Values of Americans Born after 1980: Why Not the Pursuit of Money, Fame and Status?

In recent years, issues concerning those born after the 1980s, such as their well-being and the orientation of their values, are becoming popular topics of discussion among the public. And endless varieties of new terms have emerged regarding this generation: moonlight clan, NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training), house slaves, the McDull clan. All these terms reflect the awkward situation of this generation. Once in their 30s (and presumably independent), are those born after the 1980s worried about being able to buy a house or find a job? Earlier this year, the Pew Research Center published an interesting research report about those born after the 1980s.

In the research, those born after the 1980s were asked to rank major goals like “buying a house,” “becoming famous,” and “having a successful marriage.” The results showed that “being a good parent” is most important; fifty-two percent of those born after the 1980s believe that that is the most important goal in life. “Having a successful marriage” is ranked second; thirty percent believe this is most important. Ranked third is “helping others in need,” with 21 percent believing this is the most important. “Owning a home” is ranked fourth with 20 percent believing this is the most important, followed by “living a very religious life” and “being successful in a high-paying career,” each ranked as most important by 15 percent of respondents. Ranked last is “becoming famous,” with only 1 percent of those born after the 1980s believing that this is most important. And 3 percent of those born after the 1980s believed that “becoming famous” is very important, while most (86 percent) believed that this is “not important” or “not at all important.”

Such figures showed that those born after the 1980s placed utmost importance on family and responsibility, not on money, reputation or status. The Pew Research Center employed a research method known as sampling, a type of quantitative analysis. Such samples are limited, and whether the results are accurate, it is difficult to be 100 percent certain. But if one is working and living in the U.S., it is not difficult to feel such values surging in the mainstream society on a qualitative level.

For example, the U.S. places a lot of importance on graduation. When a person graduates, the graduation ceremony becomes a family day. The highlight of the graduation ceremony is the speech given by a guest speaker, and in this case, the people who are giving the speech are usually leading figures from the various fields. Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine that the values spoken about in such a setting have a substantial influence on the youth. Thus, the speeches given by these famous figures tend to be widely circulated.

Obama is such a figure. He was invited to give a speech at the graduation ceremony of Wesleyan University. During the ceremony, he said that when he graduated, he had no idea what he wanted to do. He started to show an interest in public affairs due to the influence of his mother and teachers. He chose to do grassroots, community work in Chicago after he graduated from Columbia University in 1985. Although the pay was only $12,000 (average pay around that time was $14,500), Obama worked there for three years. He would not have become what he is now if there was nobody to help him. Without the process of him trying to provide assistance and service, he would not have found his direction in life, and become what he is now. He concluded that one’s personal life and one’s public life cannot be separated; individual success is dependent on group success. For a country to change, more people have to come forward and shoulder more public service and public responsibility.

Since Obama is a political figure, why don’t we divert our attention to business and education leaders, as there will be a tendency to be suspected of preaching? In 2007, Bill Gates spoke at the Harvard University graduation ceremony. The main theme was to encourage graduates to help others and reduce inequality. He said, “My mother … never stopped pressing me to do more for others. She said, ‘From those to whom much is given, much is expected.’” In the same year, due to the success of “The Last Lecture,” the world famous Randy Pausch from Carnegie Mellon University said during the graduation ceremony held there, “Find your passion and follow it. And if there is anything that I have learned in life, you will not find that passion in things. And you will not find that passion in money.”

So where does passion come from? In 2005, Steve Jobs from Apple said during a speech at Stanford University, “Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important[ly] have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary … And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” From my own experience, I still remember my professor’s earnest message during the graduation speech, “Although career success is important, you have to remember never to put career success above family. What is needed in life is a successful balance.”

Just like previous generations, Americans who were born after 1980 place emphasis on values like family and a willingness to help others. The Pew study showed that “Being a good parent” has been ranked at the top of the list since the 1920s. This is considered the most important goal. Among 18-29 year olds “Helping others in need” is only slightly less important for those born after 1980. It was ranked 4th in importance among those 30 and above, with a difference of only 1 percent. On top of that, figures also showed that the percentage of those who volunteered is almost the same for all age groups. In the past 12 months, 57 percent of those born after 1980 volunteered, while 54 percent of those aged 30-45 volunteered, and 52 percent of those aged 46-65 volunteered.

What other characteristics do those born after 1980 possess? The U.S. economy hit rock bottom in recent years, and is still unable to fully recover. Many more of those born after 1980 lost their jobs, when compared to those in the previous two generations. Their employment rate is the lowest, with only 41 percent holding a full-time job, yet the results of the research showed that the majority of those born after 1980 are optimistic about the future. Another notable characteristic is the depth of penetration by the information revolution. Seventy-five percent of those born after 1980 are using social networking websites like Facebook, and 83 percent of those born after 1980 do not switch off their cell phones even when they are asleep. These percentages are much higher when compared to Americans in other age groups. On top of that, as compared to previous generations, those born after 1980 support racial equality, interracial marriages, and are more open-minded about gay marriages and immigrants. For example, 45 percent of those born after 1980 believed that “even if it means giving them preferential treatment,” they still want to promote racial equality. Compared to the two previous generations, only 27 percent [Boomers] and 30 percent [Gen Xers] believed the same. The Pew study concluded by saying that compared to previous generations, the most significant characteristics of those born after 1980 are those of being more confident, more closely linked to technology, and more willing to accept changes.