Next Generation of Teens Will ‘Baffle’ Elders, Researcher Warns By Andy Butcher

‘Mosaic’ adolescents hold confusing mix-and-match views about life and God

Teen-agers are getting harder to understand than ever, according to a top Christian researcher. George Barna says that the next wave of adolescents will baffle their elders by happily embracing conflicting beliefs and values, and unorthodox views about God.

Drawing from the results of a series of national polls, he warns that that the teen generation emerging through the next 20 years will not be looking for advice, but for ways to change the world according to the sometimes contradictory beliefs they already have formed.

The president of the California-based Barna Research group (BRG), Barna dubs the new generation the Mosaics in the light of their five major attributes. These are, his research concludes, their “eclectic lifestyle…non-linear thinking style…fluidity of personal relationships…cut-and-paste values profile…hybrid spiritual perspective.”

The BRG studies found that teens’ top-ranked faith-related goal was to have peace with God – but that this aspiration ranked only seventh overall in relation to all their life goals. Research also concluded that the Mosaics have the lowest likelihood of being involved in church life when they are older and of living on their own of any group of teen-agers surveyed in the last 20 years.

The Mosaics will “baffle their elders by exhibiting comfort with contradictions related to spirituality, family, career development, morality and politics,” Barna says. They will “energetically pursue spiritual insights, although they are less likely than preceding age cohorts to feel constrained by traditional theological parameters.”

Detailing his findings in a new book, “Real Teens,” Barna divides the Mosaics into four categories:

* “Interactives” are the largest group, comprising nearly half the teen population. They are “highly personable and develop their lifestyle according to relational possibilities and parameters.” They have a “stream of consciousness approach” to problem solving, while remaining sensitive to others’ needs and feelings.

* “Dynamos” account for one in four teens. They are aggressive, focussed and driven, effective at solving problems and above-average producers. “However, they also irritate some with their relentless energy, competitiveness and self-assurance.”

* “Stabilizers” make up one-fifth the adolescent population. They provide “continuity and consistency,” and are appreciated for their loyalty, thoroughness and predictability. But they are also criticized for their rigidity and lack of creativity.

* “Evaluators” are the smallest group, less than one in ten teens. Detail-oriented, they continually assess situations and people, and insist on accuracy and completeness. They make high demands of themselves and others. “Their perfectionist tendencies and aversion to taking risks can frustrate others.”

Barna says that, increasingly, the new generation of teens is “not a group that is looking for moral and behavioral guidance, but are a segment seeking to influence the world based on the moral and spiritual foundations they have already adopted.”

He adds that as well as being known for their own wide-ranging opinions, the Mosaics will also be identified as “the most information-overloaded group ever.” Advances in technology in the coming decade will “challenge [their] ability to process the mountains of data and constant psychological stimuli.”

CHARISMA NEWS SERVICE Tue, Oct 09, 2001 Vol. 3 No. 139 A Daily News Update from the editors of Charisma magazine