A recent study, from a sampling of college students nationwide, finds that they tested higher on the Narcissistic Personality Index than previous generations.
I am, admittedly, at odds with most of my friends over this very issue. A lot of people rebel against the way they were raised, and I am no exception. But after many years, I came to appreciate being raised with an almost casual indifference to my hopes and goals, being raised to understand that life is hard, short and brutal, and totally up to me, if it is to be any different. I was not praised because I was precocious and intelligent: I was told to apply myself or I would end up at the factory like my dad.
We were not allowed to go anywhere we wanted, spend hours on the phone, talk or dress like the kids on TV, and basically have our own "lifestyle". We had rules that were arbitrary and designed mostly for our parents' peace of mind. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Here's a quote:
Twenge, the author of ``Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled - and More Miserable Than Ever Before,'' said narcissists tend to lack empathy, react aggressively to criticism and favor self-promotion over helping others.
The researchers traced the phenomenon back to what they called the ``self-esteem movement'' that emerged in the 1980s, asserting that the effort to build self-confidence had gone too far.
Isn't this exactly what we see, both at home and on the Internet? "Flame wars" erupt from almost any opinion stated because the removal of technology and the Culture of Me says that it's okay to state your opinion loudly and stupidly because you bear the power of the iPod.
Seeing these results, in studies or reality, will not change our current social course. The effects of millions of self-involved Britnees and Huntyrs will.
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