Teens Want to Enjoy Life & Relationships – Not Climb The Corporate Ladder.

American teenagers look forward to enjoying life, which doesn’t necessarily include climbing the corporate ladder, according to the latest Teenmark survey from Mediamark Research Inc.

Nearly nine out of 10 teens rank “enjoying life” as their number one goal for the future. “Buying a house” and “going to college” are also future goals for more than 85% of America’s teens, according to the Teenmark data. Research Inc. And while it is generally thought that a role in the corporate world can often pave the way to one’s future, only 16% of American teens place going “into the corporate world” as a goal for themselves.

Fifty-one percent of American teens feel stressed out either all the time or sometimes, but this stress level is more acute among girls than boys: girls are 43% more likely to feel this way than do boys. The source of this stress tends to be “a lot of school work,” according to 68% of American teens.

Teens in America proclaim an independent voice about money, as 69% say that they “usually decide what to spend my money on.” Teens are generally prudent about money management as well: 63% agree with the statement “credit cards are dangerous – they allow you to spend more money that you actually have,” and more than half agree with the statement “I try hard to save money – I’m careful about how I spend it.” But, there is a significant group of teens, 24%, who agree with the statement, “my parents buy most everything I ask for.”

To view charts CLICK above on ‘More Images’.

These are among the many findings in the annual MRI Teenmark survey, which was conducted among teen residents in households interviewed for Mediamark’s Survey of the American Consumer. Questionnaires were mailed to eligible persons in those households from April through July 2003 and again from April through July 2004. 4,419 youths, ages 12-19, responded.