When you were five and were asked 'what do you want most when you grow up?' - you probably would have enthusiastically answered with the simplest of things.

'All the sweets in the world' or 'lots of toys' might have featured - but as we grow older, these simple hopes and dreams grow with us.

So what are the dreams for young people?

When questioning peers, many had the same responses. To get married, own a house, reach their dream career and to have children. However, it also went deeper than this as one young person I spoke to said: 'I dream of being able to travel the world. I want to experience different cultures and see life through other people's eyes instead of through a classroom textbook.'

Others commented on how they want good health, not only physically but mentally too, and how they feared not succeeding in their ambitions as well as fulfilling their happiness.

Local research company Atticus Research used social media to recruit a group of 18 to 20-year-olds from across the UK. They then used an app to learn about their lives, feelings, fears, hopes and dreams.

A few of the interesting themes they found were:

• Experiences matter more than things. 'Time and time again, the things our participants shared focused on travelling, being happy at work, having good friends, days out with family, and making great memories,' they said.

• A happy life is not a perfect life. 'There is a pressure from all around – friends, family and the media – to be perfect- the best job, car, best grades etc… The narrative of the perfect life can dominate their world, but many recognised that being perfect doesn't make for a happy life.'

• The future is further away than it used to be. 'The journey to success feels a lot longer. The simple, familiar goals of a job, a home and a family now feel like a big ambition and many are far from certain that they will be able to achieve what their parents did,' Atticus Research found.

Read more about the research here.

• What are your hopes and dreams for the future? Leave your comments below.