Future Trends for Scotland: findings from the 2024-2025 horizon scanning project

4. Children and Young People: Horizon Scanning Engagement

The trends identified in this Horizon Scanning work are likely to affect children and young people differently, or disproportionately, compared with impacts for older generations. This is, in part, because children and young people have to live with the outcomes of identified trends for longer, and the long-term future has particular importance for those who are youngest now. Young people may also experience societal transformations differently from older generations because they are often at the leading edge of change or technology adoption. As such, their perspectives may differ from those of older generations and are particularly valuable for foresight work.

Recognising the importance of young people’s perspectives in this work, the Scottish Government has undertaken small-scale direct engagement with young people as part of this Horizon Scanning project. This work was undertaken with support from the UK Government Office for Science, working in partnership with futures researchers from Demos Helsinki and with the Scottish Youth Parliament.

This project combined evidence gathering and participatory futures activities to explore future trends with a small and diverse group of young people aged between 14-19 during a one-day workshop, piloting a methodology for undertaking Horizon Scanning work with young people which could be used by others in future. The methodology and approach for the workshop were co-created with a group of young Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs).

This work with children and young people is fully described in the accompanying report ‘Young People and the Future of Scotland: A Participatory Horizon Scanning Engagement’. A small number of key insights from this work are presented here. The methodology is described briefly in ‘Future Trends for Scotland: Project Methodology’.

Climate and environment

Young people emphasised the need for systemic climate action and saw Scotland’s leadership in sustainability and green jobs as both necessary and promising. However, concerns remained about climate injustice and uneven impacts across communities.

Economy and jobs

Economic inequality, the rising cost of living and housing affordability were key concerns. AI and automation were seen as forces that would fundamentally affect many areas of life. However, young people were very concerned about whether these changes would create new opportunities or deepen inequality.

Politics and governance

There was strong support for improving political education and digital literacy to combat misinformation and strengthen democratic engagement. While young people valued Scotland’s democratic institutions, they also expressed frustration that their voices are often overlooked in decision-making. The young people wanted to see substantial reforms and support for public services. Some expressed that they would be willing to pay more to support, save and fund a robust public service infrastructure, as long as it functioned well.

Society and community

Discussions covered cultural change, identity and digital life. While many valued inclusivity and social progress, some worried about increasing polarisation in public debate. Young people discussed the balance between online and physical life, including how people interact within and across each, and how this could develop in the future. Some were concerned about how digital interactions are changing or even replacing physical interactions and identified the need to improve real-life connections.

Health and habits

Mental health was identified as a top priority, with concerns over long NHS waiting times for young people and the impact of social media on body image and self-esteem. There were calls for greater investment in health services in general and especially youth mental health services. Technological change was also often linked to health and wellbeing in many ways, with young people discussing better regulation of digital spaces, education on misinformation and disinformation and potential safeguards on technology. Other health topics that were of concern included vaping and drug use.