Why Finnish Youth Are Disillusioned with Life 0 16

A four out of ten. This is the rating that 23-year-old Samuel Clemetti would have given his life a couple of years ago.

At that time, Clemetti had many difficult experiences: the death of loved ones, a breakup. Because of this, his studies also suffered.

– Nothing was really working out. I couldn’t manage everyday tasks, I couldn’t take care of myself. I was completely alone in my grief. Panic attacks started, and I realized that I needed help; I could no longer cope.

Thanks to intensive therapy, a light began to appear at the end of the tunnel. In therapy, Clemetti learned to prioritize his well-being and realized his own worth.

His life satisfaction rose to a score of eight.

– There is room for growth, but overall everything is very good. My studies are on track, I have housing, and my financial situation is relatively stable.

Discontent Higher Than Ever

Satisfaction among young people with their own lives is at a historic low: this is according to the latest youth barometer.

Only six percent of the young people surveyed rated their lives a ten. Twenty-four percent gave a nine. This is the worst result in the history of the survey.

Just ten years ago, more than half of young people rated their lives a ten or nine. Never before in the survey had young people given so many ratings below seven.

Like Samuel Clemetti, a third of young people rated their lives an eight last year.

Listening to Clemetti, it is easy to understand what may be causing this phenomenon.

– It seems to me that young people have been going from crisis to crisis for the past few years. There hasn’t been a single calm moment to breathe and think about where you actually want to go. There are constantly large-scale events happening that cause anxiety.

According to statistician Konsta Haponen, the successive social crises may partly explain the results.

– The youth barometer does not answer the question of what caused this. However, it can confidently say that the reason is not only, for example, social media, as the decline in satisfaction began long before the spread of smartphones.

Employment – The Main Concern of Youth

For the first time, the survey investigated the reasons why young people feel pressure.

The most stressful issue for young people is employment. According to the barometer, a full 70 percent feel pressure from job searching.

More than half of young people feel pressure to look good and to obtain an education. Almost half feel pressure to behave socially like an extrovert or worry about whether they have the energy for socializing with friends.

Women feel pressure more than men on all points. For example, among women aged 20–24, a full 85 percent feel pressure from job searching, while among men of the same age, 65 percent feel stressed.

“They Just No Longer Dare to Hope”

Optimism about the future has also reached a record low.

Samuel Clemetti is concerned about how quickly global conflicts can escalate. The fear of war, he says, is felt even in Finland.

– The political situation has become completely unbearable in just a couple of years. Young people are losing faith in the future; it seems that the game is already lost. They just no longer dare to hope.

Youth optimism regarding their own future fell to a historic low in the previous 2024 survey.

The Ministry of Education and Culture found the results so alarming that it created an expert group to investigate the causes and seek ways to improve the situation. The final report of the working group will be published in March.

According to the latest survey, young people's faith in their own future has strengthened. Now, 62 percent of youth look to the future with optimism, compared to 54 percent the previous year among those surveyed online and 61 percent among respondents who answered by phone.

Samuel Clemetti also believes in his long-term prospects after difficult years.

– A couple of years ago, I couldn’t imagine any future. Now, as I have gradually overcome life’s difficulties, I believe again that there is something for me in the future.