A new study of the nation’s 16 – 25 year olds’ has revealed the extent to which today’s youngsters feel under constant pressure to out-do each other, in every aspect of their lives, from academic achievements to careers and relationships.
In fact, 88 percent of those polled admit they are highly competitive – with 40 percent saying they are trying to keep pace with others for academic success.
As many as 27 percent strive to be the best looking of all their friends and peers, while one in five say they are under pressure to have the best phones, cars or clothes – and 20 percent admit to comparing social media stats such as number of followers, shares and likes.
Worryingly, nearly half of those polled (43 percent) even confessed they feel secretly pleased when they find out a friend’s life has gone off course.
One in five want to be seen as the healthiest or fittest of the group, while 16 percent admit they want their partner to be the most attractive in their friendship group.
And as many as 91 percent of those who took part in the study by 16-25 Railcard, blame social media, claiming it puts them under pressure to be successful, while 51 percent even admit to feeling genuinely sad when they see their friends posting better pictures than them.
Almost one in three (29 percent) compete with other over who has the best holidays and who is the most widely travelled of their friendship group, while almost a quarter (22 percent) are competitive over the food they cook and eat.
And the poll shows girls are the worst offenders, with 57 percent of the 1,500 respondents saying they are more likely to be trying to outdo each other than boys.
