Young Generation
A study that was carried out by Prof Knobloch-Westerwick and Matthias Hastall of the Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen in Germany revealed that in general elderly citizens love to have a good moan about the way the younger generation live their life.
The research results went on to prove that rather than feeling disappointed in the lifestyle of how young people chose to live their lives elderly people actually got a positive effect from reading any negative news and it actually gave them a boost in their own self-esteem.
Prof Knobloch-Westerwick went on to add that the study revealed that younger people, who are less certain about their own identity, prefer to read about other younger people to see how they live their lives.
It would appear that in today’s world where all media focus seems to be about being young that the elderly gain an extra surge to their self-esteem when they hear about the negative aspects of the youth-centred culture although in general older people do have a far greater positive feeling in regards to their own identity.
Of the members included in the study 98 were in the age range from 50 to 65 while the 18 to 30 age group was represented by 178 people.
The Journal of Communication will publish the results in the September 2010 issue.
