31,691 contributions Question 4 When I think about the future, what worries me…for the world When they imagine what the future of the world will be, nearly a third of the youth express deep-seated concerns about environmental problems, geopolitical tensions, and economic problems. Their thoughts convey an acute awareness of current issues, and reveal their anxiety concerning their own ability to do anything to avert these crises. Their concern even goes as far as to resemble genuine fear, engendered by a chaotic vision of the future of our planet. The environmental issue (40%) emerges as the dominant cause of concern for most regions of the world. However, for the Middle East and North Africa, this issue takes second place, overtaken by the specter of wars and conflicts. Thirty-six percent of participants referred to this topic, echoing the desire for peace expressed in answers to the second question,“When I think about the future, what I wish…for the world (others, society, the planet, etc.).” Discover more Discover more A crucial point to note is that a specific theme appears here, entitled poor human behaviors, and referring to corrupt human behaviors, inhumanity and cruelty, individualism and lack of empathy, materialism and human greed. This is a topic that preoccupies the youth of almost every region of the world, except in the West (North America, Europe and Central Asia). On the contrary, the young people of the West put more emphasis on political problems such as political extremism, lack of trust in decision-makers, corruption, oppression, and lack of freedom. This results in two very different visions of the causes of their problems and worries for the future. On the one hand, the youth of the West question established systems and blame political institutions and the repercussions their decisions will have on the future. On the other, the other regions of the world emphasize individual responsibility, with the theme of poor human behavior, and its potentially catastrophic consequences for the future. It is interesting to note that for East Asia and the Pacific, another cluster appears in the top five, which is that of a collapsing world, a theme that groups together any contributions alluding to the end of the world and the extinction of the human race. This shows that these regions are significantly more worried about the existential threat that the future represents.