Youth Trend Study 2025

Rüdiger Maas
May 22
2 min read

In its "Youth Trend Study 2025," the Institute for Generation Research asked: How do people feel about work, politics, family, security, and their own future? How do they experience crises of meaning, fears, and the political climate after the federal election—and is there hope despite everything? The labor market was also examined: How does AI influence education, jobs, and everyday life?

Under the direction of Dr. Rüdiger Maas , several thousand young people between the ages of 15 and 30 were surveyed across Germany. To filter out age and period effects, over a thousand people over the age of 31 were surveyed in parallel. In addition, another 176 young people were interviewed qualitatively to more accurately classify their backgrounds, motives, and the quantitative data.

The 2025 Youth Trend Study by the Institute for Generation Research examines the current attitudes, concerns about the future, and societal expectations of young people in Germany. The study focuses on members of Generation Z in the context of social developments up to May 2025. In addition, comparative data from 2009 were used on the topic of the quarter-life crisis.

Thematically, the study focuses on personal fears, individual sense of security, attitudes toward war and global crises, political orientation and voting behavior, as well as questions surrounding military service and the process of growing up in an increasingly complex world. In addition, attitudes toward political actors such as Donald Trump and perceptions of geopolitical developments were surveyed to gain a comprehensive picture of the mood of the younger generation.

Data collection followed a mixed-methods approach using methodological triangulation. In addition to a standardized online survey, qualitative interviews were conducted to explore key themes in more depth. The quantitative results were systematically compared with individual patterns of interpretation to reveal not only statistical trends but also the underlying motives and realities of life.