Quality of Life of Young People Living on the Island of Hvar: Sociological Research

Tema sociološkog istraţivanja ovog diplomskog rada je kvaliteta ţivota mladih na otoku Hvaru. Rad je podijeljen u nekoliko cjelina. Prvu cjelinu predstavlja teorijski dio gdje smo predstavili neke ključne pojmove relevantne za istraţivanje, a oni su koncept kvalitete ţivota u sociologiji, specifičnost mladih kao društvene skupine te posljednje, mladi na hrvatskim otocima. U idućoj cjelini smo pojasnili metodologiju istraţivanja, a to uključuje predmet, cilj istraţivanja, istraţivačka pitanja, uzorak, mjerni instrument te postupak provedbe istraţivanja. Kao metoda prikupljanja podataka u ovom kvalitativnom istraţivanju se koristio polustrukturirani intervju, a uzorkovanje je provedeno metodom snjeţne grude. U istraţivanju je sudjelovalo 30 sugovornika/ca u dobi od 18 do 34 godine. Svi sugovornici/ce prebivaju na otoku Hvaru. Proces intervjuiranja je trajao od veljače do sredine svibnja 2022. godine. Svi razgovori su snimani i s pristankom sugovornika/ca su transkribirani kako bi se ti transkripti mogli analizirati za potrebe istraţivanja. Analiza podataka je pokazala da većina sugovornika ima završen srednjoškolski stupanj obrazovanja te su preteţito zadovoljni svojim obrazovanje. Za sugovornike sa završenim ili u procesu završavanja visokoškolskog obrazovanja traţenje posla u struci na otoku je problem zbog nedostatka radnih mjesta u područjima van turizma. Većina naših sugovornika radi u turizmu, i najveći broj njih radi isključivo tijekom sezone, no zadovoljni su svojim profesionalnim statusom. U pogledu slobodnog vremena, istaknuta je razlika u količini slobodnog vremena s kojom mladi na otoku Hvaru raspolaţu zimi u odnosu na ljeto - zimi imaju previše, a ljeti premalo slobodnog vremena. Većina ih nije zadovoljna ponudom sadrţaja za provoĎenje slobodnog vremena na otoku te smatraju da fali sadrţaja primjerenog mladima, posebno u periodu van turističke sezone. Na turizam naši sugovornici gledaju kao nešto pozitivno, a najveće prednosti ţivota na otoku tijekom sezone za njih su mogućnost zarade, zaposlenja i bogata ponuda sadrţaja za mlade ljeti. Najveći nedostatci su nedostatak slobodnog vremena, posljedice party turizma i poskupljenje ţivotnog standarda. U ţivotu mladih na otoku zimi je pozitivno uţivanje u prirodi i mir, ali nedostaje sadrţaja i društvenog ţivota na otoku. Razlozi zbog kojih mladi najčešće odlaze na kopno su posjeta liječniku ili zubaru, kupovina ili zabava. Naši sugovornici su podijeljeni oko odluke o ostanku ili odlasku s otoka, no najveći broj njih ipak ţeli ostati na otoku. Razlozi za to su ljubav prema rodnom mjestu, posao na otoku i obitelj. Najčešći razlog naveden za odlazak s otoka je problem nedostatka posla van turističkog sektora na otoku.The topic of the sociological research for this master's thesis is the quality of life of youth on the island of Hvar. The thesis is divided into several parts. The first part is theory where we presented some key concepts relevant for this research, and that includes the concept of the quality of life in sociology, the specificity of youth as a social group and finally, youth on croatian islands. In the next part we explained the methodology of the research, which includes the subject, the purpose of the research, research questions, the sample, the measuring instrument and the procedure of the implementation of the research. We used a semi-structured interview as a method of gathering data and the snowball method for sampling. The research included 30 participants from the ages of 18 to 34. All participants reside on the island of Hvar. The interviewing process was conducted from February until the middle of May 2022. All interviews were taped and transcribed after obtaining consent from the participants, so the transcripts could be analyzed for the purpose of research. Our data analysis showed that most of our participants have finished a secondary education and they are mostly pleased with their education. Those that have a finished tertiary or are in a process of obtaining it have a problem with finding work in their respective fields on the island, due to shortage of work in fields besides tourism. Most of our participants work in tourism and most of them work only during the tourist season period, but they are pleased with their professional status. There is a difference in the amount of leisure time young people living on the island have during winter and during summer and the tourist season – in the winter they have too much of it, in the summer too little. For our participants, tourism is a positive thing for the island, and the biggest perks of living on Hvar during the tourist season are financial gain, possibility of employment and various content available for young people. Biggest shortcomings include the lack of leisure time, the consequences of party tourism and rising living standards. The perks of living on the island in the winter are enjoying nature and peace, but there are shortcomings such as lack of content for youth and lack of social life on the island. Reasons for leaving the island and going to the shore are most commonly a visit to the doctor or a dentist, shopping or entertainment. Our participants are divided on the question of staying on or leaving the island of Hvar, but the largest number of them want to remain on the island. Some reasons that influenced their decision to stay include love for their hometown, a job on the island or family. The biggest reason listed for leaving is the problem of finding work outside of tourism