|
By Cosima Marriner
November 14, 2003
Divorce is at an all-time high, the marriage
rate is the lowest in a century, the birth rate is plummeting and
households are shrinking, but social researcher Hugh Mackay takes heart
from the optimism of today's teenagers.
Reeling from the effects of the sexual revolution, the economic
revolution, the information technology revolution, and a revolution in
the way we define ourselves, Australians are overwrought with anxiety,
Mr Mackay told the Australian Council of Social Services conference in
Canberra yesterday.
But he was confident the nation was on the cusp of major cultural
change, claiming today's teenagers were the most community-minded he
had seen.
Unlike the adults who responded to the stresses of the 21st century
by retreating from society, teenagers had formed a strong reliance on
each other.
Armed with their mobile phones and their internet connections,
today's teenagers were "the most tribal generation of Australians" Mr
Mackay had ever seen. The implications of the inward focus of adult Australians were
"chilling", he said. The environment, Aboriginal issues, equality,
poverty and culture were no longer important issues: "We've more or
less lost interest in current affairs programs; however we've become
obsessed with programs about our backyards." And it could be argued our
backyards were smaller and not so happy these days.
Mr Mackay said the divorce rate had quadrupled to 42 per cent in the
past 30 years. Meanwhile, the proportion of people married by their
30th birthday had plunged from 76 per cent to 36 per cent.
Australia was producing its smallest-ever generation of children,
with the birth rate languishing at 1.7 babies per woman. A quarter of
the population would be over 65 when this generation grew up.
Households were also shrinking. The average household had gone from
3.3 people to 2.6 people. Half of all homes house just one or two
people, and single households were the fastest growing.
But Mr Mackay said the flip side of the shrinking household was the
growth in community. "As households shrink, the human herd instinct is
not being satisfied," he said. "We've still got the herd instinct: but
we've got to look elsewhere for the herd to connect with."
| 
