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Title: Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before
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Manufacturer: Free Press
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| Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before by Free Press Important, although inevitably flawed | "Physician, heal thyself." While this book is based on an impressive volume of research, it is written by a member of the group it purports to analyze. The author limited herself to investigating only the opinions of members of the GenMe generation, which is a perfectly legitimate scope for a single piece of research.
But then she goes on to make sweeping generalizations and recommendations based on that limited perspective, without looking outside of her own house of mirrors for validation or guidance. In this regard, she's a product of her own narcissistic generation, obviously, so it should come as no surprise that she clearly models some of the very traits that she bemoans in her peers.
Read this, but consider the source. | | Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before by Free Press Good, but not even close to perfect | This book starts and ends as an excellent research oriented attitudinal appraisal of America's youth in the here and now. The author has analyzed over forty years of surveys on the attitudes of America's youth and how they have changed.
Her conclusion: increasing sense of entitlement, "it's all about me", so far so good. Her conclusions on how to deal with the issue from the standpoint of psychology also seem "on the money", especially as regards the inflated "feel-good" opinion and sense of academic and personal accomplishment many of today's students (and their largely late boomer and GenX parents) seem to buy into.
Then, what's not to like? Answer the middle of the book and the material presented there, which seem to complicate and in some cases almost contradict the overall theme. Also an issue is the author's lumping of everyone born in the last 30 years into the Me-Generation, which she then describes broadly and with which she seems to identify by virtue of her birth in the early 1970s.
There is evidence from the study of families and social development that at least some elements of being "contemporary" in terms of youthful experience require a proximity of about seven years, anything on the outside of this range is suspect in terms of being "generational". This is far different than the decades long trends that both "boomerologists" and those studying GenX, GenY or other broadly identified groups seem to focus on.
As the idea of "generations" as used in this context is actually the result of pop culture and marketing, I find it a bit amazing that a research social scientist would even buy into it at all! Admittedly, she probably did so to capture a long term trend that she sees in her data, but nonetheless, it is probably not really justifiable if one wants to understand the experiences that have shaped different age cohorts.
So, after correctly assessing that the so-called me generation of the 1970s was mild in comparison to the present orgy of self, the author does not really get into a detailed analysis of the various trends and sub-populations. Instead they are painted with the same broad brush. It would have been more useful to take a closer less superficial look.
For instance, in discussing the last several "generations", she correctly points out that the early baby boomers were raised by WWII-era parents who took "no lip" from their off-spring and expected rigid codes of behavior in return for wonderful opportunity (by the standards of the day) provided their off-spring. These were the assumed attitudes against which the "protests" of the 1960s played out.
But, they were not within the personal experience of all born between the end of WWII and the early 1960s, as the early boomers had already altered these rules by the time that those born after the mid 1950s where starting to enter their teen years. The same is true about sexual issues. The response and experiences of the boomers were hardly uniform, and varied greatly depending on education, family backgrounds etc, and age cohort. If you are going to do the "generational parent-offspring comparison" you have to look at the whole picture.
The author also spends time in the middle of the book sympathetically addressing what she sees as the challenging world that the post-boomers face. Here she could include a bit of economic history. While she discusses the social changes of the late 1960s and 70s, she does not really mention the economic and social challenges of that era.
Issues such as run-away inflation, the Vietnam draft, the Watergate government crisis, the oil embargo, stagflation, high unemployment and other less than ideal circumstances that faced the "boomer" parents of younger Americans are given little or no mention. House prices may have been a good deal less, but interest rates were frequently much higher. Lots of early generations had to face housing issues, and many can recall that housing prices in the late 70s and 80s seemed out of reach at the time.
Nor does she compare this history to presumed challenges facing today's youth, who seem to buy into the myth that the entire baby boom lived in a world of economic and social stability with guaranteed success just for the asking. College educated people have frequently had to face less than ideal economic circumstances upon graduation that impacted on their "dreams", and for those not fortunate enough to attend college, it's even worse.
Yet, after lampooning the high expectations of today's youth, the author seems to sympahtize with them because they face challenges "unkown" to previous generations. Not really so! Many of the changes that have effects on today's younger people have been in progress for several generations.
These include globalization, an increased pace of life, increased mobility and the need for expensive post-secondary education. What may be new are the perceptions of them. This would actually support her main thesis, but instead of developing it, she seems to buy into many of its myths.
As an example, the author talks about the difficulty in meeting high expectations for careers. However, for the early cohort of her self-defined Generation Me and very late baby boomers who got into the job market in the 1990s as college grads, there was a boom of opportunity and high starting salaries that was not experienced by early baby boomers or late Generation Me.
One could argue quite nicely that the economic problems of today's youth and their extended adolescence are merely one more chapter in a changing economic environment, where world economic events and expectations don't always fit nicely together. They are not really all that new, or specific to the last several decades, but yet the seem to play out in a context where only a few years of difference in age and experience seem to alter perceptions of reality.
