Although our society is more open than it was 20 years ago on issues related to moral judgments such as homosexuality and abortion, the overall values of the society still tend to be conservative. There is also a clear gap between different generations in terms of their values on these issues, signaling that inter-generational conflicts and tensions will intensify.
The IPS Social Lab at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYPP) released the results of its local survey yesterday (Feb 3) on the latest World Values Survey (WVS) for 2020. According to the survey, about 60 percent of Singaporeans believe that homosexuality and abortion are improper practices.
For the seventh time, the World Values Survey surveys the population of 80 countries and territories around the world on values and how these values affect social and political life. Having participated in the fourth and sixth surveys in 2002 and 2012, we participated again last year and had 2012 Singaporeans of all ages, educational backgrounds and income brackets interviewed. The interviews were completed before the implementation of the blocking measures last year.
Compared to 2012, our social values tend to be more conservative overall, but more open compared to 2002, indicating that people's values have wavered over the past 20 years.
In the case of homosexuality, for example, the average statistical indicator for this topic between 1 and 10 reached 3.48, a slight decline compared to 2012 (3.49), but higher than the 2.37 in 2002, indicating that social values have become more open on this topic than they were 20 years ago.
The swing in social values also reflects the clash of values between generations. Attitudes toward homosexuality show a clear disparity by age group. 36.7% of the nationals aged 21 to 35 years old believe homosexuality is not a legitimate act, but this rate is significantly larger among the 36 to 50 year olds (53%) and 51 to 65 year olds (74.4%) groups, and as high as 84.9% of the nationals aged 65 and above.
The survey also collected opinions on topics such as personal priorities, family and gender, economy and employment, and politics and governance. In terms of personal priorities, respondents generally consider family to be more important than other aspects of life, with as many as 92.1% considering family to be an important part of life.
However, the importance Singaporeans place on work has declined significantly. 90.8% of people considered work to be important in 2002, but the latest round of data shows that the rate has dropped to 82.6%.
In addition, nearly 40% of the population believes that work should not be sacrificed for free time. This rate is low among Asian countries and regions. However, at the same time, nearly 80% of Singaporeans also agree with the statement that "people will become lazy if they don't work".
According to the report, this shows that although Singaporeans view work positively, they do not want to let work consume their lives and want to leave time for other things.
The survey also found that about 80% of people believe that adult children have a duty to take care of their parents on a long-term basis. Singaporean society also places a higher value on filial piety than most countries and regions, with as many as 86.2% of local respondents noting that one of their goals in life is for their parents to be proud of them.
Foreshadowing more friction between generations to come
Dr. Mathew Mathews, head of the Social Research Unit, who led the survey, told the media at an online briefing yesterday that the gap in values and expectations predicts more friction between generations in the coming years.
"In addition to differences in moral values, there is also a tug-of-war between older and younger generations over economic growth and perceptions of work. Thankfully family values are still strong and children want to keep their parents happy. So the process leads to some kind of negotiation to find a solution that works for all parties."