Abstract
The Research Institute for the Next Generation belongs to the business sector, and aims to investigate actual lifestyles without being held back by common stereotypes. Our study of the next generation is an extension of this approach. Our purpose is not to place labels on a particular generation but to deepen our understanding without becoming too academic. Our stance towards surveying the younger generation is the same; as affluence and the information society have been realized at a rapid pace, the older generations wrestle with the feeling that it is difficult to understand the younger generation, and our aim is to work towards narrowing the gap that has opened up between the generations. We have carried out a new type of survey employing in-depth interviews to obtain full life histories, and workshops that allow youth to express themselves in their own words. In this way we can ascertain their ideas with regard to work and information/media, and understand other trends among young people. In relation to work, we were able to clarify that salaried office workers feel a profound burden due to the fact that they were "not able to choose and work in a job they like" and subsequently experience anxiety about these feelings. This opened up a new avenue of investigation. With regard to the use of information/media, we investigated issues concerning the meaning and importance of the media that youth use, along with issues related to communication, etc., by making use of the youth's own words. An enormous change in the environment has brought new values to the younger generation, and this has made it difficult for the older generations to understand them. However, in thinking about the future of society, it is necessary for the older generations to know about new lifestyles and values, and the study of generations is one way to make this possible.
