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- None picked Marlon Brando or Elvis Presley as their ideals.
- Few picked film stars or radio personalities.
- Most picked friends or older adults.
Out: Elvis Presley.Credit:Publicity
The teenagers also revealed themselves as
- More mature than American or New Zealand adolescents.
- More stable than adults concede.
The Senior Lecturer in Education, Dr W. J. Campbell, and education students carried out the survey before television became well established in Sydney.
Another survey will be held next year to find out what effect television has had on Sydney youths.
Dr Campbell, an enthusiastic, quick-smiling New Zealander who can hardly sit still, said this week that the survey had destroyed a number of myths.
“There’s been a lot of criticism lately of adolescents — mainly based on haphazard information,” he said.
“What we should be doing is finding out what they are really like.”
To get the answer, Dr Campbell and his staff carried out an intense investigation on 619 adolescents.
Bill Haley fans dance at a concert at the Sydney Stadium on January 17, 1957.Credit:Frank Burke
Kept diaries
The boys and girls kept a diary of what they did every minute of the day; answered questionnaires about their habits, beliefs, feelings; and were interviewed by trained educationists.
They were asked whom they would most prefer to be like; how many friends they had; if there were quarrels at home; whether they liked their neighbourhood; who helped with the washing-up; and hundreds of other questions.
The quality boys and girls admired most in their ideal was a good disposition — kindness, good temper, etc.
After that the girls chose good looks, the boys some physical skill such as football prowess.
Like films
“Many adolescents think they are fairly like their ideals, which indicates a healthy state of affairs,” Dr Campbell said.
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The average teenager spends almost three hours a week watching films, only two and a half hours playing sport.
Next comes listening to the radio (4.5 p.c. of their spare time); visiting (3.5 p.c.) and excursions such as car riding, hiking and camping out (2.5 p.c).
The average teenager spends more time in church than in any club.