Monday, January 21, 2013

A Generation of Narcissists

The delusions of the present generation. To quote:
Psychologist Jean Twenge, the lead author of the analysis, is also the author of a study showing that the tendency toward narcissism in  students is up 30 percent in the last thirty-odd years.This data is not unexpected.  I have been writing a great deal over the past few years about the toxic psychological impact of media and technology on children, adolescents and young adults, particularly as it regards turning them into faux celebrities—the equivalent of lead actors in their own fictionalized life stories.
On Facebook, young people can fool themselves into thinking they have hundreds or thousands of “friends.” They can delete unflattering comments. They can block anyone who disagrees with them or pokes holes in their inflated self-esteem. They can choose to show the world only flattering, sexy or funny photographs of themselves (dozens of albums full, by the way), “speak” in pithy short posts and publicly connect to movie stars and professional athletes and musicians they “like.” (Read entire article.)
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2 comments:

julygirl said...

....As well as exhibiting Anti-social Behavior Syndrome while at the same time feeling offended by what they view as a social faux pas perpatrated against themselves. This is where the inflated sense of self importance comes in. In this society we honor and reward the mere existence of young adults.

In the eyes of God we are equal, but among mortals special is judged on giving of yourself to others, Doesn't have to be something that earns one a Purple Heart.

I am glad to hear others have noticed this as being an epidemic in our society and not just with the young'uns.

The North Coast said...

I'm not too worried about our youngsters, for, no matter how indulged, self-entitled, and narcissistic they have been enabled in being by their brain-dead and equally narcissistic elders, they will be cured of it sooner rather than later, and very quickly, when they try to compete in today's economy with the "skills" they took out 6-digit loans to major in Drama and Women's Studies and Underwater Basketweaving at some online diploma mill.

In a sense, they'll be much luckier than their baby boom elders, because they'll get their lessons handed to them hard fairly early in life while they still have time to change. Their elders, on the other hand, will be forced to confront their failings at the stage of life where our chickens all come home to roost and when it is really too late to do a lot about the situation your failings have created for you.