According to a new report from the Sine Institute of Policy & Politics, conceptions of the American dream have changed, making the concept less American and less of a dream.

The survey of 1,568 adults ages 18-34 this summer found that young Americans are upset with the political landscape, which, in turn, affects how they define the American dream. 

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wning property, getting married, going to college, building a business, having children might sound like self-evident components of the dream. If you were born 30 years ago, you likely mouthed “duhhh!” when reading that sentence. However, for many in my generation, those ideas are antiquated.

For younger Americans, the American dream is an elastic term – so elastic, in fact, that it begins to sound utterly simplistic and narcissistic. According to the survey, 87% of respondents saw being happy and fulfilled as a crucial component of the dream, another 87% prioritized the freedom to make decisions, and 82% prioritized having close and meaningful personal relationships. 

There is nothing wrong with any of those. Being happy, free and loved are good things. But are they essential features of the American dream? 

‘Reimagining the American Dream: Views from Young Americans’

Before the poll made its way out to respondents, I participated in a few focus group sessions with undergraduate and graduate students at American University to aid in the formulation of the survey. From my experience in these sessions, I knew what the data would show long before the results came back: 

The traditional American dream won’t be around for my future kids to inherit.

When describing our “reimagined” definitions, my peers were quick to politicize the term. For them, the new American dream entails access to abortion, racial equity, climate change and many other progressive issues of the day. 

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When I pushed back with my definition, the traditional one, I found I was lonelier than I had imagined. The desire for comfort seemed to have replaced the pursuit of success, as concepts like mental health flooded the conversation. 

Quickly, I realized that Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” view of the dream, characterized by perseverance and resilience, was not ubiquitous.

What about marriage, children, homeownership, career?

In the end, the survey found:

For 49% of respondents, marriage was not seen as an important aspect of the American dream. 

44% thought the same of raising children. 

For 27%, homeownership didn’t make the list. 

38% said having a respected career was not crucial. 

Lastly and most concerningly, for 58% percent of respondents, patriotism was not an essential component of the American dream – which I found comical considering that the dream is, well, an American one. 

Decline in patriotism: Gen Z doesn’t love the US like boomers do. That doesn’t bode well for our future.

The survey shows that young Americans believe they will be better off than their parents in all measured categories (physically, mentally, financially and many others) except for the political category, “a functional government that represents all Americans“: Only 32% said they’ll be better off than their parents when it comes to politics, which I suppose makes sense of their fixation on political issues as core elements of their American dreams. 

When you think about it, it’s easy to connect the dots. Younger Americans spend less time outside and more time inside their own heads. Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012, is suffering a loneliness epidemic. We are less religious than previous generations, and we’re more “interconnected” – yet somehow, for example, we’re having less sex. 

We concentrate our dissatisfaction on the political, rather than the communal or even less the spiritual. When things go wrong, we blame our country. 

Little do we know, though, that our most poisonous ills originate not from lack of equality (or freedom), but from lack of community. Yet like masochists, we obsess over the former as the latter continues to vanish.

Juan P. Villasmil is an Intercollegiate Studies Institute journalism fellow serving as an editorial assistant with The Spectator World. He is also a Young Voices contributor.