Trends
Public, private and working lives are intertwined in both the physical and the virtual space. The age of formally reaching adulthood has been decreasing, but the time for a young person to become socially and economically independent is prolonged. Many people make major life decisions later in life. Familiarity with technologies, access to information, and the ability to communicate with others, including speaking multiple languages, has become standard. This is not related to age or living in an urban or rural setting, but involves with social status, level of education, and degree of mobility.
Challenges
How will the overlap of the real and virtual worlds influence the satisfaction of basic human needs and the self-fulfillment of individuals? Will we be successful in bridging the plurality of lifestyles and preventing the atomization of society thanks to compulsory education? What are the limits of an education system that is customized for each individual?
| Imagine a FUTURE in which the underlying theme will be: | Imagine a FUTURE in which the underlying theme will be: | Imagine a FUTURE in which the underlying theme will be: |
| I LIVE MY LIFE AS I WANT | I LIVE FOR THE BENEFIT OF LIKE MINDED PEOPLE | I LIVE FOR THE GOOD AND WELL-BEING OF ALL |
| There is a prevalence of privately owned, self-sufficient, and well-secured housing. The ideal way of living is in a family house on a private plot of land with high-quality fixtures and online services. Many people are working from home. Social and health services are provided by a network of private providers. | There is a prevalence of communal housing of urban and rural types with various communal areas. Residential districts are being created with open courtyards and generous public spaces. Basic social care and primary healthcare are provided directly in neighborhoods. | There is a prevalence of widely available rental housing in large residential neighborhoods. They are inhabited by economically active people who move fairly often in search of work or for study. The government invests in the construction of dormitories and social housing. Available in each area are public healthcare and social care facilities for the elderly as well as integrated service centers. |
| Neighborly relations are developed only through occasional social activities or joint investments in infrastructure. An ordinary person visits their relatives on the other end of the country or the world more frequently than they visit their immediate neighbors. People appreciate and protect their privacy and divide their time between work and leisure activities to the degree that they are individually able to do so. Food and other goods are usually ordered online. A number of services are personalized and as client-friendly as possible. | Building neighborly relations is very important for long-term coexistence in the same location. Many people have no reason during their lifetime to spend extensive time outside of their community. Public and private lives intertwine in a number of ways. Residential houses have common areas for games, rest, or other leisure time activities, but sometimes also for jointly preparing meals and eating. Community gardens and centers are being created. Many goods and services are produced and provided directly in the community. Many communities have their own currency. | Building neighborly relations is useful for peaceful coexistence, but due to the high mobility, such relations are not very durable. Private life is generally limited to the time spent for relaxation in the circle of immediate family or friends. People spend more time performing a variety of public-benefit activities, which is encouraged by a developed system of care for children and the elderly. There is a standard choice of goods and services that are equally accessible to everyone. |
| Young people usually rebel against taking responsibility for their own lives, against the pressure to perform, and against a life based on consumerism. There are plenty of alternative subcultures; almost every young person has their own virtual avatar. | Young people usually rebel against making a contribution to the community, participation in joint activities, and the difficulty of gaining access to some services. Access to alternative cultures is mostly virtual; almost every young person belongs to some, at least for a period of time. | Young people usually rebel against the limited opportunities for study and the pressure to be engaged citizens. There are many opportunities for creative or sporting activities; almost every young person spends a lot of time doing them. |
| Suburban housing prevails as does individual private transport. | Rural settlements dominate and public transport is secured in the regions. | Urban settlements dominate and public transport is provided by the state. |
| To be "in" means to be exceptional. To be "out" means not wanting to compete. | To be "in" means to be useful. To be "out" means not wanting to contribute. | To be "in" means to be able to conform. To be "out" means not wanting to help. |
OUR RESEARCH
Education is not only an important entry ticket to the labor market (90%), but also a tool that helps a person with their self-determination (79%) and to live life on their own terms (83%).
Only 20% of people think that school should also serve as a center for community events. On the other hand, more than half believe that the purpose of school is to prepare children for individual success later in life.
