The war in Iraq was a big event for most adult Canadians. But did it impact tweens and teens? What did they think of the war and what lasting consequences do they feel it will have on their world? At the request of Brunico Communications and its publication Strategy, Reactorz set out to answer these questions. Findings were presented at the Understanding Youth Conference in Toronto on June 9, 2003 and a detailed data report was made available to all conference attendees. The following is a summary of some the findings.

Tweens
Most tweens heard about the war first hand from television news. They sat down and watched the news mostly with their parents so parents generally interpreted and helped them figure out the impact of the news, acting as a filter.

Tweens were very engaged in the issues surrounding the war. They struggled to make sense of it and decide how they felt. Most were against the war though primarily because they couldn't understand how there could be any good reason for war. Very few ignored it completely or showed an apathetic, negative attitude.

But their world is fairly small. Their empathy does extend to kids like them in Iraq but their primary concerns were how the war might affect their families, their country and Canada's relationship with the United States. Many were frightened by the war and worried that it could come to Canada, that Canada would end up being a part of the war after all and family members might be called up to serve - they imagined the worst.

Patriotism (and the other side of the coin, anti-Americanism) is strong among tweens at the moment. They support the government's stand in staying out of the war and they feel proud of the "Canadian" way of life and what, to them it stands for, namely peaceful and tolerant of other cultures.

But they see no long lasting impact on their world. They haven't changed anything they do, except perhaps how much they watch television news, or anything they buy.

Teens
Teens have a greater understanding of global politics and are much more cynical. So many more of them were apathetic about the war, had mixed emotions about it or changed their point of view as time progressed. Probably most interesting were those who changed their mind and over time came to see the war as a necessary evil, required to liberate the Iraqi people. They all cited images of happy Iraqi's on television news as the source of their conversion - showing the powerful influence of network television.

While teens are listening to peers and teachers when developing their opinions of current events it is still the parents who have the greatest potential influence. Many parents don't realize how much influence they still have.

Teens are just as patriotic as the Tweens. Their emotions run a little stronger so they demonize George W. Bush and often confuse the U.S. President's politics with the morals of the American public. Anti-Americanism runs strong at the moment, though many are concerned about the impact the Canadian stand will have long term on the Canada-U.S. relationship.

But, despite all the strong emotion, very few Teens took the time to communicate their opinions by signing petitions or attending peace rallies. This was due to either apathy or skepticism - they didn't see there was any point. Skepticism also prevents many of them from accepting that the war is over. They worry about ongoing conflict, retaliation and expansion of the war to other countries in the area.

But they do not worry enough for it to affect their lifestyle in any meaningful way. They have perceived no impact on their behaviour, their habits or their shopping patterns.

Conclusion
This research on the Tweens and Teens attitudes to the war has highlighted a few characteristics of this demographic that will remain true regardless of the political events around them. They are aware of major political events and follow them on adult-oriented news broadcasts. They talk to their parents to help figure out how they think and feel about it. They don't take it to heart enough to change anything they do (no boycott's, no rallies, no changes to how they spend their free time) but they are thoughtful, skeptical and concerned about the future. The older they get the more skeptical they are as they have more knowledge of the facts and less trust that everything will be fine.

Remember that Tweens and Teens are aware of and often scared by current events. Where appropriate acknowledge their concerns. But they consider themselves to be sophisticated media consumers immune to overt influences so approach these issues subtly.

It will be interesting to track the current patriotism of Canadian Tweens and Teens to see if it continues when Canada is no longer in opposition to the U.S. Current pride in the Canadian way of life runs high.

Methodology
From April 15, 2003 till May 7, 2003 Reactorz collected primary data on the thoughts, opinions and experiences of teens and tweens as it related to the war in Iraq (which was declared March 18, 2003). Supplementary data was collected after the end of the war (May 1, 2003) from May 4 to May 7, 2003. Surveys and discussion topics were supplemented by in person interviews on May 12, 2003 and May 22, 2003. The sample size included 279 complete surveys and over 2000 discussion posts. Response rate was 60% of active members for the survey and 78% of active members for the discussion topics.