He is young, he is tattooed, he is dressed in an extra-large black tank top and he laughs when we ask him if “sport is life”. Headphones spitting big sound into his ears, Grégoire is 21 years old and, according to him, has a big “addiction” to the gym. We meet him this Saturday morning, at the Orange bleue in Montrouge (Hauts-de-Seine). Between two sets of dips, Grégoire the morning man confides: sport is “his life”. Especially since he started “his marketing studies and since confinement”. We’re lucky, Grégoire, it’s our #YoungMe, the one who perfectly illustrates the exclusive 20 Minutes – OpinionWay survey on sport and 18-30 year olds.
Remember 2023 and the morale of young people at half mast. It’s not really easy for 31% of them to leave their nest. This reassuring “cave” concocted thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic and an injunction for confinement. This home sweet home made of “cat-book-herbal tea” which reflected their slightly feverish mental health. But while the Paris 2024 Olympics are just around the corner, we know today that our 18-30 year olds are doing (a little) better. Last year: 78% of them assessed the state of mental health of their generation as “not good”, today 29% find it “very good”. And sport would not be unrelated.
“Young people who consume sport in Netflix mode”
67% of them do it at least once a week. They practice it to boost their mind, clear their heads, relieve stress (75%), to experience well-being (63%), to love their body (61%), for pleasure (38%) or for their health (28%). “We are motivated by the spirit and well-being. But we are also dealing with young people who consume sport in Netflix mode, zapping. We are in a self-organized practice, with flexibility”, deciphers Guillaume Dietsch, sports sociologist and teacher, who adds: “Their objectives are also full of paradoxes. Their relationship to sport is clearly a reflection of current society. »
Not false. Not false. Our 18-30 year olds prefer sport indoors or in traditional sports facilities (58%), but, increasingly, they also practice it at home (46%) thanks to tutorials or apps (26%). 24% of respondents also define themselves as “solitary athletes”, and 60% exercise alone. However, if the primary objective remains “maintain [sa] shape, [son] body or [sa] health” (72%), 62% assure that sport allows them to “get out of their circle, to meet new people”. And if they prefer “pleasure sport” for 70% of them to “performance sport” (27%), they “compare themselves, push their limits, talk about surpassing themselves by remaining ultra-connected on social networks”, underlines William Dietsch.
#MoiJeune 20 Minutes – OpinionWay survey on the relationship to sport of 18-30 year olds. – 20 minutes
A “Strava generation”as the author of the book calls it Young people and sport, Thinking about the society of tomorrow (Ed. Deboeck) which brings together challenge and sport “without time or pressure” (67%), which evokes precious time for oneself devoted to physical activity (72%) but a difficulty in leaving the house (55%) to go for a walk , run, dance, swim.
“As on social networks, they need short formats and an à la carte sport so that they can get involved without owing anything to anyone. Neither to a coach, nor to teammates, continues Guillaume Dietsch. They follow an individualistic logic, sometimes narcissistic while seeking to socialize. »
“Moving has a “health” purpose”
“There is very little question of pleasure in the relationship between 18-30 year olds and sport. Or at least less pleasure than necessity. Three years after the end of the pandemic, moving has a “health” aim,” says Eléonore Quarré. Joining Guillaume Dietsch, the head of Society studies (Opinion department) at OpinionWay also identified the many paradoxes but sees in this new #MoiJeune study a “healthy, realistic and above all rational” relationship between young people and sport. A strong number? 63% of respondents believe “that a good session does them more good than yet another drink on the terrace”.
Grégoire blocks his three one-hour appointments “during the week and two on the weekend”. “I need it to clear my head.” I created a “sports routine” during confinement, it saved me. I have continued since then, just to maintain this handsome body, I never miss a session,” he jokes, before adding: “without the gym, I die. »
According to our study, 71% of 18-30 year olds practice crossfit, swimming, etc. to boost their “self-esteem” and 52% also make “new friendships” thanks to sport (hello, the need for socialization). This is the case of Lucie, behind the Instagram account@lavieenLucie. A little over a year ago, the recently thirty-something embarked on Body Combat, Body Bump, Body Attack and the entire Body des Mills range to “reconnect with good mental health first but above all make other friends.”
“I am less stressed, less anxious”
Jackpot. Lucie has created a real group of friends and a new neighborhood life. “I am less stressed, less anxious and above all I am surrounded by super caring members or coaches. So, certainly, I lost ten kilos and I’m not going to spit on it, but above all I gained in serenity and self-esteem,” summarizes the ultra-connected content creator who reserves “airplane mode” time for her five weekly sessions.
Lucie had never played sport in her life, was the “last to be chosen in PE at school” and had developed, she said, a “phobia” of physical exercise. The Parisian club she chose offers 40 classes per day a ten-minute walk from her home. A proximity that allows him to manage his schedule, make his choices and “always find time to go” and move.
#MoiJeune 20 Minutes – OpinionWay survey on the relationship to sport of 18-30 year olds. – 20 minutes
An example to follow while the sometimes too rigid agenda means that sport is put aside. Guillaume Dietsch and Eleonore Quarré say it, 55% of our 18-30 year olds admit to having difficulty leaving the house to go running, swimming, dancing, rowing. Others say they don’t have the time (47%), don’t have enough self-confidence (43%) or are uncomfortable with their weight (24%). Sport is also the first thing that our #YoungMes abandon when they reach new stages of life, by becoming a student, after landing their first internship, their first job, etc. This is without counting gigabytes of laziness (54% of men compared to 38% of women among those who do little or no sport).
Boost your CV, please your crush, find love
A figure that makes our two experts smile. “Young people fully assume responsibility for their inactivity,” says Guillaume Dietsch. Ok, the State could motivate them a little to get back on track by providing more sports infrastructures accessible to all (47%), etc., but they know that it is up to them to take charge of themselves, that they hide behind false excuses. »
All our studies #MoiJeune
It should be noted, however, that some have found other ways to motivate themselves. Why do sports? Well, to add a punchy line to your CV (22%) and make a difference during a job interview. To please your crush (29%) or find love (15%). And to conclude, we call Grégoire back to the helm: “we always say that GenZ doesn’t get off their ass, but every day I see young people trying to change things. We just have different sports habits and we move more than you did at the same age, I’m sure. There certainly aren’t many forty-somethings who have achieved rock-solid abs, a job and their partner doing burpees. »
*Study #MoiJeune 20 Minutes – OpinionWay, carried out online from January 11 to 15 with a representative sample of 572 young people aged 18 to 30 (quota method).
