The Goodie Hoodie – young people fight back about negative stereotypes of youth

The negative stereotypes of today’s youth as ‘violent’, ‘disrespectful’ or ‘apathetic’ were challenged head on today by the results of our innovative youth insight project Voicebox.  At an early hour this morning, Terry Ryall, v’s Chief Executive, appeared on BBC Radio 4 Today Programme challenging the general public and politicians to re-consider their views of today 16 – 25 year olds.

The results show that while 82% of young people who participated in the research might own a ‘hoodie’ this does not equate to anti-social behaviour. Voicebox shows 85% of young people or their friends don’t carry a knife, 86% have never shoplifted, and 69% did not agree drugs were ok for recreational use.

The messages young people are submitting to the Voicebox robot demonstrate their frustration about the widely held negative perceptions of young people today. The emerging results from Voicebox blow apart the idea that the young generation are disengaged.

Results from the online polls support this showing that 78% of young people do, in fact, respect their elders, 75% are happy with the relationship they have with their family, and 68% are content living at home.

Voicebox will continue to collect, use, and share data about life styles, attitudes, and behaviours of young Britain’s. In a modern day twist on writing a letter to your MP, the Voicebox Robot will be appearing in the Houses of Parliament from 12 – 16 October. The robot will directly articulate the care of a generation directly to politicians. We want as many young people to have their voices heard. All they need to do is visit Voicebox to write what they care about and it will be written out by the robot.

For further information on the Voicebox results, download the press release or visit the Voicebox website.