Pressure for teens to conform diminishing: Bibby

By Kiply Lukan Yaworski

SASKATOON — During a presentation organized March 19 by Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools, sociologist and author Dr. Reginald Bibby examined God Trends and Teen Trends, discussing statistics and surveys related to religion and youth in Canada. He reported that the current “emerging millennial” youth are a well-prepared and promising generation.

Bibby summarized 10 characteristics of today’s teens as revealed in surveys about their priorities and values.

Teenagers are decent people, with a majority rating as important such values as trust, honesty, humour, concern for others, politeness and forgiveness, Bibby reported.

Studies also reveal this age group “loves their friends and their music” and “their tech toys are new means to old ends.” A majority of young people use technology such as cellphones and the Internet to build relationships.
Youth have also “said goodbye to monoculture,” Bibby reported, with an explosion of choice in popular culture, musical genres, sports and entertainment choices. “There is so much choice, that the pressure for teens to conform has diminished.”

As well, the ties that teens have with their parents are the best they have been in decades, with teens valuing the relationship they have with parents, and a majority admitting their parents influence them a great deal.
A majority of teens also indicate they enjoy school, although it is identified as a source of stress. “There is also a correlation between teens who enjoy school and those who enjoy parents,” said Bibby. “And the family continues to be the primary source of socialization.”

Teenagers’ quality of life is going up, he added. Compared to teens surveyed in 1992 and 2000, those surveyed in 2008 reported lower percentages of smoking and drinking and smaller percentages of teens reported having friends with alcohol and drug problems, being bullied at school, experiencing depression, or attempting suicide. The majority of teens also report that when they are faced with a serious problem, they have someone to turn to for help and support.

Bibby said that surveys reveal today’s teens are “into relationships more than sex” and although they are morally flexible about some things, they do draw a clear moral line in some areas.

These “emerging millenials” would describe themselves as spiritual but not religious, with 62 per cent saying they have spiritual needs and a large proportion indicating they are open to greater involvement in faith.

As for their expectations — a majority of teens expect to get a higher education and pursue a career, with 91 per cent indicating they expect to be married, 88 per cent that they expect to stay with their partner for life, and 95 per cent expecting to have children.

“They are dreaming big,” said Bibby, maintaining that God seems to have installed some sort of “hope chip” into the programming of young people in every age.

“Teens are looking very good . . . probably better than their boomer parents when they were the same age,” he said, maintaining progress has occurred. He encouraged educators and parents “to give some credit and take some credit” about the state of today’s youth.

Particpants at the daylong session held at Holy Spirit Parish in Saskatoon included school and parish representatives from Prince Albert, Regina, Moose Jaw, Lloydminster, Weyburn and Saskatoon.