When I was a more insecure, self-centered person (a.k.a. "a Teenager"), roughly 18 years ago, I recall much ink being devoted to branding the Y-gen kids as being something called "super-predators"... Anyone else remember that? I, being on the tail end of X, was meanwhile destined to go on to a meaningless life of "slacking" & apathy, according to many experts in this still-growing field of doom-saying prognostications regarding anyone younger than themselves.

Now, the experts (perhaps disappointed that their visions of packs of free-roaming, amoral-killing-machine Twenty-somethings didn't really come to pass) have decided the real problem with Y-ers is that they're narcissistic.

I am now in my 31st year (& yes, I'll admit to spending some of those years dithering about), & I do find myself grumbling about "kids these days" from time to time. So, are some younger people self-absorbed? Sure. Do some of them lack empathy or once-prized social graces? Again, yes. Can we extrapolate that these faults are endemic to this generation from a sampling of 16,000 young people? Um... absolutely not.

It is the nature of older people to worry about, fear, condemn, & fail in understanding younger people. Narcissism (or any other short-coming) can't be ascribed to a certain generation as though that generation developed the concept! Like any human frailty, it has existed in some form or concentration in every generation in History.

It makes me think of the infamous anti-drug ad that was in constant rotation when I was young (yet another instance of adult fear-mongering that helped exacerbate an existing problem). The angry Boomer Dad confronts his son with the evidence of the son's freebase coke habit, only to have his son say "You, Dad! I learned it from watching you!"

Shouldn't we give these kids a break, already? I would guess that for every spotlight-craving, celebrity-aping Twenty-odd desperate to jump-start their career in personal sex-tape leaking, there are 25 quietly going about taking care of business & working hard to make a better world. Just like there always have been.

"Yakety-yak!/Don't Talk Back!" ;-)

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The pressure to obsessively define oneself is not limited to the realm of myspace, facebook, and youtube. Have you applied to college recently? In an effort to admit 'people,' not transcripts has forced prospective students to be able to sell themselves as a package. Its been my experience as a 21 year old that from an early point in education (usually middle school) children are forced to take inventory of themselves in order to be better able to define their personality in 100 word essays. This is article was ok, but most definitely overlooks the noble intentions behind the need to narcissitize.

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the problem is not with kids and young adults, but rather how they are made the focus of the entire culture. they shouldn't be. the focus of our culture should be on rearing adults, adults who behave responsibly and are sensitive vibrant free and creative people. that surely is not where free form economic spiritual and military capitalism ends up. it ends up perpetuating the underdeveloped soul with its insistence on self satisfaction, unchecked consumption, and violent intervention, and only accomplishes self mutilation, poisonous waste, and endless war. children are behaving either as if they've got the keys to the kingdom, will sell anything to get them, or will kill anyone to protect it. when the great mirage is that there is this kingdom at all. this american "dream" has run its course, and everyday now becomes more and more a part of the world nightmare our conquesting forefathers were running away from not so long ago. the new world and the old world are now becoming one. now this becoming is no gentle kiss, in fact, its a cataclysmic collision. it will force us to discover not a new land, but a new soul, collectively, we will either grow from this, or perish in ignorance, as the rest of life moves on.

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I am almost 65 years old and have worked with kids most of my life. I am a court certified expert on child developement and parenting issues, having worked for over ten years with parents in danger of having their parental rights terminated. I have taught parenting classes (and, no, I don't believe in the groundless self-esteem that the authors of this study are talking about) and coached individual parents to improve their ability to discipline and guide their children.

I am currently working with high school students who are interested in preventing underage drinking. I spend at least half an hour with them every week, in addition to several hours at a time doing community service projects. What I know about today's young people does not come from a group of questions to which they can answer only yes or no, but from observation, conversation, evaluation, and shared effort.

My experience and observation is that this is a wonderful generation. They are thoughtful, kind, empathetic, and funny. I would like to remind you that a recent study showed that the majority of people dying of drug overdoses are aging baby boomers -- not Millenials. Of course this generation has some narcacistic members, every generation does. And, to some degree, all teens are self-centered. The major task of the teen is to give over childhood and develop an adult self. You can't do this without being more self-centered than either children or adults. However, in my rather long career, I have never seen a less narciscistic generation than the current one. I have never seen a generation that was more attached to parents and respectful of values.

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I am almost 65 years old and have worked with kids most of my life. I am a court certified expert on child developement and parenting issues, having worked for over ten years with parents in danger of having their parental rights terminated. I have taught parenting classes (and, no, I don't believe in the groundless self-esteem that the authors of this study are talking about) and coached individual parents to improve their ability to discipline and guide their children.

I am currently working with high school students who are interested in preventing underage drinking. I spend at least half an hour with them every week, in addition to several hours at a time doing community service projects. What I know about today's young people does not come from a group of questions to which they can answer only yes or no, but from observation, conversation, evaluation, and shared effort.

My experience and observation is that this is a wonderful generation. They are thoughtful, kind, empathetic, and funny. I would like to remind you that a recent study showed that the majority of people dying of drug overdoses are aging baby boomers -- not Millenials. Of course this generation has some narcacistic members, every generation does. And, to some degree, all teens are self-centered. The major task of the teen is to give over childhood and develop an adult self. You can't do this without being more self-centered than either children or adults. However, in my rather long career, I have never seen a less narciscistic generation than the current one. I have never seen a generation that was more attached to parents and respectful of values.

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Hmmm. Over 2 million copies of Dobson's "Dare to Discipline" have been sold since 1970.

Those I know with similar personality traits, have had a somewhat abusive upbringing.

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An aggressive broadside against a largely non-empowered group of people by a bunch of old farts who have royally screwed up this country during the prime of their lives. Considering we have to clean up the mess they've left this society in, they ought to be kissing my young ass.

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Why doesn't some enterprising researcher find out why it's always the oldest generation, the one doing research into the evils of Generation {n+2}, that kills hundreds of thousands of innocent people for money, power and ideology?

