Survey Says!

I was part of the generation that saw the birth of MTV. This was a television channel dedicated to music. This introduction gave an audience a visual for rock. Not always the most appropriate visuals. This channel was the catalyst that promoted Madonna, Michael Jackson, and others to stardom. So when I became aware of a survey that MTV sponsored in 2007 I was more than a little leery. I knew any results that MTV produced would be biased and skewed. The results, however, were very enlightening.

MTV released findings of an in-depth study into the happiness of young people. Overall the study reveals that young people (13-24) are generally very happy and optimistic about the future. If that surprises you look what those surveyed said that made them happy. Parents! Parents are seen as the overwhelmingly positive influence in the lives of these young people. Remarkably, nearly half of the respondents mention at least one of their parents as a hero! They also found that religion and spirituality are an integral part of happiness. Those for whom religion played an important role in their life – 80% say they are happy with life. Compare that to those who responded that religion was not important only 60% said they were happy. The other source of happiness for these young people was technology. (I must be old.)

Almost no respondents mentioned anything financial or material as a source of happiness. However, 70% say they want to be rich and many said that financial woes were a source of unhappiness. Another find was that sexually active respondents reported much lower levels of happiness. However, this is what MTV, seemingly, is trying to sell. Interesting!

April 13, 2009