Is the future sustainable? Analysis of Generation Z’s social awareness of sustainable development in Poland

Abstract

Nowadays, the pace of social and economic development is constantly growing, which has led to many negative effects. In order to stop this negative impact, reference should be made to the assumptions of sustainable development (SD), and young people – Generation Z – should be considered its main promoters. The main objective of this article is to present Generation Z’s perception of sustainable development in Poland. A Computer-assisted web interviewing survey (CAWI, N=1172) was conducted to understand the basic demographics, general issues, SD in a daily context, and SD-related knowledge in 936 cities of Poland. The results have shown that Generation Z in Poland recognises the social and inclusive role of SD. Cost of commodities, social disparities and conflict, and disrupted economic growth were identified as the emerging challenges for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Polish cities.

Keywords

• youth
• anthropocene
• sustainability
• perceptions
• computer-assisted web interviewing