Print Article for the National Catholic Register

Culture of Life

Generation Close-the-Gap

Facts of Life

BY Tom Hoopes

September 13-19, 2009 Issue | Posted 9/4/09 at 3:14 PM

A new survey from the Pew Research Center shows that the “generation gap” that once pitted young people against their own parents has closed significantly. That’s not to say today’s generations see eye to eye on a whole lot more — 80% of respondents see a “very different” or “somewhat different” take on moral values and work ethic — but today’s young people and their parents seem better able to talk without fighting, according to Paul Taylor of Pew. Commenting on the survey, Matt Heneman, a 26-year-old freelance filmmaker in New York, told USA Today: “Part of baby boomers’ challenging the status quo might have played more into the fact that they were challenging their parents. We’re not necessarily challenging our parents. We’re trying to figure out what challenges of the world to take on.”