83 percent of young Cubans are optimistic about recent changes

The Western Union Company, a global payment services, said last week that the younger Cuban generation, under 18 years old, expressed the highest overall tone of optimism regarding the fast-changing relationship between the U.S. and Cuba, reveals an analysis of more than 10.4 million social media posts recorded between December 2014 and August 2015.

The study sponsored by Western Union and conducted by Networked Insights discovered that Cubans are using social media to express their thoughts and feelings about the fast-changing relationship between the U.S. and Cuba and associated economic and cultural changes anticipated.

In August, 83 percent of people up to 18 years old were optimistic about the changes, while only 36 percent between 18 and 35 and 27 percent from 35 to 54 are positive about the changes in the country.

Analysis of social conversation topics over the nine-month period showed that entrepreneurship took strong precedence, with more than 50 percent of the chatter devoted to encouraging start-ups and propelling Cuban ingenuity with an injection of technology and innovation to invigorate Cuba’s economy.

The social media participation shows the broad reach of the Cuban diaspora as well as the widespread interest in Cuba’s future. The social posts from the international community closely track with Cuba diaspora living across the world.