If Crikey readers – who are generally older, like most people who still pay for news – want a glimpse of the difference between young Australians and them, they can do worse than take a look at the Foundation’s data Scanlon. report on social cohesion.

Some of the results reported by the survey will be familiar to you: a third of adults under 25 think that it is important to become a homeowner, but that it is unlikely that they will succeed – which is significantly higher than 25-34 year olds and much higher than older cohorts. But other results are more surprising.

For example, there is a stark difference in sense of belonging in Australia: those under 25 score a remarkably 51 points lower in sense of belonging than older people. At the same time, they perform much better than older people in terms of acceptance of diversity and multiculturalism. Young people don’t feel like they belong here, but are much more welcoming to people from elsewhere than older Australians.

Under-25s are also the least likely cohort to think immigration is too high: only a third think we need lower immigration, compared to 62% of over-65s.

But young people are much more likely to feel lonely: the biggest difference in the survey overall is that young people are 91% more likely to report feelings of loneliness compared to those over 75, the oldest cohort. This may partly explain why young people have a poorer perception of the Australian social fabric: they are 14 points fewer than those over 65 to have a favorable opinion of the quality of our social fabric.

And even though young people’s views on issues such as housing affordability are directly linked to economic conditions, they are less likely to report being “struggling” financially than 25-34 year-olds or 35-44 year-olds, who are more likely to be in financial difficulty. in mortgage repayments. And these older cohorts are also more likely to have less trust in Australia’s political leaders.

However, despite a lack of sense of belonging, young Australians are much more likely to take part in political action. They are much more likely to attend protests than older people, much more likely to engage in boycotts, and more likely to post about politics online than other cohorts. But they are less likely to deal with MPs or meet to resolve local issues.

More inclusive and tolerant, more politically active, but also more alone, less satisfied and convinced of not achieving what was once sold as the great Australian dream of having their own home, young Australians seem more different from their parents and adults. -parents. than ever. However, what we can only discover in later reports is how many of these qualities survive into our 30s and 40s.

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