News JVTech Young French people are increasingly stupid, according to this study
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A study carried out by Ifop does not spare young people by showing how much they are more and more believers in the more than dubious theories that hang around on social networks. Fans of statistics, you will be served.
Flat Earth, witchcraft, astrology, young people increasingly influenced
Hi ! Are you between 11 and 24 years old, and do you feel like an intelligent person? Well think again, because Ifop is here to tell you bad news: there is a good chance that you are the exact opposite. More seriously, the Reboot Foundation and the Jean-Jaurès Foundation commissioned a study from Ifop to assess the presence of fringe theories in the minds of young people today.
Released at the start of 2023, it was conducted with a sample of 2023 people, including 1,061 young people aged 11 to 17 and 942 young people aged 18 to 24, all while respecting the quotas of sex, level of schooling and diploma, socio-professional category, and geography.
The alternate truths
The study shows with some evidence that young French people are increasingly skeptical of scientific achievements, starting with the difference in perception of the benefits of science in 2022 compared to 1972: only 33% of respondents find it more good than bad, compared to 55% in 1972. 17% say it brings more harm than good, compared to 6% at the time.
Warning : while the survey is carried out with a sample ranging from 11 to 24 years old, many statistics relate only to 18-24 year olds. Weird. One of the most interesting questions for this age group is:
“And for each of the following opinions, do you agree with at least one of these statements?”with timeless subjects such as the theory of evolution and the trip to the Moon of the USA, or even more recent themes such as the war in Ukraine or the many myths around the Covid. Result: 69% of 18-24 year olds agree with at least one of these statements. It is enormous.
Para-sciences and occultism
If you feel like you’re hearing more and more astrology around you, you are not dreaming. A real phenomenon taking on a large scale, 49% of young people believe that astrology is a science, compared to 43% in 1999. But it is far from being the only para-science to have a good back:
The fault of social networks, TikTok and Twitter at the top of the list
I suspect everyone is surprised if I tell you that social networks have an obvious influence on the results of this investigation. Among 11-24 year olds, 69% have consulted video or photo sharing networks, compared to 23% for the major television channels.
- 33% of young people have confidence in social networks (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc.)
- 41% of TikTokers believe in the idea thata content creator/influencer who has a significant number of followers tends to be a reliable source. It is this last statistic that is the scariest.
Twitter also stands out in several answers, young people using it several times a day being more likely to adhere to dubious theories.
The Ifop survey is very complete, I invite you to consult it in its entirety to understand all the ins and outs.
(Ifop study for the Rebbot Foundation and the Jean Jaurès Foundation carried out by self-administered online questionnaire from October 28 to November 7, 2022 with a representative national sample of 2,003 young people, representative of the French population aged 11 to 24 .)
