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“They’ve been shaped by this world of existential danger and threat which is now piped into their smartphones: the beheadings on Facebook, the tragedy on Twitter feeds,” said Hertz, who presented her results, conducted with help from Survey Monkey, at the Women in the World Summit this week in New York.

Some highlights: Seventy-five percent of the young respondents said they worry about terrorism, Hertz said. Sixty-six percent are concerned about climate change. Seventy percent fear accumulating debt. Eighty five percent reported having anxiety about finding a job.

“When I was their age, I was reading Nancy Drew,” said Gillian Tett, managing director of the U.S. Financial Times. “But they’re reading about dystopias and evil governments.”

There’s a silver lining amid the apocalyptic horror, said Hertz, who personally interviewed 25 girls for the research. She said the young women in the survey seem motivated to curb social and economic inequality. They value diversity. When asked how they describe themselves, Hertz said, the most common response was “unique.”

Ninety percent of the survey group said they support transgender rights. Only 4 percent said they trust big corporations to “do the right thing.”

It’s incredible. You talk to a teenage girl about gender pay, and they’ve got facts and figures at their fingertips. One girl asked me, ‘Did you know women get paid 75 cents on the dollar compared to men?’

“These girls are horrified at the persistence of gender pay gaps,” Hertz said. “It’s incredible. You talk to a teenage girl about gender pay, and they’ve got facts and figures at their fingertips. One girl asked me, ‘Did you know women get paid 75 cents on the dollar compared to men?'”