Better yet, why not study how the oldest generation always manages to guilt-trip Generation {n + 2}, into fighting their useless wars for them?

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Happiness and good health are found in the medians not in the extremes. This generation may have been too bolstered and pampered, but the generations before them were often brought up too harshly. Too many children were beaten, emotionally and verbally abused, and taught to believe only in a bleak future.

It may take a while for the ME generation to get over the shock of actually having to care about others, work hard for rewards, etc..but I think in the end they will prove to be wonderful people who will contribute a lot to this planet.

It is a good thing medicine is making people live longer though because the ME generaton may take quite awhile to get past the adolescent stage.

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Boomers have done a lot of damage. And they're still doing it today. They're obsessed with ideology, politics, extremism, control... They have a tendency to force their values on everyone else, whether it be feminism, Reaganism, or Bushism.

If Gen Y wants to spend all day making self-indulgent videos for YouTube, why should that bother me? A generation that minds its own business and doesn't try to fix the rest of us is a welcome break.

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I can't believe this story is even news. First, the "research" is still under peer review. Second, the author already has decided about the characteristics of this young generation (see her previous book). Third, some would argue that her characterization of narcissism isn't a bad label, but potentially a very good one and also descriptive of many teens -- a natural developmental stage, if you will. Fourth, the reactionaries saying that this is due to too much self-esteem building and too little discipline by parents are the same right-wing conservative claptraps that we come to Alternet to get away from. What the hell is too much self-esteem, anyway? The shame of this whole story is that every single assumption made by this "researcher" is just plain wrong, and it feeds into the radical right's cause of destroying the individuality and joy of being human in favor of creating an army/workforce for sake of the almighty frickin' benjamins.

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Young people live in a world where everything costs and nothing is free. Where you need to grab or it is gone. Where older people sit on over-inflated houses-as-pensions because they are too chicken shit to come to terms with the people who stole their pension funds in the first place.

Young people have to fight this endless war with crazy muslims. They die on battle fields around the world while mom and pop sit around and look at glossy catalogues for adult-only retirement communities.

But let's do some generation comparing since you started it. I was written off as Gen X. Yet I look at what I have accomplished so far, the numbers of people who I have helped, either creating businesses that have employed them, or epoch-shaking work changing life in new democracies, and then compare it to what my mother and grandparents did with their lives. I have travelled to 50 countries in the world. Written millions of words. Taken award-winning photos published in glossy magazines. If that is a slacker, well, I think demographers should shut the fuck up.

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I would tend to agree with much of this article. Although there are some wonderful "under-thirties" out there- and I am pleased to know and work with some, there is a pervasive level of self-absorbtion present in this age group. Teaching this generation at a college has not been always enjoyable. While I have had students who were hardworking, caring and committed, the majority are otherwise. The prevailing trend has been one of a sense of entitlement; to good grades(A's of course), minimal work required and constant pats on the back.

Many of my students believe that they possess superior intellect; after all, they've ben told how wonderful they are since day one. They are shocked at receiving a bad grade, and are angry and abusive when they do. I don't think that self-esteem can be given- it should be earned. This generation has been dosed with it regularly and we are seeing the effects of this parenting style.

I am also appalled at how unaware and unconcerned most of my students are with the world. They are concerned with their own friends, cell phones, You-Tube, facebook/myspace, etc and not with critical environmental , social or political issues.

Although I was too young to have been in college at the time of great political and social activism; the Vietnam War for instance, I am aware of the level of activism that made many colleges a hotspot of social change. No more. My students don't read papers or even on-line news. They are almost completely unaware of the greater world around them .

I am not optimistic about many in this current generation of young adults. There are as I noted earlier, some wonderful twenty-somethings out there who are committed to making a difference, but it seems that most of their peers are only committed to getting totally wasted as many nights as they can.

And by the way- as for the whining Gen Y'ers who complain that their parents generation totally screwed it all up and they've been given this mess; we said the same thing. It's no different. We got the Cold War, rivers that caught on fire, the hole in the ozone, sky high interest rates, Iran hostages, etc- there's always a mess that you didn't create that you'll have to deal with it seems. At least the way our society functions.

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...sounds like a bunch of future repulicans to me. Republicans are all self centered. What they want they expect to get or take from someone else. The repub party is based on big corporatocarcy, big neocons and big religion. The last, big religion, may be the worst because they use religion to validate that 'force their beliefs on others mentality'. The two self centered republican religions who think they are better than others are the Catholics, my religion, and their allies the white southern confederate states evangelical fundamentalists. Neither of these two somewhat poisonous relgions have any respect for anyone who thinks the least bit differently. They espouse the republican mantle of conservatism which to them means that the gov't use taxpayer dollars for the benefit of corporate welfare and wealthy people welfare and the welfare of their own selfish religions. The hallmark of these people is that they are devoid of Humility and Respect for others. And the killing of others to take away what rightfully belongs to others. The selfishness,theivery and lying is embodied in the Republican Bush, Cheney,Gonzales, Rove administration. Does everyone remember when when Karl Rove said the republicans would abolosh and destroy the Dem party by or before the year 2020. That is what conservatism and republicanism are all about. Strip everyone of their rights(shredded Constitution thanks to Gonzales and Yoo and the SCOTUS especially Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and Alito all of whom are Catholics) doing what the Popes prior and present tell them to do. The Catholic church has long been known to support those in wealth and power(Hitler and the Nazis) and always telling poor people that they would get their rewards in the kingdom of heaven when it sould have been and should be standing up for the poor since the beginnings of the catholic church and should be doing so especially now, when the entire world is being beseiged and attacked by the Bushie Repubs. Instead the Pope John Paul II gae us Ronald Reagan, Bush41 and Bush43. And the current Pope Benedict XVI is continuing this same policy. The Catholic Church is no longer a religion it is nothing more than a crummy political organization and extension of the republican party.

