Apparemment tout le monde semble d’accord à ce sujet. Principalement, ce qui nous préoccupe est ce qui nous fait peur. Ce qui semble logique. En première position, on retrouve la peur de l’échec, ne pas être heureux puis la planète, la politique, la famille, les amis …

As Damien said, both sides more or less say the same thing, with particular emphasis on politics and climate change. One potential difference is that the MIT students mention the future and finding a meaningful career a little more. Perhaps this is due to the level of pressure to make work your life’s priority in the U. S. For the ENSEIRB students, are most people usually more stressed about worldly issues like politics and climate change than about personal stresses like work?

Yes, I think we can all agree that the responses are very similar. It may be because we are two similar groups of people (both students in college in first world countries. If we look at two other similar groups, do you think we’d find the same trend? For example, do you think parents of ENSEIRB students have similar worries as MIT parents?

I agree that we largely say the same worries across the board, however, I did pick up on one morbid difference. Many of the MIT students specifically called out death or dying – of themselves or a family member – as a specific concern, whereas the ENSEIRB students did not. Is that because death is more normalized in American culture? Or does it not bother the ENSEIRB students?

It also seems to me that, while both sides mentioned worrying about politics and climate change, MIT students talked about politics more frequently and with more concern about people actively ignoring or harming each other. This matches up well with the enormous amount of anxiety and dehumanization in the American news cycle. Is politics less of a daily stressor in France? Do you think the difference is more from the difference in political situations or the difference in the style of news coverage?

The responses from both groups were largely similar. Not only we at an age where adult responsibilities are beginning to loom over us, but the rapid deterioration of our planet is a large source of stress as well. In the United States, there is currently a lot of political turmoil that is adding to the stress of students. Children and teenagers from across the nation are banding together to protest current issues through social media and organizing marches. How much of a role does politics play in the lives of students in France? Are there similar trends of increased political activism among students in France as well?

The American side is more concerned with individual consequences while the European side is more concerned with public/wordly consequences.

Like Abrito said, the MIT students are more concerned with issues that directly pretain to themselves. I wonder if this had to do with our answers about indpendence and raising a good child. The MIT students answers demonstrated self interest and the french answers demonstrated a preference for preserving the community. What happened in french history that makes the idea of community to important?

I agree with Jasmin’s observations that both groups are very similar, meaning college students in firs world countries, and that this could most likely be the reason the MIT responses are very similar to the ENSEIRB response. I’d say that if we look at two groups from different backgrounds and contexts in their countries, their worries would indeed vary due to social factors such as socioeconomic status, family relations, cultural norms, the day-to-day routine, etc.

Given what Abrito said about the American side being more concerned with individual consequences while the European side is concerned with public/worldly consequences, I wonder if it could be said that the ENSEIRB students are more worried about maintaining the overall status quo than the MIT students.

Agreeing with Jasmin’s observation, both sides have very similar worries and it makes me think if these are general problems that change more with age than with cultural differences?

Pour répondre à certaines réponses disant que, en vue des réponses fournies à ce sujet par les deux groupes, les américains seraient plus centrés sur eux mêmes que les européens, je ne pense pas. D’une part, vos réponses sont bien plus développées que les nôtres mais pourtant reste, je trouve, très similaires en sens aux nôtres. De plus la situation et les problèmes que rencontrent nos deux pays sont plutôt proches. Notamment la situation politique ou encore le niveau de vie. Il n’est donc pas étonnant que nos points de vue se rejoignent à ce sujet.

I agree with Damien that the responses from both sides are very similar and in fact both highlight the focus on one’s self and individualism. Examples where we can see this are future, l’avenir, mon bonheur, ma santé, etc.