The millennial generation is less tolerant of offensive language directed at minorities. A Pew report released on Friday said that 40 percent of Americans ages 18 to 34 support the idea of the government limiting hate speech targeting minorities, Newsweek reports.
By contrast, older generations tend to support free speech at higher rates.
Only 27 percent of Generation X, those born in the 1960s and 1970s, said that government should ban offensive language against minorities. Just 24 percent of baby boomers shared that view. And support dropped to 12 percent among Americans ages 70 or older.
Pew also noted a racial divide: Nonwhites, across the board, tended to favor government regulation (38 percent) at a higher rate than non-Hispanic whites (23 percent) did.
New York magazine said that it’s unclear what to make of this generational difference. Pew told the magazine that this is the first time it researched this question, so longitudinal comparisons are impossible.
Perhaps there’s a significant generational shift happening, New York magazine notes. On the other hand, this shift might be temporary. Young people may change their views on political correctness as they get older.
Read more at Newsweek and New York magazine.