Talk about self centered and selfish... Republicans and their supporters are the very epitome of those. Meanwhile people in america, mexico, our troops, our vets(the entire VA system except under Max Clelland) the Afghani and especially the Iraqi people are dying and being maimed by these rethugs and their supporters in BIG RELIGION as well as their families. The aforementioned criminals talk about Family Values and Pro-Life. In Reality these total hypocrites violate the concept of Family Values and Pro-Life every day and have been doing so since at least the days of Ronald Reagan and unto this very day. Republicans and their supporters are the very epitome, the very zenith and at the same time the very nadir of selfishness and self centeredness.

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The Boomers screwed people my age royally. Everything costs too much...housing, college, health insurance, etc. If you're 100K in debt you're going to play along with the corporate masters to pay off your loans...and is this an accident? Hmmm, well, I'm not going to claim a conspiracy but I'm sure it doesn't keep the head of Bank of America up nights. Oh, and this credit card thing? Now you have to pay off your credit cards even after bankruptcy? What kind of B***S*** is that?

you boomers polluted the environment, drove the country into debt (twice!), outsourced our jobs to India, and made all of us narcissistic with your 'self-esteem' movement, and now you're blaming the victim.

Young people have Myspace pages? The horror.

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Well having lived in the US most of my life and having an international perspective, now living in Japan, I have to say that this piece is right on the mark. However I would like to add that it is not just limited to a group, but rather the whole United States. The whole country is (generally speaking) narcissistic. It is a part of what defines the American culture, and one of many reasons why I moved out of the country and am now happily an expat. I no longer wanted to be part of the narcissistic culture.

I do have to say it has been quite a learning experience shedding layers of American culture, but am happy to go through the painful experience of adjusting to a culture in which there is respect for elders, a sense of community and willingness to take care of one another at the expense of just the individual.

If anyone wants to get a sense of what American culture is really like, get out. It's hard to see when you're in the thick of it.

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The boomers grew up entitled to everything. Young people have every reason to try and do them one better. But the numbers of young people with 'problems' of one kind or another is unprecedented. Extremes in behavior can't be explained. Self destructive behavior is common. Having fun has become work and a high price is paid. Being self absorbed is a little like arguing with yourself or being the only one in the race. No fun at all. Thanks, ANNA

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People in their 20s are generally economically unstable, because whatever you may hear about the economy, there is a lack of entry level jobs with a living wage, in a big part because boomers and the generation slightly older than them won't retire. They can't afford to. We demand health insurance as soon as we're hired because we know that we could be financially ruined and possibly die due to inadequate care otherwise. We have a ridiculous national deficit. We never expect to get social security, and finally, we grew up watching corporations like Enron screw over their employees on purpose, and plenty of others do so through bad management, and lay off workers en masse. We have no illusions that the companies we work for are going to protect us, or that they generally view us as anything but expendable resources. Our schools were, in comparison to earlier generations, violent and underfunded. We look out for ourselves by necessity.
Of course, some of this is just age-old crap about the younger generation always being self-centered.

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I need to see more science and process before I buy into this study's results. What questions were they asking? For instance. And then how dis they determine which answers indicate narcicism, and why is that a bad thing?

I'm in my 20s, and I have marched in anit-war rallies with my fellow gen-y peers, as well as organized and held protests outside superstores and even raised money going door to door for the Florida Consumer Action Network. I've done a petition drive for Planned parenthood with my peers, and I have volunteered at a women's shelter with my peers. I keep saying with my peers because I don't mean to suggest that I am a good exception to the 20-something rule of being a jerk. Rather, I mean to say that we aren't all jerks, not any more than you yuppies who probably wrote the article and agree with it. We are the generation that gets more crap than any other one, I think because we intimidate you so you try to make sure we have so much debt that we can never fully participate in the world you accuse us of not caring about.

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They screwed this country up: politically, economically, and especially environmentally. So why should they still be allowed to vote? It's like letting a defendant with a proven criminal record sit on the jury to their own trial.
Sure, it can be argued that excluding Boomers from voting is undemocratic, seeing as they're citizens (albeit expensive ones) and all. But really, what kind of democracy have they left us? Our political system is dominated by the industrial war complex (Boeing, Lockheed Martin) and corporate influence. And this new generation's lives are limited so much more than the Boomers ever were. The Boomers could go and have a Summer of Love because they had the freedom to do so. And now the new generation is trapped in college under a mountain of debt and plastic qualifications, unable to do anything really meaningful. And then the Boomers bitch about us partying a little bit to escape the grind they've built for us.
The Boomers are, unforetunately, the status quo. And that needs to change. They represent all the old, outdated interests. Cut out corporate tax loopholes? No! Their wrinkly old, polluting business wouldn't be as profitable. Cut Social Security? No! Their petty wars and stupid governments have robbed its coffers and now they want this generation to fix it for them, because they're all retired and 'too old to do anything about it.'
Frankly, I just sick of the Boomers trying to lecture the younger generations on how to live when they've managed to fuck things up so royally.

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Materialistic values, spurred on by rampant capitalism and nationalism, have created a shallow culture which fails to meet the emotional needs of individuals. Those that have been raised in this culture feel a sense of emptiness and search relentlessly for something to fill the void, often looking for acceptance from others instead of self acceptance. In the pursuit of this acceptance, they strive to earn and spend as much as possible, believing that will gain them acceptance and happiness. They worship celebrities and reality television characters who emulate the characteristics they think others praise. The narcissism of youth today is not a result of high self-esteem at all. Rather, quite the opposite, it's a reflection of low self-esteem and a feeling of emptiness.

However, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The hyper-commercialization of our culture seems to be creating a growing population of 'generation y-ers' who are opposed to its principles. Thus, we see a kind of polarization where, on one side, there are the self-absorbed, narcissistic individuals and, on the other, a growing number of empathetic individuals with strong post-materialistic values. I think the former group has reached its pinnacle and will soon begin to decline as the latter group grows.

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Trends towards narcissism are very disturbing all by themselves, but what is really going on is much more disturbing.

