Walden University Survey Reveals Younger Adults are Believed to be More Passionate About Positive Social Change

A young person’s passion can be powerful when it comes to positive social change, but knowledge and experience from older adults are necessary to transform it into action. According to Walden University’s 2014 Social Change Impact Report, a majority of adults (66%, on average) believe that younger adults are more passionate about positive social change than older adults, and 61%, on average, agree that young adults today are more involved in positive social change than they were 20 years ago.

However, 57%, on average, agree that when it comes to positive social change, older adults can make more of a difference than younger adults. Paradoxically, adults in the countries surveyed with the youngest populations most likely agree: Brazil (62%), China (73%), India (71%), Jordan (52%) and Mexico (67%).

Commissioned by Walden and conducted online by Harris Poll June 1–17, 2014, the fourth annual survey about the state of social change around the world includes the perspectives of more than 9,000 adults in Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Jordan, Mexico and the United States. This year’s report builds on the findings from the 2011–2013 reports and was designed to examine people’s perceptions of the impact of their engagement in positive social change.

Although six in 10 adults believe that older adults can have a greater impact on social change than younger adults, nearly as many believe that older adults are more resistant to innovation.

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