Kids care most about education, climate change, new Week Junior survey finds
Children born since 2010 — Generation Alpha — care the most about access to quality education, protecting the environment, and ending hunger, and want leaders to take action now, the new Junior Voices survey from The Week Junior and YouGov found.
The top issue for Generation Alpha is education, with 34 percent saying it's important to them that every kid has the opportunity to get a good education and go to college if they'd like to attend. The environment is a close second, with 29 percent saying we must protect wildlife, ensure there is clean water and air, and reduce climate change, followed by hunger, with 28 percent saying all Americans must have enough food to eat. Equality — taking action to make sure people of all races, genders, and backgrounds are treated fairly — and ensuring everyone can get and afford good health care are also top concerns.
A quarter of the respondents said they feel hopeful about the future, and 24 percent feel inspired to do something to make a difference. Andrea Barbalich, editor-in-chief of The Week Junior, said this year's Junior Voices survey "once again showed that kids not only have strong points of view on the issues that matter to them, but are passionate about using their voices for change."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
YouGov surveyed 733 children between the ages of 8 and 14, after contacting their parents online. The surveys were conducted Sept. 23 through Oct. 11. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all U.S. children ages 8 to 14.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Political cartoons for November 9Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include a ripoff, and the land of opportunity
-
A ‘golden age’ of nuclear powerThe Explainer The government is promising to ‘fire up nuclear power’. Why, and how?
-
Massacre in Darfur: the world looked the other wayTalking Point Atrocities in El Fasher follow decades of repression of Sudan’s black African population
-
The Southern Ocean is holding in a ‘burp’Under the radar The heat from the past can affect the future
-
Hurricane Melissa slams Jamaica as Category 5 stormSpeed Read The year’s most powerful storm is also expected to be the strongest ever recorded in Jamaica
-
How climate change poses a national security threatThe explainer A global problem causing more global problems
-
The Earth is getting darkerUnder the radar The planet’s reflectivity is out of whack
-
Scientists want to use enhanced rock weathering to cool the EarthUnder the radar Rock dust could trap atmospheric carbon
-
Icarus programme – the ‘internet of animals’The Explainer Researchers aim to monitor 100,000 animals worldwide with GPS trackers, using data to understand climate change and help predict disasters and pandemics
-
Renewables top coal as Trump seeks reversalSpeed Read For the first time, renewable energy sources generated more power than coal, said a new report
-
China vows first emissions cut, sidelining USSpeed Read The US, the world’s No. 2 emitter, did not attend the New York summit
