Hong Kong's core values. To parents, the most important core values were ''social stability'', ''the rule of law'' and ''fairness'', while to young people they were ''freedom'', ''fairness'' and ''democracy''.
In an essay published in January 2017, Lui Tai-lok, a sociology scholar, said that the ''Baby Boomers'' emphasized planning. For example, they expect those who propose an idea to explain how the expected goal can be achieved, the related costs and chances of success. People of this generation, however, argue that we should not get tangled by such issues.
Source: Ming Pao, 2020.01.06
■Mock examination questions
Illustrate two possible factors in the generational conflicts in Hong Kong.
Key words: Illustrate, generation conflicts, factors
．Differences in values between the two generations
Youth I.D.E.A.S. published a research report on ''Strengthening intergenerational understanding'' on 9 December 2019. In late October, the organization had interviewed 300 young people aged between 18 and 29 and 302 parents aged between 54 and 73. It was found that young people and their parents were very different in values. To parents, the most important core values were ''social stability'', ''the rule of law'' and ''fairness'', while to young people they were ''freedom'', ''fairness'' and ''democracy''. The differences in values might contribute to generational conflicts.
．Differences in upbringing
The report by Youth I.D.E.A.S. show that different upbringing is a factor in generational conflicts, as the different opportunities, values and life standards influence different people's planning and social attitudes. Lui Tai-lok argues that the Baby Boomers, who are focused on cost and return calculations, do not understand how the means taken by the Now Generation can achieve the goals they aspire.
Translated by Terence Yip
[通通識 第660期]
