Young Swiss adults are less inclined to rebel than to seek stability, according to the latest Youth Barometer by the research institute GFS Bern, conducted for the pharmaceutical firm Merck. Based on a survey of 1,009 people aged 16 to 30, the study challenges familiar clichés about a restless, risk-taking youth. Rebellion and other supposed hallmarks of youth culture—excess, confrontation, experimentation—have lost much of their appeal. Instead, respondents place greater value on continuity and security, a shift the authors link to a more uncertain social and economic environment.
That uncertainty is reflected in how young people view the future. Just 16% describe themselves as broadly optimistic about society, while 36% are pessimistic and nearly half take a mixed view. This marks a notable deterioration since 2012, when only one-fifth expressed a bleak outlook. Young people remain somewhat more hopeful about their own prospects, though even here pessimism has edged up. The findings suggest a generation less confident in collective progress, even as it retains a degree of personal optimism.
Health looms large. Fully 94% of respondents say their physical and mental well-being is important, ranking it above career concerns. Yet some topics remain sensitive. Discussions around sexuality, contraception and addiction still carry a degree of stigma, even if less so than in the past. Despite the prominence of digital tools, young people continue to rely primarily on medical professionals for health advice, and tend to treat social-media trends and AI-generated information with scepticism.
The survey also points to a divergence in attitudes between men and women, particularly on family roles. Young women tend to hold more progressive views, while a sizeable minority of men—32%—favour a traditional model in which the father earns the income and the mother cares for children. Strikingly, support for this view is stronger among younger men. Even so, a broad consensus remains: 87% of respondents agree that both parents should spend equal time with their children.
More on this:
Youth Barometer 2025 (in German)
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