OTHER RESEARCH
People in Slovakia prefer living in rural areas (40%), and in the suburbs of large cities (37%). Only 23% of the population wants to live directly in cities. Living in a city is considered to be a disadvantage due to the higher costs of living, higher crime rates, and a lack of green spaces. A third of the people object to anonymity and lack of neighborly and community relations in cities. The benefits they see—still fewer than disadvantages—include better public facilities and the availability of shopping opportunities. On the other hand, 20% prefer the anonymity offered by a city. 1
The number of people in Slovakia who claim both work and leisure are important for them is growing. Still, the value of "survival" is stronger than that of "having a life". This differs, for example, from the Czech Republic, where priorities are already being redefined, with much stronger emphasis on the importance of friends and free time and less on the importance of work. 2
When making major life decisions, teenagers in Slovakia primarily follow the advice of their parents. However, they prefer to spend their free time with friends to constantly discuss their opinions. The important thing is for them to be always online and use devices. Social networks are considered to be "in" by more than 80% of young people. For three quarters of teenagers, it is also "in" to be into sports and dating, but also to eat healthy (62%), protect the environment (45%), and not to take drugs (53%). 3
Only 14% of children spend the majority of their free time in hobby clubs. As many as 66% of children spend a minimum of 1 to 2 hours watching television or playing with a computer on a daily basis.4 Less than half of children aged 10-11 years play sports daily after school; almost half of them play outside and 32% of children regularly train in sports clubs. The rest of the children only play sports in school during physical education classes. 5
The activities that are offered to children and young people in their free time are generally not based on their interests, but rather on the ideas adults have about what is good for them. Children and teenagers expressed a wish to have more age-appropriate activities available to them, but also the respect and feeling of partnership on the part of adults. They want to have a say in the decisions about what they do in their spare time and when. When they show an interest in something, they are happy to spend time on it even beyond the planned program. A key strategy to help bring the youth to do meaningful leisure activities is to show them more trust and pass a significant part of responsibility to them. 6
People in Slovakia are mostly dissatisfied with their standard of living. Satisfaction in this regard was expressed by approximately 6% of the population. In order to achieve a high standard of living today, people need a combination of specific personal skills and qualities. What is needed is good education, talent, and diligence. Yet, at the same time, people believe that success in Slovakia can be achieved in other ways too, such as with favoritism, corruption and nepotism. 7
According to the statistics on income and living conditions in Slovakia, children's access to adequate resources greatly depends on the size and socio-economic status of their family. Households with three and more children are increasingly at risk of poverty—one in three faces this risk. Single parents with children are in similar situation. 8
„V budúcnosti budeme technologicky vyspelejší, ale lenivejší.“ žiačka ZŠ, Poprad
„Everyone will be living alone, without needing to meet others, because that can get tiring.“ a workshop participant in the town of, Pezinok
GOOD TO KNOW
New ways are emerging for young people to spend their leisure time. For example, groups of teenagers in bigger cities like to meet in large shopping centers, where they not just have fun, but also talk, and even prepare for school. Shopping centers meet a number of parameters important to young people—they have long opening hours, it is comfortable to spend time there even in bad weather, no one tries to organize their time there or checks on them, and they provide free internet access. 9
In some sense, the middle class in society is simply what remains when you take away the rich and the poor. A precise definition of the middle-class changes with time and space. According to statistics, the middle class in Slovakia comprises about 32% of the population. This includes people with the so-called routine-not-manual work in administration and in business, artists, freelancers, farmers, but also lower-skilled technicians, lower-level managers, foremen or team leaders. If lower skilled specialists, clerks, lower management, and higher-qualified technicians are included in the middle class, then the percentage rises to 45%.10
„A middle-class person has at least a relative certainty of nothing bad happening tomorrow. However, they feel an absolute lack of time. This is because I have to work incredibly hard to make ends meet. Saturday, Sunday, holiday, night, until one or two in the morning and then waking up again at half past five is the standard for me.“ Peter Minárik, physician
„I was taken aback by a comment made by a pupil who said that there are two "horrible things” in the world -- school and work -- places that take away time with their parents. We are all in a hurry to get somewhere and have little time left for each other. This is our finding from the questionnaires -- that parents spend less time with the children. Some 11-year-olds even reported that their parents do not talk to them at all.“ Daniela Brindová, psychologist
„- The children are unable to learn by themselves. - How come? Today the parents are mostly away from home and the children are left to themselves. They definitely learn by themselves. “ a workshop participant in the town of Šamorín
Footnotes
Aké je podľa vás ideálne bývanie? Ťahá nás vidiek. In Pluska.sk. Dostupné na: http://www.pluska.sk
[1] Kusá, Z., Tížik, M. (Eds.) (2009) Výskum európskych hodnôt 1991-1998-2008 slovenská a česká spoločnosť. Bratislava: Sociologický ústav SAV.
[2] TNS Slovakia (2015) Výskum Millenials.
[3] Takmer 30% detí trávi pri počítači alebo televízii viac ako dve hodiny denne. In Sme, 21.5. 2012. Dostupné na http://tech.sme.sk
[4] Tamtiež.
[5] Lenčo, P., Chlebničanová, A. (2015) Kvalita práce s mládežou v oblasti voľného času a neformálneho vzdelávania. Bratislava: Nadácia pre deti Slovenska. Dostupné na http://www.codetipotrebuju.sk/
[6] Kusá, Z., Tížik, M. (2009).
[7] Kusá, Z. (2014) Investovať do detí: Východisko z bludného kruhu znevýhodnenia. Štúdia o vnútroštátnych politikách. Slovenská republika. Európska sieť nezávislých expertov na sociálnu inklúziu.
[8] Radová, L. (2010) Preference trávení volného času městské mládeže: mikrokultura „mall junkies“ v prostroru obchodního centra. Praha: Univerzita Karlova. Dostupné na https://is.cuni.cz
[9] Bahna, M., Džambazovič, R. (2010) Subjektívna identifikácia vlastnej pozície v stratifikačnom systéme slovenskej spoločnosti. In Sociológia Vol. 42, č. 2, s. 87-112. Dostupné na: http://sasd.sav.sk