The narcissism mentioned in this article is just what is happening on the surface. But beneath this shallow layer of contrived excess individuality is a deep layer of groupthink. People today are actually MORE alike and have MORE in common with each other than ever before, yet they think they are MORE different! This is very alarming!

This narcissism is largely contrived by corporate media control, but some of it is a subsconscious reaction to those same systems of controls which we know are bad on a primal level.

Obviously, the implied solution to this little narcissism dilemma is ... even more groupthink. But that will only exacerbate the situation, leaving the next generation even worse off.

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All we have to do is stop listening to the Baby-Boomers. Stop listening to them blame everyone else for everything, and stop listening to them whine about needing more of everything.

I'm going to stop calling them the Baby-Boomers and start calling them Generation Drug. Because even blame is an addictive drug.

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Whaaaaatt?!? Like, you mean, there's more to life than one's make-up, cell phone, crib, and ride? Sounds like the author is talking about the boomers as well. I'm 44. My parents only cared about making money, driving a nice car, living in a nice neighborhood, education their kids, and taking a vacation once a year. It's not as if my parents were putting their bodies on the line to stop the Viet Nam war.

Give this generation a break. They grew up with images of girls as sluts, guys as pimps, dot-com excess, global warming fears, HIV/AIDS, the Bush administration.
Please. It's not their fault. Madison Avenue/Hollywood brought
them up. Parents were too busy just paying the bills.

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I think that the older generation traditionally expects to be respected and admired by the younger generation - they're the ones who helped to create the world that the youth will inherit, after all. If you look at cultures all over the world, you find that this is true, and that there are traditions of respect for elders.

But what kind of world is the older generation leaving for the youngest? Time and time again, greed has won out over concern for the future. The public education system in the US has become more expensive. The 'peace dividend' that was supposed to come from the end of the Cold War never happened, because greedy older people wanted to keep their weapon sales cash flow high. Action wasn't taken on global warming, because greedy older people wanted to keep their fossil fuel sales high. The world that is being handed down could have been better cared for - don't you think?

Perhaps a better word for the majority of the boomers generation would be the Viagra generation - a generation in search of perpetual youth, that doesn't know how to grow old with dignity, and which has failed to hold up their end of the traditional bargain between the young and the old, and which now complains about the disdain and lack of respect with which they are viewed by the youngest generations.

Of course, there are exceptions to this 'greedy old bastard' stereotype. Still, the best lesson for the younger generation to learn from the boomers is how not to behave.

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Posting 1 of 2 - Ole Ullern

Gen Y has really been succeeded by Gen ZZZ. The majority of youth is trained by commercialism's distractions away from essential meaning, to snooze through life in a consumer's rut.

Our meeting-space in consensual reality has been turned into a device of guided hypnotism. The space where we could mostly learn from each other and explore reality together as a great common project, is now used to sustain a lifelong snooze for far too many. We're all contributing to the great snooze through our daily examples to others as snoozers. Humanity is today a self-deceived species. This self-deception shows up best in youth as they're learning to snooze their minds in the "right", politically correct way.

That’s true except for those young who object to the snooze, seeing how it's killing ourselves in the world by e.g. climate warming. But they naturally are persecuted for NOT snoozing - cf. last year’s Paris-riots, current Copenhagen-riots, other riots by youth objecting to the big snooze.

So whether youth snooze or riot, they're pestered to comply with the status quo of consensus-space. “Be a little awake, but not a lot.”

Consensus-space is anything we agree on between us as having meaning. Like the sounds of language, views of the world, taste of life, the smell of success, the feeling of well-being. - Even the pursuit of happiness is a consensus-game of what "happiness" is considered to be.

In book 4 of Plato's "Republic" these complaints are attributed to Socrates, regarding how young people are neglecting that: "the young are to be silent before their elders; how they are to show respect to them by standing and making them sit; what honour is due to parents; what garments or shoes are to be worn; the mode of dressing the hair; deportment and manners in general."

What is happening to our young people? They disrespect their elders, they disobey their parents. They ignore the law. They riot in the streets inflamed with wild notions. Their morals are decaying. What is to become of them? - Such is Plato's own complaint, some two and a half thousand years ago.

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise [disrespectful] and impatient of restraint." These are the words of Homer's supposed pal Hesiod, who is the other contemporary great source of Greek poetry, tales, mythology and mores.

Maybe they're right - only two and a half to three thousand years early. Maybe we notice what they're saying on this because they confirm current conditions. Or maybe antiquity is when the self-hypnotized snooze started. May be the critics of youth have been right all along, that each succeeding generation has fallen deeper into the snooze, and that only now it has become globally destructive, self-destructive and collectively suicidal.

It's a possibility: That the consensus we need to cooperate is blinding us to other circumstances, and the ignored conditions are having adverse effects accumulating to destroy us.

Then it would be correct that this has been going on since the beginning of our culture, meaning the old Greek. It's a meme we've carried along. Only now the warning of youth "coming to no good" is at long last becoming true, and we're all the youth referred to, previous or current. We’re all Gen ZZZ.

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Posting 2 of 2 – Ole Ullern

Youth is the transition from nature to culture. Biological kids becoming cultured adults, denying many of their biological parameters. That’s why the edges of the snooze-trance are showing up clearly. Youth is a beacon for adults, exposing what harsh demands culture puts on us all (even the demand to snooze is harsh on natural alertness) and revealing the fair objections to those demands.

We should all wake up to be eternally young, alert and responsive.

This, though, demands a “model of meaning” which western culture has dispensed with by neglecting to develope. A largely lacking model paradoxically denies its weakness through a tacit claim that there’s nothing to model. Meaning then has almost no part of life.

(“Almost” because meaning still exists, even though the nuances of personal meaning is reduced to “me” being an undifferentiated, blank white spot somewhere inside my head. Yet the question of “Who observes this “me”-spot when noone else is around?” gets no answer, and the issue is relegated to esoteric philosophy - while in reality it’s the core and source of everything we may experience.)

