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Emerging Millennials: How Canada's Newest Generation is Responding to Change & Choice
This is a comprehensive examination of the impact of the Baby Boomers and their themes of freedom, diversity, and choice, along with their information and technology, on our latest emerging generation. It is based on his major new survey of over 5,000 Canadian teenagers, including a special sample of Aboriginals, and interpreted through the eyes of his unparalleled national surveys of teens and adults spanning the mid-1970s through now. It offers a report on the good, the bad, and the unfinished - the politically pleasing and politically incorrect. It presents a portrait of everything worth knowing about teenagers - their values, their loves and likes, what they are thinking and doing sexually, their self-images, anxieties and fears, what they are doing with all that technology, their awareness of what is happening in the world, their family experiences, beliefs and spirituality, and their hopes and expectations as they look to the future. It is written in Bibby's signature style - the solid, stimulating researcher and lively, engaging author.
233 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 6, 2019
Good overview of how population changed from the 1950 to now .
January 16, 2021
Pretty good
April 19, 2012
Certainly the area of statistics is one of the more difficult areas of sociology to comprehend and to navigate. They often carry a limiting degree of perspective while also bearing a certain degree of relevance and importance in a wide array of issues and subjects. While statistical study appears difficult and complex and even somewhat confusing at times, there is no denying that, particularly when it is done well, that it is also needed.
Reginald Bibby has been a leading sociologist, and a leading Canadian sociologist at that, for many years. He has dedicated his life to some of the most indepth and comprehensive study regarding todays youth and the movement of religion and faith within that demographic. For this reason Bibby has become a household name in the area of Church study, providing insight and guidance in to who youth are, where they are, and how to understand this as those trying to make sense of what appears to be a confusing generation. This book, titled the Emergin Millennials, represents the most recent and incredibly comprehensive study that represents Canadian youth culture in particular, and proves to be a rich resource to some of that perceived complexity. The book includes a sample of the aboriginal culture as well, which is another dynamic that sets this apart.
There are certainly some eye opening statistics represented here. Perhaps one of the most jarring is in the loss of importance of thinking and intellect and hard work (and remember, this comes from their own voice). In tracking the value system of todays youth, intellect falls flat at the bottom while hard work is a close second. In a further examination, what goes hand in hand with this is the relevance of immediate experience that the current culture has been accustomed to see as most important. It should come as no surprise that patience also finds itself as a lost and foreign virtue. Some speak of this as the result of entitlement, and the influence of modern social media. While this sounds cliche, the data undoubtedly supports it. Where hard work would have topped that of our forefathers, and intellect would accompany that of our fathers age, freedom to be who they are and the perception of friendship dominate the picture today.
The other dynamic that is apparent through this study is the inclination of youth to be governed by the moment and to follow a the feeling of a whim. The majority admit to the highest degree of influence being governed by friends and social media environments, and beyond that deciphering their own moral agenda in a moment based on what their peers and figures of influence are moving towards. There is on onslaught of information and so many things to occupy their time, but what follows this is the question of what they are actually perceiving within this bucket of information. What appears to be lost in the emerging generation is a close connection with the information they are receiving. While the emotional connection is there for social issues and issues of justice, actual connection with news stories and world issues find limited awareness or comprehension.
That is not to paint a negative picture. The book is clear to suggest that one of the clear areas of growth that is needed is in the perception of the previous generation on the influence of new cultural trends. The emerging generation maintains a growing and healthy desire to respond to moral issues and issues of justice. They also tend to suggest that while parents sit down the list of appropriate influence in shaping their world view, most have a desire for their parents to take a greater role in that influence. This points some of the fault at the parents and those who can be in a place of influence, and challenges them towards a greater degree of understanding and awareness. And while the religious involvement is on a decline (which should be no surprise), interest in spirituality is still very much alive.
Some of what we as teacher, parents, leaders, mentors, friends can take away from this book is that much of where the emerging generation finds itself is a product of how they have been raised and what they have been equipped for. There is a sense that somewhere inbetween the awkward generational transition from those who submitted to an overly dominant and harsh level of control in parenting and other disciplinary systems (school, ect), and those who felt the need to rebel against this same controlling system is a move from one extreme to another. In an effort to free a generation from this control we found a generation being taught the reality of entitlement and being safeguarded from failure and expectation. So it should also come as no surprise that the youth still hold to these things. The question is, where is the opportunity for the influential to guide this younger generation towards greater opportunities, both in challenging themselves and in teaching what seem to be some lost virtues and values. It's a good question, and one that the comprehensive study found within these pages lays directly at our feet.
