Amid the polls focusing on likely voters in an election year, one entity has polled 13-year-olds on a variety of topics and learned that more of them claim that the COVID-19 pandemic had a positive influence on their lives than a negative one, and that they are supportive of so-called cancel culture.
Thirteen-year-olds are considered the oldest of "Generation Alpha." Springtide Research Institute surveyed 1,112 of them with the permission of their parents for one week during January.
"In order to know, understand and accompany young people—Gen Alpha—as they move into their teenage years and closer to adulthood, we have to ask and listen more than guess and assume," Springtide executive editor Tricia Bruce told Newsweek.
So what does Gen Alpha think?
Smartphones
This group of young people mostly admit that they are addicted to their phones, with 42 percent agreeing or strongly agreeing that they are and 36 percent saying that they are not. Ninety-seven percent have access to a smartphone.
But the study indicates also that 13-year-olds who use their phones more than others only slightly more often say that they are depressed, anxious or lonely, thus the researchers don't conclude that phone use has much to do with mental health.
COVID-19
As for COVID, the results fly in the face of several recent studies that indicate students suffered from lower IQ scores or mental health issues due to school closures that in some parts of the country stretched for two years.
"We're on the edge of a generational change from Gen Z to Gen Alpha and no one is attempting to understand them," said Bruce. "These kids were in third and fourth grade during COVID and all the speculation presumes a negative outcome. Asking 13-year-olds directly, they told us: not entirely."
In fact, 27 percent of 13-year-olds said the responses to COVID had a positive impact on their lives, mostly because it improved their relationships primarily with families and to a lesser extent with friends.
About 24 percent said COVID negatively impacted their lives and the majority said it had a mixed impact.
More respondents also said COVID positively impacted their physical health rather than negatively (37 percent to 15 percent) as well as their mental health (31 percent to 21 percent). Likewise, they claim their education was positively impacted (34 percent to 26 percent).
In a flurry of follow-up questions related to their mental well-being, the respondents overwhelmingly said they are leading purposeful and meaningful lives; that their friends are supportive; that they contribute to the happiness of others; and that they're optimistic about their future.
Cancel culture
As for cancel culture, the surveyors asked whether "cancelling public figures who say things that are very offensive to others" is good or bad, and 50 percent said it was either somewhat good or very good for society while 22 percent said it was either somewhat bad or very bad for society.
Bruce said their embrace of the notion of "cancelling" someone comes down to them being in control.
"They're still figuring out who to listen to and whom to trust," she said. "Things like social media enable them to be participants in a conversation rather than merely passive recipients."
Climate change
Climate change was also explored in the study, and it revealed that 13-year-olds are all over the map when it comes to how much it worries them.
Asked, "How often do you worry about the effects of climate change?" 17 percent said "never"; 23 percent answered "rarely"; 35 percent said "sometimes"; 18 percent said "often"; and 6 percent said constantly.
That said, a large majority see efforts to decrease the effects of climate change as being good for society.
Discrimination
According to the study, 37 percent of minorities say they have felt discriminated against while 16 percent of their white peers say the same.
The researchers also write that the large majority of 13-year-olds identify as at least slightly spiritual or religious. "Teens who believe in a higher power and who see religion as personally important are less likely to report feeling unhappy or lonely over the past month," they conclude.
Given their age, it's no surprise that a majority of the respondents don't know what political party they identify with. Among the 41 percent who do know, 24 percent say they are Democrats and 17 percent say they are Republicans.
The majority say that acceptance of those who are transgender is neither good nor bad for society, but somewhat good or very good outnumbered very bad and somewhat bad 42 percent to 22 percent.
"We still have more questions than answers about Generation Alpha given that its oldest members are only just now moving into their teenage years — but this study offers an important and unique first look," said Bruce.
Survey Information
The survey featured 55 questions and was administered via Alchemer, a data-collection firm. The firm used quotas based on census demographics and weeded out phony respondents motivated by cash incentives to achieve a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percent. Sterling IRB, an external institutional review board approved the study.
Springtide is under the umbrella of Lasallian Educational Research Initiatives, which adheres to the principles of the Catholic congregation inspired by Saint Baptist De La Salle, the patron saint of teachers.
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