To regain full meaning in life, meaning needs a consensus-model. A map of meaning, using the subjective experiences of mind in the body as a deliberate metaphor. The vedic chakra-system of psychic centers and channels, and akupuncture-meridians is a rudimentary beginning that needs to be elaborated with western concepts and insights, so that all we know on the outside – in consensus-reality – may have a reference on the inside, in personal, subjective reality.

Youth are at the forefront of building that map through their questioning any existing suggested map in order to learn it. Until we’re tired out and stunted into accepting a very limited common map – of inner reality, of meaning, of focus, of life.

But the mapping of pre-consensus reality is a personal chore for everyone, simply because there’s no one (in) (t)here but our selves. Only the encouragement to do the subjective map-making can come from the outside. The work of connecting inside to outside is our own. Though much help can be had, when we have mutual trust.

The currently 6.66 billion human subjective maps may then be collated further into a consensual map which holds possibilities open, as in suspended judgement until practical conclusions needed. Rather than a map of our self limiting each of us to some small white spot in a material sea of surroundings, we can have a map with all the 99.9 % we have in common – genetically speaking - as the core.

Consensus-reality is a sub-set of our self, not the other way around. We are the sea, and material reality is an island of consensus in that sea. We can build and anchor that island well and harmoniously in the sea of reality, or not. Our feeling of what amounts to the deepest harmony is the template, the structure we must model our maps on whether we want to or not, because our deep feelings is where our notion of self continously emanates from, our mysterious current Source.

We can all mutually reinforce the encouragement to map the experience of that sea, the sensations inside the skin, our inner reality, in each other by doing the mapping and talking about the results, baffles and breakthroughs encountered. That way we may all be eternally young of mind.

And Narcissus is turned into a flower for all to enjoy.


Ole Ullern

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This stuff sounds really familiar... Wait, wait! I know why! It's the exact same thing that people said about my generation (late 'boomer/early Gen X) when we came of age.

And I am willing to bet that the 'greatest generation' said the same thing about their Boomer progeny.

Everything old is new again. And here's something to consider: being self-centered and narcissistic is hazard of youth. But they do outgrow it. Honest. They either outgrow it, or they find out how difficult it is to get and maintain a job, friends, spouses, etc. What was 'cute' as a kid isn't so cute as an adult, and the late twenties provide the reality-based cultural sandpaper and the polish that a young adult needs to succeed in the world.

These pampered, over-praised and indulged kids will get a larger than usual dose of social sandpaper, and they'll whine and cry about it in emo-posts on My Space, then they'll get a clue and really grow up.

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Has anyone agreeing with this article actually taken the time to think about why my friends and I are so narcississtic? Maybe I should clue you in, since you're so obsessed with the problem and not its causes.

Lets start with our families. 50% percent of first marriages, 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce. Thats alot of broken homes and step children. What are you saying to your child when you divorce his or her mother because 'things aren't working out between us'? You're saying that you don't care about anyones problems but your own, and you'll take the easiest way out if possible. Custody battles can be a bitch, and alot of times parents forget about the children that they're fighting over, and just want to screw the other over. Too many times, kids end up the monkey in the middle between divorced parents, listening to their complaints and switching sides depending on what parent they're with. Oh, I forgot, child abuse is also on the rise. Being abused at any age will foster insecurities, such as the narcississtic behavior so well observed by our elders.

Now lets start with the schools. The pressure is tremendous. In fact, I challenge everyone over the age of 40 to go back to high school and re-earn their diploma. Lets see how long you last. The only focus in high school now is to get into college. Kids are pressured into taking as many hard courses that they can on top of the required course load. Many of them join clubs, sports teams and organizations on top of that so they can polish up thier applications to sometimes up to twenty colleges. Schools are now requiring community service to graduate. Violence in schools is up, and so is zero tolerance. Kids can now get suspended or expelled now for things they do outside of the school, where frankly, it's not the school's place. Students are so pre-occupied with themselves and what they need to do to just to get out of highschool alive, that they tune out everything else.

Oh, and have I mentioned how hard it is to find a job? It's gotten to the point where everyone in my grade last year had to take a course on writing a resume. They actually cut time out of the Senior English curriculum so we could write resumes, cover letters, refrences and even go on mock interviews with local companies. I went to IBM for an IT position. I don't know which is worse: That it was the only thing usefull I learned in highschool, or that it still took me six months to find a decent job, with benifits and 40+ hours. On top of a full time college course load mind you. I can't imagine how other kids are doing. Jobs are being outsourced in record numbers, and your now starting to find college graduates working minimun wage jobs just to survive. I know, I worked with two of them at my previous job. $8/hr is not enough to pay student loans.

Those are just the three main problems we face today. I haven't even begun to talk about the social pecking order thats been created because of this, or the materialism that helps feed it. We didn't create the world we've lived in thus far, it was created for us by our parents. We 'don't care' because we don't have time too, we're busy living up to everyone elses expectations. We're 'narcississtic' because we have no one to go to for support, we only have the groups of other kids that we made ourselves.

In fact, if you actually spoke to ten of us, I think you'd be surprised at what you found; I mean an in depth conversation about a variety of things, not some simple personality test. I don't think you'd find all that many truly narcississtic people out there. What you'd find is a generation that wants to help but can't because we're so God damn busy right now. And it pisses us off to no end about it.

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i would recommend that we all (ALL) work on cultivating empathy. it makes you happy and it makes other people happy and could probably save the world. just read some thich nhat hahn or the dalai lama.

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Talking about a rich, nuanced psychological (and mythological) concept like this in such a generalized way reminds me of how words like "power", "love", or "freedom" get thrown around with no conceptual clarity.

If we're talking about 'infantile' narcissism, which has a variety of causes, I see it everywhere. It's our culture, as this writer seemingly implies. The scary part is how desperate it all is: meanness, as almost always, stemming from woundedness, almost a guarantee in a materialistic, self-obsessed-parents society. For that matter, we're not just talking aobut the "under-30s" crowd. I see few "mature", compassionate, liberated-from-excessive-ego adults who are under maybe 70!!!!

