Despite being most at risk from coronavirus, older Australians are far more positive about the future and have higher levels of emotional resilience compared to young people, a new study has found.
McCrindle Research conducted an online survey of 1,015 Australians between 19-23 March.
The report finds that younger generations are more likely than their older counterparts to feel very or extremely uncertain about the future.
In fact, 51 per cent of the Generation Z generation (aged 18-25) and 46 per cent of the Generation Y generation (aged 26-40) fall into this category.
This compares to just 27 per cent of Baby Boomers (aged 56-74) and 29 per cent of the ‘Builder’ generation (over 75s).
In addition, older Australians are more likely to believe that self-isolation could provide beneficial impacts from activities such as reading, creative pursuits and baking.
A total of 47 per cent of over 75s and 38 per cent of Baby Boomers said the coronavirus crisis would in fact give them “more time to do what I enjoy”.
Loneliness is also not a concern for older Australians, compared to young people.
Some 41 per cent of Australians aged 18-25 said they had concerns about increased feelings of loneliness, compared to less than 30 per cent for Baby Boomers and over 75s.
Finally, older Australians reported far greater feelings of emotional resilience, compared to younger generations.
The main area of concern for older Australians related to their financial situation.
Only around a quarter of Australians over 55 said they felt financially resilient in the current environment, which was a lower result than younger generations.
Across the board, Australians felt that “Aussie humour” and “coming together in times of need” were the positive aspects of Australian culture which had come to the fore during the crisis.
To underline the above findings, see our light-hearted case study one on 91-year-old Victorian retirement village resident who can’t understand all the “doom and gloom”
