Teenagers lose respect for the State

The vast majority of teenagers are apathetic about the monarchy, religion and politics, according to new research from Carrick James.

A survey of today’s teenage tastes shows the Royal family scoring a 92 per cent “not very/not at all interested”rating among 15 to19-year-olds.

Politics did little better, registering 57 per cent on the “not-at-all interested” scale, with a further 29 per cent “not very interested”.

Religion also proved a big turn-off, notching up 86 per cent in the “not at all/not very interested” category – a figure considerably down on the 66 per cent registered by the Carrick James survey 21 years ago.

The research company, which has been tracking teenage attitudes for the past 22 years, says respect for the “establishment” among this age group has reached an all-time low.

Interest in sport also appears to be declining among this group. More than one-third of respondents (34 per cent) expressed little or no interest in sport, either as participants or viewers.

On the rise, however, among this disaffected group are computer literacy (49 per cent own a home computer, 65 per cent of boys) and environmental issues.

As many as 57 per cent expressed an interest and concern for local and global environmental damage. Only 17 per cent expressed no interest.

The findings are based on a nationally representative sample of 1,100 consumers.