60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll

Generations
June 3-7, 2016

Which one of the following is most likely to get better for future generations?

Americans are more hopeful about the future of Alzheimers care than they are about future politicians.
Americans are optimistic about the future of Alzheimers care, at least in comparison to many other
things that may or may not improve for future generations. When asked to choose from a list of five
which is the most likely to get better for subsequent generations, Alzheimers care comes in first (26%),
followed by race relations (22%) and the cost of college tuition (18%). Just 14% of Americans think
popular music is the most likely to improve, and even fewer 9% - think a better crop of politicians is on
the horizon.
Optimism about Alzheimers care is higher among older Americans. While 30% of Americans 50 and
older think Alzheimers care is most likely to improve, this drops to 24% of younger Americans, who are
equally as confident about race relations and college tuition.
Which is Most Likely to Improve for Future Generations?
Total
18-49
50+
Alzheimers care
26%
24%
30%
Race relations
22
21
23
The cost of college tuition
18
22
14
Popular music
14
16
12
Choices in politicians
9
7
11

When an older person tells someone from a younger generation that they can be anything they
want to be, do you think this is mostly true, or mostly false?

Most Americans think you can be anything you want to be.

Older Americans giving college graduation speeches often hint at the limitless horizons ahead for the
younger people they are speaking to, but is their optimism warranted? Most Americans say yes: 76%
say its mostly true when an older person tells someone from a younger generation that they can be
anything they want to be.
Americans of all ages agree that its true that younger people can be anything they want to be, as do
most men and women, though women (80%) are more optimistic than men (72%).
True or False: You Can Be Anything You Want to Be
Total
Men Women
Mostly true
76%
72% 80%
Mostly false
23
27
19

All other things being equal, which type of business would you trust more to get the same job
done? An established business using traditional methods that has been successful over many
generations, OR A new business using innovative methods that has shown great success
recently.

In business, Americans trust tradition.

When it comes to getting the job done, Americans are more likely to trust a business that has been
successful over many generations using traditional methods, over a new business that has shown
recent success using innovative methods. 61% of Americans prefer an established business, while just
34% would rather place their faith in a newer, more innovative business.
Younger Americans are a bit more likely to throw tradition to the wind. While 63% of Americans 30 and
over trust an established business more, this drops to 53% of adults under 30.
Which Type of Business Do You Trust More?
Total
18-29
An established traditional business
61%
53%
A new innovative business
34
43

30+
63%
31

The generation of Americans that grew up during the Great Depression and lived through World
War II is sometimes called The Greatest Generation. Which one of the following best captures
The Greatest Generation for you?

World War II G.I.s and small town life capture The Greatest Generation best.
Americans are divided when choosing what best embodies the so-called Greatest Generation, a
name made popular by Tom Brokaw to describe Americans who grew up during the Great Depression
and lived through the Second World War. While 22% pick the paintings of Norman Rockwell - whose
idyllic representations of small town America graced the covers of The Saturday Evening Post for five
generations just as many pick the Normandy American cemetery as their top choice which honors
the American servicemen who died fighting the Nazis in Europe during World War II. Another 21% pick
the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington Cemetery, which commemorates the victory of U.S. marines against
the Japanese in the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.
While men tend to pick the more military connotations of Normandy (23%) and Iwo Jima (22%) ahead
of Norman Rockwell (18%) when thinking about the Greatest Generation, women think the paintings of
Norman Rockwell (25%) capture the Greatest Generation best.
Which Best Captures The Greatest Generation?
Total
Men
The paintings of Norman Rockwell
22%
18%
The Normandy American cemetery
22
23
The Iwo Jima memorial
21
22
The miniseries Band of Brothers
13
16
Paris
5
5

Women
25%
20
19
10
6

The generation of Americans born from 1946 to about 1964 is sometimes called The Baby
Boom generation or Baby Boomers. Which one of the following is the most significant
contribution to America of the Baby Boom generation? 1. A culture of selfishness, 2. Rock
music, 3. A more open attitude towards sex and drugs, 4.The national debt, 5. The anti-war
movement, 6. President Bill Clinton.

Liberals credit Baby Boomers for the anti-war movement, while conservatives credit them for the
national debt.
The Greatest Generation gave birth to the Baby Boom generation, and Americans are divided as to
the most significant contribution Baby Boomers have made to America. The top choice from a list of six
picked by 21% of Americans is the anti-war movement, followed by rock music (16%) and a more
open attitude towards sex and drugs (16%). 14% pick the national debt, while 12% pick Bill Clinton and
another 12% pick an overall culture of selfishness.
Liberals (28%) and moderates (24%) pick the anti-war movement as the most significant contribution of
the Baby Boomers, while conservatives instead focus on the national debt (17%) more.
Most Significant Contribution of the Baby Boom Generation
Total
Liberal
Moderate
Conservatives
The anti-war movement
21%
28%
24%
14%
Rock music
16
13
17
16
Sex and drugs
16
14
18
16
The national debt
14
14
10
17
Bill Clinton
12
13
14
12
A culture of selfishness
12
11
9
14

Which one of the following is the most important for a family to pass down from generation to
generation?