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Now, I'm a "Boomer." An old one at that.

The Boomers were taught all wrong. We were taught "others first" and "group before individual."

Bullfeathers. First of all, the individual is more important than the group. After all, groups and societies exist for the benefit of individuals. Families exist for the benefit of members. Without individuals there would be no groups. And, it's individuals who do all the work, individuals who feel the joy and the pain.

Individuals need to put themselves first, for *you* are your first responsibility. How can you do anything for anyone else if you haven't taken care of yourself?

This is why I am a fierce individualist.

The so-called "greatest generation" wasn't. It is true that they were honest, did an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. But so do the generations that followed. In fact, our tax burden is so high that we do a full day's work for a half day's pay.

It was the boomers that were *really* the greatest generation! (Of course, I am partial.) We questioned authority. We hit the streets and protested wrongs such as the war in Vietnam. Of course, there are anti-war protests now, but they are anemic by comparison. They obediently grovel for permits and head for "free speech zones." This whole country is a free speech zone!

That's all I'll say. Taking care of yourself is good. Self-esteem (earned, that is) is good.

See: http://www.alicelillieandher.blogspot.com

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The results of the study might be accurate - 30% more kids today have higher Narcissistic tendencies. We can look at kids we know in our community and see both responsible caring kids, but yes there are also a lot of kids concerned with nothing more than buying more coveted stuff than their neighbour.

The question is why? I don't see how the study's authors can claim it is due to increased self-esteem - the most insecure people are typically the most self-absorbed, which people with a strong sense of self are usually more compassionate. There's also an increase in depression among kids today - is that also because of too much self esteem? I call BS.

If anything, I would speculate it is caused by the excessive Capitalist, consumerist, individualist mileu in which the kids grow up. There is little sense of community, so they have to build their own "tribes" - strong ties to peer groups are an important part of adolescence, even more so nowadays - and often it is shared tastes in consumption that bring kids together. They listen to the same kind of music, or wear the same kind of clothes. Competitiveness is the true value (a few lessons in cooperation in kindergarten notwithstanding) they absorb from the world around them. There is incredible pressure to appear confident in order to get ahead (if you don't believe me, open a teen magazine). There's a fear of failure - even more so because in the USA morality is tied to wealth (the poor are seen as personally deficient, lazy or immoral). It's a hell of a world to grow up in. The tradition of civics isn't encouraged, something which has been a problem since the 80s.

Condemning kids for growing up to fit into the dysfunctional world they did not create: now that's a lack of empathy.

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In a nation where a human sociopathic (bordering on psychopathic) imbecile can effectively steal the highest office in the land for eight grueling years and cause more death and destruction worldwide and to "his" own troops than any other President in American history, it is a wonder, with this group of psychopaths in the White House from the time this generation was in middle school killing thousands a day in video games, that they ALL aren't raving psychopath idiot mass murderers.

Not to mention a mass media, that at the direction of these bastards, focuses primarily on other hopeless suicidal losers like Anna Nichole and Britany (I am the antiChrist DUH) and elevates similar human refuse to Greek God status.

One listen to the mindless goose-stepping crap that spews out of the brat on "the View"'s "Survivor" mouth (and I wouldn't have know WHERE the hell she came from if I wasn't told) tells the tale, and she's supposed to be one of the "smart" ones.

A friggin' MIRACLE. Blame them? Hell no, for what, growing up in HELL ITSELF?

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Our whole society is very narcississtic. We are divided into classes and the lower class is getting bigger every year.
To me there has been a definite shift starting somewhere around the silicone valley years. All that money to be made if one just 'made the right moves'.
My boomer generation ended up going from 'concerned about the world' mentality, to a 'dog eat dog' stance.
Some (not most) children of this generation were indeed treated special just for the fact that they existed. Now their kids are spoiling their kids.
I remember when poor hardworking people were considered the 'salt of the earth'...now they are considered somehow defective and 'losers' who didn't do something right.
I have neices and nephews who were ferried to soccer,piano,ice hockey and took their trips to Europe the whole time they were growing up. They are the most unpleasant group of people to be around and they are repeating the same thing with their kids.
I feel ashamed at what we have become and it embarrasses me when I look around at the contrasts in the way people live.

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Come on guys, I know that the editiors see probably a hundred articles a month, surely they remember when folks were saying this about gen x (hate that term).

I think that you find narcissistic people of all ages and identities. Furthermore young people might be more full of themselves simply because they are young. Over time we al get more mature.

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Brandishing terms like 'narcisicim' like they have some sort of scientific meaning troubles a great deal more than whether or not my generation is unduly arrogant. I'm quite sure that parts of it are very arrogant, concieted and materialistic -- but I could say the same of the babyboomers. Obviously things are different in 'these days', but I hardly think you can say better or worse. My parents, who are white, grew up thinking that it was perfectly acceptable to discriminate against backs and that it was okay to bomb the shit out of 'chinks' in indochina (a task my father proudly participated in); these are much worse forms of arrogance -- showing a much more profound lack of empathy -- than what's being cited in this article.

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I am the parent of an 18 year old son with disabilities and grew up with a father who was blind since his early twenties. I have been around people with disabilities my whole life and as an attorney I specialize in special education and disabilities law. Whatever we say about this generation, they are in fact the first truly inclusive generation, at least in my experience. It seems very natural for them to include all of their classmates, no matter what challenges and limitations anyone has, in both their social events and their extracurricular activities. Students with disabilities are visible, active to the best of their abilities and encouraged to participate. I see much more resistance to inclusion on the part of the adults in the educational system than on the part of the young people, both in secondary and post secondary education. I also observe much more mingling among students of different races, nationalities and economic circumstances, I see much less of the separation between the "jocks" and the "brains," as they were called in my day. In short, what I see going on at the schools, at least in my state of Maine, is a significant decrease in the sort of alienation that has driven some young people to engage in violence.

