Nearly half of Generation Z wants to live in the past due to discomfort from technologies - poll
Kyiv • UNN
Nearly half of Generation Z representatives (18–29 years old) in the US want to live in the past due to discomfort from technologies, according to an NBC News poll. 62% of young people pessimistically assess their future, 80% believe that the US is going the wrong way.
Nearly half of Generation Z members in the US say they would choose to live in the past if possible. This is evidenced by an NBC News Decision Desk poll conducted jointly with SurveyMonkey, writes UNN.
Details
According to the results, 47% of adults aged 18–29 would like to live in previous eras. A third of them would choose a period less than 50 years ago, another 14% — more than 50 years in the past. Meanwhile, 38% preferred the present, 10% — the future less than 50 years from now, and 5% — a more distant prospect.
The poll also revealed a high level of pessimism among young people: 62% of respondents believe their lives will be worse than those of previous generations, while 25% expect improvement, and 13% — no change. In addition, 80% of Generation Z members are convinced that the US is heading in the wrong direction — this is the highest rate among all age groups.
The results overall did not differ by gender or political views; however, among young Black respondents, the share who chose the past was 33%, compared to 52% among whites and 47% among Latinos.
Poll participants explain such sentiments by discomfort from constant digital presence and excessive dependence on technology. Nostalgia for past decades, according to them, is linked to a sense of simpler life and more lively communication.
The desire to return to the recent past is also fueled by interest in the culture, fashion, and technologies of the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. This is manifested in the popularity of retro accessories, clothing, cassette players, and iPods.
Some Generation Z members, born after 1997, would like to live in an era without social networks and constant digital dependence, experts note.
Meanwhile, researchers emphasize that the distant past lacks the benefits of modern progress, so young people more often choose recent decades.
Some respondents also note that smartphones and information overload hinder live communication. In particular, 20-year-old student from Colorado Ben Isaacs chose the 1990s due to the balance between technology and social interaction, while 28-year-old worker from Missouri Skyler Barnett — due to fatigue from the modern information environment.
Experts explain such sentiments by the phenomenon of cultural nostalgia, when during periods of social and technological uncertainty, people more often turn to the past as a source of psychological comfort.
The poll covered more than 32,000 adult Americans, including over 3,000 aged 18–29. The margin of error is ±1.8% for the entire sample and ±2.4% for the Generation Z group.