Ancestry is more important to pass down to future generations than money.

It turns out that most Americans dont think a familys fortune is the most important thing to pass down
from generation to generation. Instead, the top choice is a familys ancestry picked by 30% of
Americans followed by the family Bible (27%). Another 23% think its most important to pass down
good genes, while just 10% pick money and just 7% pick family recipes.
Younger Americans differ with older Americans on this matter. While nearly four in 10 Americans under
35 think a familys ancestry is the most important thing to pass down, seniors 65 and older think its
more important to have good genes (34%) and the family Bible (31%).
Most Important Thing for a Family to Pass Down to Future Generations
Total
18-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
The familys ancestry
30%
38% 22% 34% 27% 23%
The family Bible
27
21
25
35
30
31
Good genes
23
15
24
16
31
34
Money
10
12
16
6
6
9
Family recipes
7
10
11
9
4
2

Which comes closer to how you feel you fit in with your own generation? Im old-fashioned and
should have been born in a previous generation, Im ahead of my time and should have been
born in a later generation, or Im born in the generation that was meant for me.

This is my generation.
Two-thirds of Americans say they fit in with their own generation: 67% say they were born in the
generation that was meant for them. Of those who feel they should have been born in another time,
more hearken back to the past than long to be born in the future. A quarter of Americans describe
themselves as old-fashioned and say they should have been born in a previous generation, while just
7% think theyre ahead of their time and should have been born in a later generation.
Younger Americans are more likely to think they are too old-fashioned for their times than seniors.
While 29% of Americans under 65 say theyre old-fashioned and should have been born in a previous
generation, this is true of just 12% of seniors 65 and older.
I Should Have Been Born
Total
18-64
In a previous generation
25%
29%
In a future generation
7
7
In my generation
67
64

65+
12%
8
79

If you had to cancel plans with someone only a few hours in advance, which do you think is the
most appropriate way to do it?

Older and younger Americans agree: if you have to break a plan, pick up the phone.
Americans of all generations seem to agree on one thing: not showing up to an engagement without
calling is rude. Most Americans 77% - think that if you have to cancel plans with someone just a few
hours in advance, you should call them on the telephone and tell them. 9% think text message or email
is the best way, while another 12% take the harder stance that its never okay to cancel that late. Just
1% thinks that its okay to not show up at all and explain later.
Though Americans of all ages think a phone call is best, younger Americans tend to be more tolerant of
conveying a last minute cancellation of plans via text or email. Americans under 35 are at least twice
as likely to pick texting or emailing as Americans in older age groups.
How Should You Cancel Plans at the Last Minute?
Total
18-34 35-44 55-54 55-64 65+
By telephone call
77%
72% 77% 78% 85% 80%
By text message or email
9
16
8
6
3
7
Just dont show up and explain later
1
1
*
*
1
2
Its never okay to cancel that late
12
10
15
15
10
11

What do you think the best years of your life have been or will turn out to be for you?

Americans think the best years of their lives will turn out to be the ones they are currently in.
Overall, Americans think the best years of their lives will turn out have been somewhere after
adolescence but before retirement. 32% of Americans think their best years will be in their middle age
years, while nearly as many 31% - think it will be in their twenties and thirties. Far fewer pick either
childhood (9%) or being a teenager (7%), while less than one in five pick retirement (19%).
But Americans tend to favor the time of life that they are currently enjoying. Nearly half of Americans
under 35 (46%) think their best years will be in their twenties and thirties, while Americans between 35
and 64 tend to favor their middle aged years. Meanwhile, older Americans 65 and older are less likely
to dismiss their retirement years: they are just as likely to pick retirement (35%) as being middle aged
(34%) as the best years of their lives.

Childhood
Your teenage years
Your twenties and thirties
Your middle age years
Retirement

What Are/Will Be the Best Years of Your Life?

Total
18-34 35-44 45-54 55-64
9%
9%
7% 10% 12%
7
9
6
10
5
31
46
33
24
25
32
27
40
36
29
19
8
13
18
26

65+
6%
7
17
34
35

Do you think popular teenagers generally turn out to be more successful as adults than other
teenagers, less successful as adults, or do they turn out about the same?

Being one of the cool kids doesnt lead to more - or less - success as an adult.
Being a popular teen may be fun, but just 13% of Americans think it will make someone more
successful as an adult. But most dont think that meanss that youll be cursed with less success either
just one in five Americans thinks popular teens are less successful. Instead, two-thirds of Americans
think popular teenagers will fare about as well as everyone else when they hit adulthood.
Older people see things about the same way as younger people: most Americans of all age groups
think being popular as a teenager wont matter much in terms of future success.
Compared to Other Teenagers, Popular Teenagers Turn Out to Be
Total
18-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
More successful
13%
14% 10% 15% 16% 12%
Less successful
20
21
18
23
19
15
No difference
66
65
72
62
64
71
__________________________________________________________________________________
This poll was conducted by telephone from June 3-7, 2016 among a random sample of 1,015 adults nationwide.
Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Media, PA. Phone numbers were dialed from
samples of both standard land-line and cell phones.

The poll employed a random digit dial methodology. For the landline sample, a respondent was randomly selected
from all adults in the household. For the cell sample, interviews were conducted with the person who answered
the phone.
Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish using live interviewers. The data have been weighted to
reflect U.S. Census figures on demographic variables.
The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus four percentage points.
The error for subgroups may be higher and is available by request. The margin of error includes the effects of
standard weighting procedures which enlarge sampling error slightly.
This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll

Generations
June 3-7, 2016
VF-01. Which one of the following is most likely to get better for future generations?

Choices in politicians
Alzheimers Care
Popular music
The cost of college tuition
Race relations
Dont know/no answer

* TOTAL RESPONDENTS *
*** Age ***
Total
18-49 50+
%
%
%
9
7
11
26
24
30
14
16
12
18
22
14
22
21
23
10
10
10

VF-02. When an older person tells someone from a younger generation that they can be anything they want to be, do you
think this is mostly true, or mostly false?

Mostly true
Mostly false
Dont know/no answer

Total
%
76
23
1

****** Sex ******

Men
Women
%
%
72
80
27
19
1
1

VF-03. All other things being equal, which type of business would you trust more to get the same job done? An
established business using traditional methods that has been successful over many generations, OR A new business
using innovative methods that has shown great success recently.

Established business
New business
Dont know/no answer

Total
%
61
34
5

*** Age ***

18-29 30+
%
%
53
63
43
31
5
5

VF-04. The generation of Americans that grew up during the Great Depression and lived through World War II is
sometimes called The Greatest Generation. Which one of the following best captures The Greatest Generation for
you?

The Iwo Jima Memorial

The mini-series Band of Brothers
The Normandy American cemetery
Paris
The paintings of Norman Rockwell
Dont know/no answer

Total
%
21
13
22
5
22
17

****** Sex ******

Men
Women
%
%
22
19
16
10
23
20
5
6
18
25
16
19

VF-05. Which one of the following is the most important for a family to pass down from generation to generation?

Family recipes
Good genes
The family Bible
The familys ancestry
Money
Dont know/no answer

************** TOTAL RESPONDENTS **************

***************** Age *****************
Total
18-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
%
%
%
%
%
%
7
10
11
9
4
2
23
15
24
16
31
34
27
21
25
35
30
31
30
38
22
34
27
23
10
12
16
6
6
9
2
4
2
1
1
1

VF-06. Which comes closer to how you feel you fit in with your own generation? Im old-fashioned and should have been
born in a previous generation, Im ahead of my time and should have been born in a later generation, or Im born in the
generation that was meant for me.

Old-fashioned
Ahead of my time
In the right generation
Dont know/no answer

Total
%
25
7
67
*

*** Age ***

18-64 65+
%
%
29
12
7
8
64
79
*
1

VF-07 If you had to cancel plans with someone only a few hours in advance, which do you think is the most appropriate
way to do it?

By telephone call
By text message or email
Just dont show up and explain later
Its never okay to cancel that late
Dont know/no answer

Total
%
77
9
1
12
1

***************** Age *****************

18-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
%
%
%
%
%
72
77
78
85
80
16
8
6
3
7
1
*
*
1
2
10
15
15
10
11
1
-*
1
1

VF-08. The generation of Americans born from 1946 to about 1964 is sometimes called The Baby Boom generation or
Baby Boomers. Which one of the following is the most significant contribution to America of the Baby Boom
generation?

A culture of selfishness
Rock music
A more open attitude towards sex and drugs
The national debt
The anti-war movement
President Bill Clinton
None of them (vol.)
Dont know/no answer

Total
%
12
16
16
14
21
12
4
6

************** Political Philosophy **************

Liberal
Moderate
Conservative
%
%
%
11
9
14
13
17
16
14
18
16
14
10
17
28
24
14
13
14
12
2
3
6
5
5
4

VF-09. What do you think the best years of your life have been or will turn out to be for you?

In your childhood
In your teenage years
In your twenties and thirties
In your middle age years
In retirement
Dont know/no answer

************** TOTAL RESPONDENTS **************

***************** Age *****************
Total
18-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
%
%
%
%
%
%
9
9
7
10
12
6
7
9
6
10
5
7
31
46
33
24
25
17
32
27
40
36
29
34
19
8
13
18
26
35
2
1
1
3
3
2

VF-10. Do you think popular teenagers generally turn out to be more successful as adults than other teenagers, less
successful as adults, or do they turn out about the same?
More successful
Less successful
No difference
Dont know/no answer

Total respondents:

13
20
66
1

14
21
65
1

10
18
72
--

15
23
62
*

16
19
64
1

12
15
71
1

1,015