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I don't buy into this argument, but I definitely will say that Facebook, YouTube, and Myspace are shaping my generation in a terrible way. I know kids that waste hours a day looking at people they have never met. Others update their interests and favorite music on a daily basis, as if it is a definitive reflection of the people they are. I myself am a member of facebook. I can't say anything more than that it is basically useless. Why would I want to look at my friends' favorite music and interests? Shouldn't I learn these things through ACTUAL SOCIAL INTERACTION? I've used it for communication, but with email and cellphones, this is just excessive. If anything, the "under-30 generation" is becoming very strange. It's just weird to know that some people spend as much as 2 hours a day on these sites and use it as a way to establish an identity. I also find it strange that people of my generation are more motivated to find "crazy" videos on YouTube than to read.

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I enjoyed it on MSNBC a week ago. Yes people are self-involved. Is that news to any one that a bunch of bald apes only care about what directly effects them?

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This is a direct correlation with the over consumption of media and capitalist ideals. The media plays out individuals roles, status and a genral place in the world for each individual depicted through tv shows movies or the "REAL"est of the real, reality TV. For example the Real World creates stereotypes for individuals watching to either emualte exactly, assimilate traits or discard the stereotype as an individual unfit to his or her socialized standards. If one watches these types of programs more than they say: read a book or take a walk etc. This then sets the pallet of who they can and ultimatley will become. Through the excess of watching any type of media we limit ourselves on what reality really is (if there is such a thing anymore) and our natural experinces.
This is where the Capitalist Ideals and narcissism come into play. With a limited pallet of identities individuals who fit into this excess of media categorey are forced to precieve that these stereotypes are the only personality traits out there to choose from. This creates a vaccum of self loathing, over bearing need to belong or fit into that type and lastly an aggressive side that comes with having to protect ones individual stereotype choice. Capitalistic ideals only further the competion now not only economically but socially too.
An American teenager or college student is constently marketed to. It's the Brands and Media's job to make sure they stick to a certain stereotype. I remember back in middle school when there were skaters and posers. But weren't they all just consumers of certain types of goods made to segregate over who could or couldn't actually skateboard.
This is not a new happening it's just an evolving blob of consumer culture that leaves patrons parched and ad execs moist over the idea of tantilizing a new product over the Y generation.

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A major problem is the television; how much social development and consciousness can a person achieve when a major part of one's time is spent sitting in front of the TV with it's corporate propaganda, relating to one-way glitz instead of another person? I got a reply to a complaint from the FCC the other day; they referred to me as a "consumer". That's how people are defined in the US now: consumers.

The educational system also is designed to create workers and consumers, not aware and developed human beings, competent interpersonal communicators, or critical thinkers. Memorize the answers, spit them back for the test, and get your cookie. If you fail you are tagged a "loser". Selfishness is the lesson of the day.

Young people develop social consciousness in spite of the consumer-oriented cultural hegemony, not aided by it. It's difficult to grow up human in an anti-humanistic society. The right wing "every man for himself" world view has damaged our youth.

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As a childless middle age boomer, my observation is that it seems to be split about 50/50 between self-centered "the world revolves around ME" young adults, and those who are more thoughtful.

As far as the teenagers go, well, right now my biggest gripe is the fact that nobody's bothered to teach them any manners, also know as "common courtesy". That's pretty uncommon these days.......

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the piece makes absolutely no mention of the toxic effects of the bush regimes, reagen sell out, corporate media, and the entire marketing blitz that has degraded and corrupted a generation of people in favor of consumerist mumbojumbo.
capitalisms assumptions about human kind are not benign.
and the results are for all to see.

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Perhaps you might want to consider reading this truly helpful advice to deal with this problem
On Marriage

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These are the things this article reminded me of. I work at a University of over 10,000 students and I have seen Helicopter Parenting extend into the college years. Parents regularly call administrative offices on campus on behalf of their sons or daughters. The Television show "My Super Sweet 16" is an extreme example of what happens when parents do too much for their children and put them on too high a pedestal. Few things annoy me more than a first year college student who can't put two sentences together correctly, or who can't pick up a phone to resolve their own problems. And yet I still find hope in every new class of students. For every student who seems like they will never survive outside of the nest, there are several more who break through the generalizations expressed in this article.

Spoiled kids can come out of any generation, but lately it seems like there are more contributing factors than ever. You can look around and see it in action: Busy parents over-scheduling their busy children, constant fear that a child's life will be ruined if they don't get into the right college... or even the right middle-school, and the sheltering of children from risks both physical and emotional.

It makes me appreciate the fact that my parents supported me in healthy ways, and that they also empowered me with the freedom to make my own mistakes and learn from them.

I'm not sure technology deserves much blame here. Technology enables parents to hover, and it certainly gives narcissists a platform to strut their stuff. Technology also provides platforms for artists, scholars, and others who want to express themselves as well as learn from others. I participate in multiple online communities for photographers. Negative attitudes and poor grammar/spelling are not tolerated. Technology just offers a new set of tools. Don't blame the tools. Examine the real causes of the problem.

Sean

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Do you really want to better understand the psychology of this behavior? Read The Last Horizon: Feminine Sexuality & The Class System. It presents a detailed, but very entertaining, description of the herd instinct in America and how it has affected us all so deeply.

The Last Horizon

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I am SO unbelievably sick of hearing this crap from the HYPOCRITE generation.

You say young folks don't have empathy??? Where was "your" generations empathy when you abandoned the 60s and turned to coke and heroin in the 70s to numb yourselves into the planet-destroying-apathy that brought us the Yuppie/SUV 80s??

It is up to the next few generations to clean up a mess of unbelievable proportions - all of it created by the so-called "peace and love generation" that is completely obsessed with their own self-image: the fight against aging seems to be concern #1 amongst you people while you rape the planet for every last drop of blood you can get from it and pass the bill on to your kids!!!

I'm sorry if the kids don't seem to have much "empathy" towards you guys, maybe its because your generation is filled to the gills with two-faced self-obsessed lazy sycophants who have left the kids with a future of living in concrete bunkers on a planet that will soon look like the surface of the moon!!

