by Karla A. Henderson, Ph.D. and M. Deborah Bialeschki,
Ph.D.
All who work at camps are interested in campers. We like to know who
they are, where they come from, what they like and dislike, and how to
make their time at camp into a fun memory as well as a positive developmental
experience. However, some staff admit to having a challenging time understanding
today's teen campers. TRU asked two camp questions to a national
sample of over 1,000 teens about whether they would come to camp in 2007
(i.e., definitely would, maybe, definitely would not) and why they would
go to camp. These questions served as a "lens" for examining
other information about teens. This column provides a snapshot of the
teens who answered the survey, their demographics, and some of their
preferences.
Who Planned to Go to Camp and Why?
The sample consisted of 1,016 teens between the ages of twelve and nineteen
years. Slightly more than half the group were boys and about half were
ages twelve to fifteen years. The racial/ethnic background consisted
of two thirds of youth who identified as white with 14 percent African
American, 17 percent Hispanic, and 3 percent identified as other.
In the survey, more girls than boys said they were going to camp. Young
people who said they were definitely going to camp were more likely to
be white and have both parents in full-time employment (See
Table 1).
Of all teens who answered the survey, the majority (55 percent) were
not planning to go to camp while 13 percent said they would definitely
attend an overnight summer camp in 2007. Girls tended to be slightly
more likely to go to camp than boys. The top reasons to go to camp were:
- to meet and be with people from other places
- to have fun and make memories
- to do activities at camp you can't do at home
- to get away from home and be more independent
- to enjoy the outdoors
Although the top choices remained the same, the order of importance
differed by gender. For example, girls ranked "to have fun and
make memories" as
first choice while boys ranked "to do activities at camp you can't
do at home." (See
Table 2.)
How Does "What's In" For Teens Affect Camp?
Everyone knows that teens love to watch TV, listen to music, go online,
and go out with their friends, but these activities have underlying implications.
For example, when asked about their music preferences, hip-hop/rap was
the number one choice for both camper and noncamper teens, but a greater
percentage of teen campers also enjoyed listening to Christian music
than did the noncamper teens. Music is a form of cultural expression
that not only reinforces particular social mores but often creates new
cultural values. Hip-hop allows and encourages a musician to "tell
a story" through spoken-word poetry. This cultural
movement was initiated by inner-city youth, mostly African Americans
and Latinos, in the early 1970s. Yet today the majority of people who
listen to hip-hop are white, often from the suburbs, and from middle
and upper class families.
This culture of hip-hop has crossed racial and economic boundaries where
teens now focus on messages that range from violent and amoral to godly
and righteous. Collectively, the teen culture has embraced the music
but added their own twist with hip-hop/rap showing up in churches and
carrying messages that reflect the optimism and self-confident happiness
of the millennials. When teen campers arrive at camp with ear buds in,
chances are their music is reinforcing some of the characteristics of
this generation including, as one young girl said, "whoever
you are and wherever you are, keep up doing your best, practice, be nice,
and most of all do what's right and what you should be doing (Howe & Strauss
2000, p. 365)."
The millennial teens are achievers. They assume (and the adults around
them expect) that they will go to college. In the TRU survey over 97
percent of the teen campers planned to go to college and almost 93 percent
of the noncamper teens had the same goal. Teens like working within goal
structures, marking rates of achievement to the point where some people
worry that they are trying to accomplish too much.
These teens are on missions. They are "doers" bent on accomplishment.
They like challenges. They likely enter camp with ideas on what they
want to do. They are ready to generate goals for their camp stay, especially
skills like leadership, decision-making, and meaningful involvement that
will help them blaze a path toward college and future success. They (and
their parents) may challenge staff to demonstrate how valuable the camp
experience is to their development and goals.
Other "in" activities of teens (i.e., shopping, going to
movies, going to college, playing sports, and dating) reinforce another
characteristic of millennial teens: they enjoy the company of other people.
The research suggests that millennial teens have a collegial energy and
civic-mindedness that sets them apart from previous generations. They
like to share almost everything with each other, including power and
leadership. They do not necessarily aspire to be "a boss over people." They
also pay less attention to differences in their friends. Race/ethnicity,
gender, and gender identity provide diversity that binds teens together.
Camp professionals find young people who are the least racially prejudiced
and homophobic than any previous generation. They make fewer gender distinctions,
with girls equally (if not more) interested in stepping into leadership
roles focused on teamwork, action, civic engagement, and making a difference.
Boys aren't threatened by these girls. In camp, these young people
will likely push for times to "hang out" with each other,
be interested in service that allows them to work together on collective
projects that make a difference, and desire functioning as a team. Camp
can offer teens exactly what they seek: positive relationships with adult
staff and other campers, a supportive environment to attain goals and
develop skills, and an environment that lets them enjoy the people around
them.
What About Money and Jobs?
Teens going to camp were a little more likely to say their parents were
their primary source of income, but all teens acknowledged parents as
a main source for money. Teens not going to camp were more likely to
make money from working part-time. This pattern of income is typical
of millennial teens. In the past decade, their income has originated
from sources most controlled by parents (gifts, money from parents, and
odd jobs). The teens in the TRU survey had savings accounts (58 percent)
as well as access to checking accounts and credit cards. Large differences
occurred, however, regarding checking accounts and credit cards with
almost twice as many noncampers reporting these banking options.
This information on sources of income raises questions for camp administrators.
For example, will part-time work demands keep a teen from attending camp?
Many millennial teens feel the pay-off on the skills and credentials
acquired by studying, training, or interning are worth more than a low
paying job. For the tuned in camp director, offering programs and opportunities
such as leadership training, team building, problem-solving, and critical
thinking prompted in challenge activities, and CIT and junior counselor
training will likely resonate. For these teens a camp experience may
be just the opportunity needed for their college application.
Summary
The information from the TRU Survey shared by these teens supported
observations about this millennial generation. In the following "Teens
Today" columns,
specific issues such as social issues, healthy behaviors, technology
use, and marketing approaches will be discussed in-depth. While some
differences may emerge between campers and their noncamping peers, the
essential message from this "snapshot" of
millennial teens is that the camp world needs these young people. They
have collegial energy, optimism, achievement needs, and potential for
power, but they also need to be challenged, tested, and guided. What
better place than camp to do exactly that!
| References |
| Howe, N. & Strauss, W. (2000). Millennials
Rising: The Next Great Generation. New York: Vintage Books. |
Originally published in the 2007 September/October
issue of Camping Magazine. |
