The Modern Cultural Context of Ideas about the Future in Adolescence

Abstract

Introduction. The article describes the results of an empirical study of ideas about the future in the context of the socio-psychological phenomenon of the extended childhood and youth. For boys and girls the future is a positive time in which work depends on study and knowledge. Before the onset of adolescence, the future is blurred, and at the age of youth, the future depends on work, which determines the creation of a family, the appearance of children and self-understanding. Methodology and sampling of the study. In this study the method of I.S. Cohn “Me in 5 years” was used. The sample consisted of 1,538 boys and girls aged from 14 to 28. Four age groups were identified, which correspond to adolescence (14 years old), early adolescence (15-18 years old), late adolescence (19-23 years old), the age of youth or the onset of adulthood (24-28 years old). The sample was formed according to the “snowball” principle by sending a link to the study to educational organizations in Russia by e-mail. The text data obtained were analyzed using the statistical software package “R” (version 21.0). The main results of the study. The analysis of the texts of the essays showed that most often when talking about the future, respondents use the words: “I hope” and “I want”. For teenagers (14 years old), the word “I will” comes out on top, and for young people of the age of youth or the onset of adulthood (24-28 years old), the word “work” comes out on top. The words “I hope” and “I want” occur most often in the age groups from 15 to 23 years old. Discussion and interpretation of data. Meaningful topics of ideas about the future include: desires, expectations, opportunities, values, achievements and goals. At the same time, opportunities are associated with family and work, the value is life, which depends on a good job and a good person nearby. Goals are associated with their own personality in the future, with an understanding of time, as well as with what boys and girls think, dream, love and know. The study also showed that the formation of a subjective position regarding one's own future takes place in several steps/stages. Conclusion. The meaningful directions of ideas about the future are: desires, expectations, opportunities, values, achievements and goals. The discussion of the future family and future work is the material, and not the central core of a meaningful idea of the future. Teenagers see the future in positive colors, without separating their own desires from opportunities.