Reginald Bibby has been a leading sociologist, and a leading Canadian sociologist at that, for many years. He has dedicated his life to some of the most indepth and comprehensive study regarding todays youth and the movement of religion and faith within that demographic. For this reason Bibby has become a household name in the area of Church study, providing insight and guidance in to who youth are, where they are, and how to understand this as those trying to make sense of what appears to be a confusing generation. This book, titled the Emergin Millennials, represents the most recent and incredibly comprehensive study that represents Canadian youth culture in particular, and proves to be a rich resource to some of that perceived complexity. The book includes a sample of the aboriginal culture as well, which is another dynamic that sets this apart.
There are certainly some eye opening statistics represented here. Perhaps one of the most jarring is in the loss of importance of thinking and intellect and hard work (and remember, this comes from their own voice). In tracking the value system of todays youth, intellect falls flat at the bottom while hard work is a close second. In a further examination, what goes hand in hand with this is the relevance of immediate experience that the current culture has been accustomed to see as most important. It should come as no surprise that patience also finds itself as a lost and foreign virtue. Some speak of this as the result of entitlement, and the influence of modern social media. While this sounds cliche, the data undoubtedly supports it. Where hard work would have topped that of our forefathers, and intellect would accompany that of our fathers age, freedom to be who they are and the perception of friendship dominate the picture today.
The other dynamic that is apparent through this study is the inclination of youth to be governed by the moment and to follow a the feeling of a whim. The majority admit to the highest degree of influence being governed by friends and social media environments, and beyond that deciphering their own moral agenda in a moment based on what their peers and figures of influence are moving towards. There is on onslaught of information and so many things to occupy their time, but what follows this is the question of what they are actually perceiving within this bucket of information. What appears to be lost in the emerging generation is a close connection with the information they are receiving. While the emotional connection is there for social issues and issues of justice, actual connection with news stories and world issues find limited awareness or comprehension.
That is not to paint a negative picture. The book is clear to suggest that one of the clear areas of growth that is needed is in the perception of the previous generation on the influence of new cultural trends. The emerging generation maintains a growing and healthy desire to respond to moral issues and issues of justice. They also tend to suggest that while parents sit down the list of appropriate influence in shaping their world view, most have a desire for their parents to take a greater role in that influence. This points some of the fault at the parents and those who can be in a place of influence, and challenges them towards a greater degree of understanding and awareness. And while the religious involvement is on a decline (which should be no surprise), interest in spirituality is still very much alive.
Some of what we as teacher, parents, leaders, mentors, friends can take away from this book is that much of where the emerging generation finds itself is a product of how they have been raised and what they have been equipped for. There is a sense that somewhere inbetween the awkward generational transition from those who submitted to an overly dominant and harsh level of control in parenting and other disciplinary systems (school, ect), and those who felt the need to rebel against this same controlling system is a move from one extreme to another. In an effort to free a generation from this control we found a generation being taught the reality of entitlement and being safeguarded from failure and expectation. So it should also come as no surprise that the youth still hold to these things. The question is, where is the opportunity for the influential to guide this younger generation towards greater opportunities, both in challenging themselves and in teaching what seem to be some lost virtues and values. It's a good question, and one that the comprehensive study found within these pages lays directly at our feet.
January 3, 2016
Canada's foremost sociologist on religion in Canada put this short book out to help spread the news that contrary to popular perception, religion is not dying out in Canada, and the trends that have spooked 2 decades of church leaders are now revealing very interesting changes in the religious landscape of Canada.
This ebook was very useful, and included a lot of the slides he uses when he presents his findings to organizations. That makes it light and easy to grasp. A must read for church leaders in Canada.
This ebook was very useful, and included a lot of the slides he uses when he presents his findings to organizations. That makes it light and easy to grasp. A must read for church leaders in Canada.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews