How Germany thinks and feels: Freedom is the most important value again after ten years!
Values Index Update 2022-2 - largest social media study on changing values published
People's longing for ease and freedom has grown enormously in permanent crisis mode. The problem: The pursuit of individual freedoms threatens to divide our society. The new Values Index, the largest social media study on social change, shows: Freedom, health and family are the values that people are most concerned about. For the 9th Values Index, almost seven million posts on social media were analyzed with the help of AI after the start of the war in Ukraine.
Hamburg/Munich. December 12, 2022. Under the title "Values Index Update 2022-2 - Between Freedoms," the first results of the largest social media study on social developments are being published in advance today. The Values Index has been an early indicator of changing values in Germany since 2009. For the Values Index Update 2022-2, 6,970,636 social media posts that appeared in relevant social media between March and September of this year were evaluated with the help of AI - including not only word posts, but also photos, for example on Instagram.
People claim more freedoms for themselves - with risks and side effects for our society
Freedom is the value that people are currently most concerned about in social media. With risks and side effects for our society, according to the current values index from Bonsai Research, Trendbüro and Uranos.
After two years of pandemic, war and crises, people think of one thing above all: themselves. For some, freedom is the pursuit of mental health and/or female empowerment. For others, the concept of freedom simply stands for the possibility of leading a dignified existence without poverty discrimination.
"Never before has the concept of freedom been interpreted and lived by people in such different ways as it is today," says Jens Krüger, CEO of Bonsai Research: "What Germany thinks and feels shows the danger of society becoming further divided." The central question - not only for politicians, but also for companies and organizations - ultimately for all of us, is summed up by Ulrich Köhler, Managing Director of Trendbüro: "How can people find a common denominator in the face of increasing individual aspirations for freedom? And in view of the challenges, it must not be the lowest common denominator."
In 2020, freedom was only the fourth most discussed value (after health, family and success). The value last held a top position in 2012, before freedom increasingly stood for unlimited consumption and generally lost importance. Currently, freedom is once again becoming a fundamental issue with social and political relevance.
FURTHER INFORMATION
The top ten values in 2022 (chart)
Link to the ranking of values 2012-2022
The E-Paper for the Value Index Update 2022-2
Download here
Presentation: The study will be presented online on 13/01/2023.
Contact the editors
Jens Krüger, CEO Bonsai Research
jens.krueger@bonsai-research.com
+49 160 8835825
Ulrich Köhler, Managing Director Trendbüro
+49 174 3137809
About the value index
The German Values Index has been published every two years since 2009 - and twice a year since this year. It is published by Trendbüro, Bonsai Research and Uranos. The Values Index is compiled by the research team at Bonsai Research and Trendbüro. The publication is based on the recording of 15 fundamental values in German-language social media.
About the "new" Values Index 2022
To take account of the accelerated change in values in society, the Values Index has been published twice a year since this year with updates and new results. In addition, companies and organizations can obtain up-to-date evaluations at any time in order to identify and respond to changes in values at an early stage. For the Values Index Update 2022-2, almost seven million social media posts that appeared in relevant social media between March 1 and Sept. 30, 2022 were evaluated with the help of AI - including not only word posts, but also photos, for example on Instagram. Editors are:Ulrich Köhler (Managing Director of Trendbüro), Jens Krüger (CEO of Bonsai Research) and Björn Welzel (Managing Director of the management consultancy Uranos). As usual, the value index is compiled by the research team of Bonsai Research and Trendbüro.