Great Male Survey 2011: The Generation Gap

Your Generation Has Changed What It Means To Be A Man

Page 1 of 2

With the latest Great Male Survey, AskMen has once again taken the pulse of the modern male to discover how he sees the world and himself. The results are in, and some of them were surprising — especially among young so-called "millennial" men, the bellwethers of generational change. In some regards, younger men have become more modern and sophisticated, while in other ways they seem to have become more traditional and conservative than the generation that preceded them.

One thing we learned for sure is that the millennial man-child stereotype is more tired and ill fitting than ever. Too often, young men are depicted as shiftless, emotionally stunted slackers incapable of having mature relationships. Considering the spate of recent films like No Strings Attached, Hall Pass and Bridesmaids, all of which to some degree portray guys as commitment-averse horndogs, it might surprise some to learn that commitment is exactly what young men are looking for. And they're looking for it in the most traditional of institutions: marriage.

An overwhelming 70% of men between the ages of 20-24 responded that marriage is a "necessary institution and one in which I will participate to help preserve." That's more than men between the ages of 35-39, for whom the figure was 64%. What's more, this romantic view affects the way they date. Despite long-held, popular assumptions and agricultural metaphors about the desire to sow wild oats, a full 39% of guys between the ages of 25-28 say they won't even date a woman they don't view as a potential spouse, while 46% of that group say it's at least "somewhat" important that a girlfriend have wife potential. Their view of courtship, meanwhile, is a hybrid of old-fashioned chivalry and modern financial parity. While they don't think men should pay for every date (30% of men over 50 hold this view), a hefty 45% of 20-24-year-olds nevertheless think that the man should pay for the majority of dates until the relationship is established, while a further 13% believe that guys should pay for all dates, period.

Men's sexual morality also seems to have stiffened. While 63% of men between the ages of 20-24 say they'd sleep with a coworker if given the opportunity, only 23% cop to having actually done so, compared to 58% of men between the ages of 40-49. Surprisingly, young men are more likely to consider a woman who's had 10 partners "promiscuous" than their older counterparts.

They generally trust their partners: 45% of men between the ages of 25-28 say they're "absolutely" fine with their girlfriend adding her ex-boyfriend as a friend on Facebook. (Only 36% of men over 50 were equally trusting, though in fairness, they may not have understood the question.) This doesn't mean younger guys are blase about the possibility of digital philandering (78% of 25-28-year-olds consider "sexting" to be cheating). But if such a lack of jealousy seems surprising, perhaps it's because loyalty is something they both value and expect. At 36%, a plurality of men between the ages of 20-24 cited it as the single most important personality trait in deciding whether someone makes a good partner. Men over 50 tended to prize intelligence, while women, for their part, say it's a sense of humor that counts most.

More on how young men have changed...