The Decline of Conscientiousness- and Why it Matters for Politics
This week the newsletter delves into the drop in conscientiousness among young adults and how that relates to the current political landscape.
The other day, leaving my local shopping centre, I had a small encounter that has stayed with me. Two boys, maybe 13 or 14, were riding their bikes along the church walls and steps. A tiny voice in my head whispered, “They’re getting awfully close.” My conscious mind shrugged it off. Surely, they wouldn’t put themselves - or me- in real danger.
Yet one of them decided to test that assumption. At full speed, with the generous run of the steps he pedalled down, he rammed his bike into me. I managed to stay upright, but the impact caught me off guard and left a hefty bruise on my arm. I expected apologies, some sign of awareness of common decency. Instead, he giggled and said, “Oops, sorry!” over his shoulder as he pedalled away.
I recognise that he was a child. But when I was that age, I would have been terrified of someone older. What struck me wasn’t just the act itself but the recklessness behind it - the disregard for consequences, for others, for responsibility. That small moment felt like a microcosm of a larger social trend: the decline of conscientiousness.
Conscientiousness is one of the Big Five personality traits. It refers to responsibility, organisation, self-discipline, and social impulse control. Conscientious people plan ahead, follow through, and meet commitments; they are reliable, diligent, and often ambitious. Decades of research show that high conscientiousness predicts career success, stable relationships, better health, and longer life. Conversely, low conscientiousness is linked to impulsivity, distraction, and difficulty maintaining commitments- patterns we are increasingly seeing among young people today.
Educators, parents, managers, and public service workers have noticed subtle changes over the past decade: students who struggle to meet deadlines, young employees who cannot sustain focus, and communities where participation feels sporadic and fleeting. Recent research confirms what many of us have observed anecdotally: conscientiousness is declining globally, particularly among young adults, who report being more distracted, less disciplined, and less committed than previous generations.
The causes are complex, but two forces stand out: technology and hypercapitalism. Social media, video games, and other hyper-engaging digital platforms exploit the brain’s reward systems, offering near-constant dopamine hits. They train attention to flit from one stimulus to another, prioritising instant gratification over long-term planning. Behavioural psychologists perfected these systems through experiments - essentially, what works for rats also works for humans, just with one additional step.
Beyond digital life, advertising and consumer culture constantly push the same pattern. Hypercapitalism encourages us to chase the next thing, to prioritise novelty, excitement, or emotional response over reflection and self-control. From targeted ads to flashy promotions at every corner you turn, the market is designed to bypass impulse control, nudging us toward immediate action and emotional decision-making.
Add economic precarity, unstable employment, and a society that increasingly rewards immediacy, and you have an environment where patience, focus, and long-term planning struggle to develop. Schools and parenting practices may compound this effect; traditional structures that encourage diligence and follow-through are eroded.
The implications reach far beyond missed deadlines. When conscientiousness declines, social costs rise. Impulsivity can manifest as financial mismanagement, health neglect, or reckless behaviour. Unreliable workplaces struggle to function; fragile relationships become more common; and civic engagement wanes. Communities rely on trust and shared responsibility to thrive, yet lower conscientiousness weakens these bonds. In short, a society with fewer conscientious citizens faces not only practical inefficiency but an erosion of social cohesion.
“A generation unable to follow through, maintain relationships, or build institutions threatens not only its own future but the foundations of civil society.”
It gets more interesting - and worrying- when we look at the political dimension. Personality traits influence political behaviour. Historically, research has found that people with high conscientiousness - rule-bound, disciplined, and cautious - tend to lean conservative. They are more likely to respect institutions, comply with rules, and favour stability. One might therefore expect that as conscientiousness declines among younger generations, conservatism would fall in tandem.
But that isn’t what we’re seeing. Instead, politics itself seems to have adapted to lower conscientiousness. Emotional immediacy, grievance politics, short-term thinking, and performative loyalty for elites are increasingly common features of contemporary political life. Politicians appeal to impulses rather than deliberation, and voters often respond in kind.
I want to be clear: this doesn’t mean that personality determines political outcomes in a deterministic way. But personality traits shape how people respond to incentives, rhetoric, and social cues. If impulsivity and a preference for instant gratification become widespread, they will inevitably influence political culture - how policies are debated, how movements mobilise, and how institutions are perceived. Understanding this helps explain some of the instability, polarisation, and short-termism in politics today.
That said, conscientiousness is not fixed. Unlike genetics or parental background, personality traits can be nurtured. This is both a challenge and an opportunity. Schools could enforce attendance, deadlines, and participation with meaningful consequences, encouraging habits of diligence. Employers could prioritise reliability and consistency over credentials alone, fostering cultures where conscientious behaviour is rewarded. Communities could rebuild social rituals - sports, volunteer groups, local associations - where commitment and presence are valued.
Restoring conscientiousness is not about punishment or control; it is about giving young people the skills, habits, and expectations that allow them to succeed and contribute meaningfully to society. A generation unable to follow through, maintain relationships, or build institutions threatens not only its own future but the foundations of civil society. Trust, reliability, and shared responsibility are cornerstones of democracy and community. Without conscientious citizens, credentials are hollowed, workplaces falter, and civic bonds weaken.
From a civic standpoint, the stakes are high. Lower conscientiousness correlates with impulsivity, rule resistance, and disengagement from democratic processes. A population that struggles with follow-through is more susceptible to misinformation and manipulation. Charismatic actors exploiting short-term thinking can influence precisely because these traits make citizens less deliberative. In this sense, rebuilding conscientiousness is a democratic project as well as a personal one - it sustains the institutions and practices that make collective life possible.
The broader point is this: conscientiousness matters because it underlines both personal and collective flourishing. It shapes how young people navigate education and work, how communities maintain trust, and how democracies function. Rebuilding is not about nostalgia or moralising; it is a practical, civic necessity. We have a choice: we can accept a world dominated by impulsivity and short-term thinking, or we can deliberately cultivate patience, responsibility, and diligence. The latter requires effort, consistency, and societal commitment - but meaningful change never comes without effort.
Returning to the incident with the boy on the bike, that encounter was small, almost humorous in its absurdity. But it illustrated a larger truth: when responsibility, foresight, and social self-control are absent, the world becomes more unpredictable, more fragile, and more prone to harm.
Encouraging conscientiousness is not just about raising better employees, students, or citizens - it is about cultivating the conditions for trust, reliability, and collective wellbeing. And if society can succeed in doing this, we will not only shape more capable individuals, but also a more resilient, thoughtful, and democratic public life.
