By Martha Irvine
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — They have a reputation for being environmentally minded do-gooders. But an academic analysis of surveys spanning more than 40 years has found that today's young Americans are less interested in the environment and conservation than their elders were when they were young.
"I was shocked," said Jean Twenge, a San Diego State University psychology professor who is one of the study's authors.
This study, published online this month by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, looked at the life goals, concern for others and civic orientation of three young generations — baby boomers, Gen Xers (born 1962–1981) and Millennials (born after 1982).
Based on two longstanding national surveys of high school seniors and college freshmen, Twenge and her colleagues found a decline, over the past four decades, in young people's trust in others, their interest in government and the time they said they spent thinking about social problems.
Steepest of all was a decline in concern about the environment and taking personal action to protect it.
Researchers found that, when surveyed decades ago, about a third of then-young baby boomers said it was important to become personally involved in programs to clean up the environment. In comparison, only about a quarter of then-young Gen Xers — and 21 percent of Millennials — said the same.
Meanwhile, 15 percent of Millennials said they had made no effort to help the environment, compared with 8 percent of young Gen Xers and 5 percent of young baby boomers.
Millennials also were the least likely to say they'd made an effort to conserve electricity and fuel used to heat their homes. In the case of heating fuel, 78 percent of young baby boomers and 71 percent of young Gen Xers said they cut back, compared with 56 percent of Millennials.
Twenge is sometimes pegged as a critic of the younger generation, but the numbers speak for themselves, she said. She noted that the lack of interest in environmental issues isn't exclusive to young people.
"This is a change in overall culture," she said, "and young people reflect the changes in culture."