THE FUTURE OF LIFE IN CANADA: 2020 Report
A new study by Intensions Consulting, a market research firm, and futurist Nikolas Badminton has examined the Future of Life in Canada. The study, which surveyed 1,009, Canadian residents, set out to explore the changing nature of self and society across Canada.
A Fragile Future
The study found that younger Canadians were reporting significantly higher rates of life stress. Among those aged 16 to 29, over half (51 per cent) reported experiencing financial stress most or every day, 32 per cent reported experiencing family stress most or every day, and 34 per cent reported experiencing work stress most or every day.
Intensions Consulting: Younger Canadians report significantly higher rates of financial, family, and work stress.
Younger Canadians were also more likely to report significantly higher rates of loneliness and insecurity, with 46 per cent often feeling like they lacked companionship, 42 per cent often feeling isolated from other people, 47 per cent often worried that other people were judging them, and 32 per cent often worried that other people might hurt them.
“These findings show a real disparity between the sense of safety and connection reported by older Canadians, and the sense of insecurity and loneliness reported by younger Canadians. It appears that many young Canadians are experiencing a deep sense of disconnection,” said study lead author Nick Black, Managing Partner at Intensions Consulting.
Intensions Consulting: Younger Canadians report significantly higher rates of loneliness and insecurity.
The study also found that younger Canadians were more likely to have experienced mental health problems. Among those aged 16 to 29, 32 per cent had been diagnosed or treated for depression in the past year, 28 per cent had been diagnosed or treated for anxiety in the past year, and 26 per cent self-identified as narcissists (e.g. egotistical, self-focused, vain).
According to Nikolas Badminton, study co-author and futurist, “Young adults born in the ‘Internet Age’ were promised an exciting and connected future. Instead we’ve seen reduced privacy, greater exposure to disinformation, and more fragile mental health. There needs to be a shift towards re-connecting with the friends, families and communities that support mental resiliency.”
THE AGE OF DIGITAL OBESITY
Looking for factors that could help explain these findings, the researchers delved into the daily digital behaviour of Canadians. While the average Canadian reported spending 224 minutes (<4 hours) a day on social media, apps, and online platforms, those aged 16 to 29 reported spending 419 minutes (7 hours) a day.
Intensions Consulting: The average Canadian reports spending 224 minutes a day online.
This was concerning, as the study found that spending more than 240 minutes (4 hours) a day on social media, apps, and online platforms, was associated with significantly higher rates of depression, anxiety, and self-identified narcissism.
“To use a diet analogy, our data suggests that Canadians might want to restrict their level of daily digital consumption,” says Black. “For younger Canadians, whose daily digital consumption is bordering on digital obesity, a pretty substantial restriction may be required.”
Intensions Consulting: Canadians who spend more than 240 minutes a day online have significantly higher rates of depression, anxiety, and self-identified narcissism.
However, getting younger Canadians to restrict their daily digital consumption could prove challenging. Among those aged 16 to 29, 65 per cent said they would find it difficult to not use a cell phone for 24 hours, and 47 per cent would find it difficult to not use any social media for 24 hours.
“Parasitic social apps have created a craving for ‘likes’, ‘loves’, ‘shares’ and comments,” says Badminton. “Humanity is now at a turning-point where we must see this algorithmically-guided behavior as being harmful to society. In fact, we need to demand that the technology companies put functionality in place to encourage moderate-to-low usage.”
A CLIMATE OF CHANGE
On the topic of climate change, the study found that the majority of Canadians (77 per cent) believe that climate change is a real problem for the world today, and 73 per cent agree that climate change is caused by human activity. However, the study did find some significant differences in opinion according to political views, with over 80 per cent agreement among liberals, and over 60 per cent agreement among conservatives.
“In contrast to our findings in America, our data shows that Canadian views on climate change are much less politically polarized,” says Black. “In Canada, the majority of liberals and conservatives agreed that climate change is a real problem and that human activity is to blame.”
Intensions Consulting: The majority of Canadians believe that climate change is a real problem for the world today.
The study also found that the majority of Canadians agreed on what’s contributing to climate change, with 75 per cent of Canadians believing that fossil fuel vehicles (e.g. gasoline, diesel) contribute to climate change, 67 per cent agreeing that non-renewable energy (e.g. coal, natural gas) contributes to climate change, and 65 per cent agreeing that air travel contributes to climate change.
According to Badminton, “Climate change is making the non-renewable ‘energy’ industry untenable as a foundation for a sustainable future. We have to shift to an electrified world with power provided by renewables and distributed via global super-grids. And, we need to insist that the companies that got us into this situation use the capital they have amassed to help us move to a new sustainable and renewable energy world.”
Charting New Highs
On the topic of drug legalization, the study found that three-quarters of Canadians (75 per cent) agreed that marijuana should be legal for medical use, with both liberal (81 per cent) and conservative (68 per cent) Canadians remaining in agreement. However, despite legalization under the Cannabis Act, less than half of Canadians (46 per cent) agreed that marijuana should be legal for recreational use.
“Our data shows that most Canadians see merit in having legal access to medical marijuana, but they remain on the fence about whether it should be legal for recreational use,” says Black.
Intensions Consulting: Thirty per cent of Canadians believe that psychedelic mushrooms (psilocybin) should be legal for medical use.
In what may become an emerging frontier for drug legalization, the study also found that almost a third of Canadians (30 per cent) believe that psychedelic mushrooms (psilocybin) should be legal for medical use. This belief was higher among younger Canadians, with 35 per cent of those aged 16 to 29 supporting legalization, and 38 per cent of those aged 30 to 44.
“We’re now seeing an increased amount of research exploring the use of marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms for mental and physical health benefits,” says Badminton. “This has the potential to revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry and realize a future where many health issues can be actively managed using plant medicines.”
ABOUT THE FUTURE OF LIFE STUDY
These are the findings of an Intensions Consulting study conducted between January 20, 2020, and January 28, 2020. For this study a 20-minute online survey was administered with a sample of 1,009 Canadian residents aged 16 years and older. The sample was stratified by gender, age, and region, to ensure that the sample’s composition reflected the underlying distribution of the population as determined by Census data. A traditional probability sample of comparable size would have produced results considered accurate to within plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
For more information on this study, please contact: info@intensions.co
ABOUT INTENSIONS CONSULTING
Intensions Consulting Inc., is a market research company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. We use statistics and psychology to find hidden insights and market opportunities for clients across North-America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. Our research findings have been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, and have been quoted by news organizations including the BBC, CBC, Daily Mail, and Toronto Star.
web: https://www.intensions.co
ABOUT NIKOLAS BADMINTON
Nikolas Badminton is a world-renowned futurist, speaker, and media celebrity. He leads the team Exponential Minds, an expert advisory firm that helps trillion-dollar companies, progressive governments and media shift their mindset from “what is” to “WHAT IF...” The result is empowered employees, new innovative products and incredible growth that leads to more revenues and a more resilient future.