’Being young in an ageing society means growing up among contradictions’

Karin Böllert © private source Here in Germany we are living in an ageing society. In future, there will be more older people, fewer children and young people, fewer people of working age, and increasing immigration from other countries. This will have a wide range of consequences for living together as a society. In this interview with Kathrin Nolte , Dr. Karin Böllert , Professor of Educational Science with a focus on social pedagogy, explains the effects which demographic change is having on the young generation. What are the consequences of demographic change for different generations and the way they live together? It is qualitative aspects which are decisive for how different generations live together. If we look at things from the angle of the younger generation, relations between the younger and the older generation have never been as relaxed as they are today. Data from research among young people, for example, show that the majority of them want to bring up their children just as they themselves were brought up.