Students attend a class at a cram school in Mapo Ward, Seoul, on Oct. 12, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Asking each generation to look back on their school life, the younger generation was less happy than the older generation, a Seoul-based charity said Monday.
A recent study conducted by ChildFund Korea showed that millenials, members of Generation Z and high school teenagers were more likely to have a poor lifestyle balance than the older generation including first baby boomers (born between 1955-1964) and second baby boomers (born between 1965-1974) as well as those in Generation X.
Aside from minor generational differences, the younger generation slept or exercised less than recommended during their freshmen year at high school, while being exposed to studies and media consumption longer than what is recommended.
“It shows that the high school years spent by those in their teens, 20s, and 30s today had poorer balance in lifestyle than the high school years spent by today’s middle-age groups over 39 years of age,” the research team said.
Just like adults struggling in today’s bustling society, children too are struggling with their studies, not being able to rest properly.
Today’s children spend an average of 5 hours and 19 minutes on free time each day, which was 1 hour and 25 minutes shorter than adults (6 hours and 44 minutes).
Both children (17.9 percent) and adults (18.8 percent) had a similar percentage of those struggling with ‘time poverty,’ in which they lack time to rest.
The study was based on a survey conducted with the participation of 2,210 children between 12 and 18 years of age and 1,000 adults over 19 years of age.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