As an interesting study of generational attitudes and sense of self, the book has something to recommend it. However, it is not the end all be all that some claim it to be. It would have been a far better book had the author stuck to her original theme and not sandwiched additional material that does not really support the arguments she is making.
| | Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before by Free Press Very insightful, 2 small problems | I think Dr. Twenge has very thorough research, a wonderful humor and modern slant to her writing style (I'm younger and don't even watch the O.C.), and has written a very important book that self-reflective GenMe-ers need to read. If anything, we need to examine ourselves (there we go again with the self) with a more critical eye and figure a way to not propagate some of the more negative issues to our children.
But I did have 2 problems with the book. Other reviewers commented on them, but I thought I would reiterate them.
1) Twenge really takes some of the quotes from Christian writings (Rick Warren, etc.) out of context and misses the boat. Yes, God loves us for who we are, but who we are actually is a journey (or walk) and process of improvement, growing closer to God, and understanding what our purpose is. On the other hand, there have been some books published recently (the prosperity theology JUNK) that might be better used to serve her point. Dr. Twenge, look up Joel Osteen.
2) Graphics. I agree with another reviewer that listing stat after stat is not as useful as a nice graph or chart. I'm a math teacher and have some stats background from my engineering degrees. I enjoyed reading your work, but I can see how others might appreciate a chart or graph. A picture paints a thousand words...
Overall, this is an excellent book. Oh, and it helped motivate me to write to my elected officials about the high cost of childcare. It would cost more than our mortgage to send an infant and toddler to day care on a monthly basis. Our townhouse is cheaper than daycare?? | | Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before by Free Press Another reason why Baby Boomers Suck | | This is a great summary of the Baby Boomers legacy (their kids). It shows another reason Why Baby Boomers Suck!--one of my favorite subjects. | | Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before by Free Press projecting an insecurity? | This book's greatest value seems to reside mostly in the compilation of data, allowing academia to progress ahead on more than cultural assumptions. For someone who does not wait for statistics to dictate my own intuitive observations, I did not encounter one idea or assessment that was original or expanded my understanding of this "generation" or the previous one in any fundamental way. Every page I read I simply said, "Well, of course."
While statistics are important for certain realms of work, the assessor of such data is still human and prone to human biases. When the author determines that students should not be told they can be anything they want to be, perhaps she is simply reflecting a subconscious aspect of her own worldview. In my experience, many people who remain in academia from college into their professional careers without ever leaving it since they were 4 years old do so out of a psychological fear of leaving their nest and risking failure. It is logical, therefore, that such an individual would extrapolate that fear to the broader realms of society in order to satiate such insecurities. Just a theory.
There is no doubt the self-esteem movement has gone to far. That is because it has never transcended a materialist worldview. I believe the foundation of that movement lies in a fundamental scientific and spiritual truth: that all life is "God". All beings are manifestations of the God force (whether that is simply the scientific energy integrating all life or a literal god does not matter). To tell a child he or she is anything less than perfection is to deny that child his or her reality. From this perspective, one must envision the highest possible reality for themselves. Then opening oneself to receive the intuitive or whatever other guidance is provided to reach that end rises above the petty squabbles of competition and allows that child to realize his or her highest potential. Does that mean all of us can be violin prodigies? Not at all. Does it mean we can just sit back and expect the world to shower us with success? No. It takes focus and knowing when to commit to hard work. It means finding your own highest potential for yourself, not simply believing you can do anything at all.
While the self-esteem movement may be flawed and overly generous, this backlash is even more dangerous and destructive. | | Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before by Free Press Product Description | | Called "The Entitlement Generation" or Gen Y, they are storming into schools, colleges, and businesses all over the country. In this provocative new book, headline-making psychologist and social commentator Dr. Jean Twenge explores why the young people she calls "Generation Me" -- those born in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s -- are tolerant, confident, open-minded, and ambitious but also cynical, depressed, lonely, and anxious. Herself a member of Generation Me, Dr. Twenge uses findings from the largest intergenerational research study ever conducted -- with data from 1.3 million respondents spanning six decades -- to reveal how profoundly different today's young adults are. Here are the often shocking truths about this generation, including dramatic differences in sexual behavior, as well as controversial predictions about what the future holds for them and society as a whole. Her often humorous, eyebrow-raising stories about real people vividly bring to life the hopes and dreams, disappointments and challenges of Generation Me. GenMe has created a profound shift in the American character, changing what it means to be an individual in today's society. The collision of this generation's entitled self-focus and today's competitive marketplace will create one of the most daunting challenges of the new century. Engaging, controversial, prescriptive, funny, Generation Me will give Boomers new insight into their offspring, and help those in their teens, 20s, and 30s finally make sense of themselves and their goals and find their road to happiness. |
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