Despite the renewed corona wave, optimism is cautiously returning. However, many middle-aged people worry about the children.
Berlin – In the second Corona autumn, according to a study, the “Middle Generation” slowly regained their confidence.
However, many felt increasingly stressed and worried about rising prices. This was the result of a survey by the Allensbach Institute for Demoscopy on behalf of the German Insurance Association (GDV), which was presented in Berlin on Wednesday.
37 percent of the 30 to 59-year-olds questioned said they were looking to the future with optimism again. This is still a long way from the level before the corona pandemic, but significantly more than last year with 22 percent. In 2020, one in three people had often felt stressed, now the proportion is 39 percent.
There are also big differences
Regardless of the economic impact of the Corona crisis, the middle generation rates their financial situation as stable and mostly positive. But there are big differences: In the financially weaker classes, 17 percent are satisfied with their situation, 40 percent say, however, that their economic situation has worsened in the past five years. In the better-off layers, 8 percent report a deterioration in their situation, but 51 percent report an improvement.
Parents from the “middle generation” are also very concerned that their own children could become infected with the virus. And: Even after almost two years of pandemic, the majority of parents judge the digital equipment in schools to be inadequate. Only 30 percent of parents of school children say that the digital equipment in schools has improved over the course of the Corona crisis.
“The fourth corona wave hits the” middle generation “just like politics unexpectedly in its enormous intensity,” said the managing director of the Allensbach Institute for Demoscopy, Renate Köcher. The pandemic and the sharp rise in prices weighed on people and are currently also drawing attention away from the major long-term challenges – such as coping with climate change. Only a minority of 42 percent are very concerned about climate change. 26 percent of the “middle generation” feel personally threatened by climate change and its effects. 69 percent see a threat to the next generation, i.e. that of their children. dpa
