It’s Tough Out There — Live in the Past? Present? Or Future?

It’s always interesting — and sometimes very informative — to understand what’s going on in the heads of your clients. A bit of research done by Pew Research late last year is one great example.

It appears a huge percentage of us wish we lived in the past and not now.

Pew based the research on the film Back to the Future which was a huge movie hit 40 years ago. Last summer Pew asked this question. If you could travel back to the past, or forward to the future, or stay where you are, which would you choose?

• 45% said they would live sometime in the past
• 25% would go back less than 50 years
• 20% would go back more than 50 years
• 40% say they’d just stay put
• 14% like the idea of going forward into the future
• 9% want to go over 50 years into the future

The answers are intriguing. With that, Pew Research dug even deeper and produced a very interesting patchwork of answers in various age groups, sexes and races.

Which Americans would want to live in the past?

More than 50 years in the past:

All adults — 20%

Men — 21%

Women — 20%

White — 24%

Black — 11%

Hispanic — 16%

Asian — 9%

Age 18-49 — 19%

50+ — 22%

Republican or leaning Republican — 27%

Democrat or leaning Democrat — 14%

Some college or less — 23%

College grad — 14%

Less than 50 years in the past:

All adults — 25%

Men — 22%

Women — 28%

White — 26%

Black — 21%

Hispanic — 26%

Asian — 23%

Ages 18-49 — 29%

50+ — 21%

Republican or leaning Republican — 25%

Democrat or leaning Democrat — 26%

Some college or less — 26%

College grad — 24%

That led to questions about how we feel about the future. Are we happy, sad, hopeful or scared to death?

• 68% feel hopeful about the future
• 60% are feeling scared
• 54% feel happy about what’s ahead
• 50% feel sad

People regularly attending religious services are much more likely to feel happy and hopeful about the future. They are also much less likely to be frightened or sad about what the future holds.

Republicans are more hopeful than Democrats.

Women are much more likely to be scared, or sad, about the future than men.

Source link: Pew Research — https://bit.ly/46XYsif