Oh but that couldn't be YOUR fault at all now could it? noo... it must be television or technology that is destroying the world... not the people running the show... not the people with the power... its not the "parents" that have a severe problem being human... it must be the children.

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I am a 23 year old college student double majoring in Communications (Video-Film production) and Sociology at the University of Miami. Living in Miami gives me a daily helping of narcassism at it's worst. I think it is incredibly one sided to say that the problem lies only with the under thirty crowd. The US as a whole has become more narcissistic. The instrusion of media into every aspect of our lives has created a culture in which young fresh images are thrust into our faces every minute of the day. From billboards to tv to the internet, young is a commodity not just an age group. Look at the vast amounts of plastic surgery being done not just by the young but also by the over thirty crowd, in a futile attempt to fend off the inevitable aging process. This may be my narcassism kicking in, but I think the old who think this is a problem are narcassistic themselves and are just jealous. On a more serious note, I do believe that this is just a symptom of good old sociology. Senior members of any group will always look back on the past with fondness. They will never understand what it is like to be young in the current time. I am sure when I am sitting in my wheelchair pissing myself i will look back to 2007 and ask what went wrong with the kids today. I will have no idea what they went through and how they had to adapt so I wil judge them by my long past rose colored memories of being young.

Secongly....
A college degree no longer guarantees you a job (or at least a good job) as it did in the past. Now adays you are judged much more on your appearance, ideas, shrewdness, and the extracurricular activities you have participated in (jobs, volunteering, clubs, student government ect...), than any generation before. We have not chosen to be a part of this system but have adapted to the constant challenges of a very concrete system that was set up long before we came of age. Perhaps the main difference between us and the baby boomers is that where they chose to fight the system we choose to exploit it.

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I think the one before mine was a little better on average than mine and the latter ones are each getting a little worse on average. I call it the declining gene pool. Just think of what the future has in store for us all.

And something I'd really like to know is: What would some people talk about if they did not have kids? In the past twenty years I've been around too many people that can talk of nothing other than their children. I am glad my parents did not find me the center of their universe. I would have hated to have seen how pathetic they'd have been.

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Watch Idiocracy. It's funny and gives a glimpse into the future of Earth if people of lesser brain power keep breeding with each other.

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i dont buy anything these tests say. how can one capture a group through a set of questions that that analyst himself put together. i wonder if these poor students realized what they were doing. i never take one of these test or would allow anyone i know to take one. now we have a study based on this reserchers certainty of his 'results'. perhaps it says more about the adult culture that wants to believe all this. the kids are no good, self indulgent and not like us. and i remember somewhere our rock and roll culture being damned as well etc. the list goes on. technology perhpas has more to do with changes in relationships and such. and how come feminist oriented cultureal shifts are never studied and if anything negative is mentioned condemned and lost. . there are just too many academics who need to publish to survive. perhaps they are the true narcissist.

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nm

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Yes- college costs a lot these days. I agree with you there- I am horrified at what it costs to attend the school I teach at, and many are more expensive by far. And true, I graduated with minimal debt, and that included grad school. However- it is YOUR generation that insists that every dorm room has to be wired for internet access, and all of the campus with WiFi. Your generation that has to have all the toys- DVD's, TV's, cable, i-PODS, microwaves, the latest cellphones, digital cameras, snowboards, cars, the works.

When I moved into my own place while in college, I was grateful to be given some old ratty towels and my bed from when I was a kid. I pieced together the rest at the local discount store- cheap utensils and a pot or two. The expectations today are so vastly different. Then there's spring break- where do your Gen Y friends go on break? I know my students go to some amazing places- and I've never been to most of them! I never even conceived of going someplace warm during spring break- I just worked more hours. And yes, I worked my way through school at cushy jobs like a 40 hr/week McDonald job while going to school full-time.

So- while I'll admit that the cost of many schools are outrageous- you're the ones lining up to go there and shell out the bucks. There are still plenty of lower cost schools around where you can obtain a good education without going into serious debt. Then, ditch the electronic toys, and the SUV, stay home on break- and maybe you'll have time to get more involved in the world and consider doing something useful when you graduate.

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So, the current generation is narcissistic? Look at the culture and so-called civilization in which they find themselves--the most narcisstic country on earth, self-centered, unconcerned about other "lower" peoples, extremely violent and self-destructive...This generation is simply a reflection of their entire culture. That any of them have managed to develop any empathy and humility is great, but they are the exception.

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Both young and old are realizing we are fouling our own nest, and we are seeing the slow molting from an "I" culture to a "we" culture with those paying attention to Global Warming, etc.

The realization that consumption is our self destruction is leading to what I see as "Cause Related Marketing 2.0" - with Auto dealers teaming up to include carbon offsets with the purchase of that cool new ride.

I believe we'll see this trend continue, however the peaking of oil and natural gas will throw in the biggest monkey wrench of all as prices skyrocket and the economy collapses anyway.

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Is the only way to describe this article. Have we forgotten that we boomers were called a "generation of tyrants" by Time magazine almost 40 years ago? By the way, this is the same generation that was going to change the world through love, flower-power, conscious-raising acid trips and rock music.

Didn't we chastise our parents for being selfish, materialistic war-mongers? Didn't we end up becoming the most polluting, wasteful, mass-consuming, SUV-driving, born again capitalists bastards? Didn't one of us become the worst president, and perhaps one of the worst leaders of a great nation ever in history?

Give me a break...generation "Y" couldn't do worse than us.

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Damnit, why does Alternet decide to place frivolous stories such as these front and center?

It's beyond obvious that a couple of the other 'secondary' stories for today, namely "Washington Is Losing Its Grip on Latin America" and "Is Big Oil Going to Control Iraq’s Reserves?" are of far greater importance than this trifling BS.

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...it fits American culture pretty well. I have not traveled much, but with what little I have done, "looking good" is almost universal. If it comes ahead of "being good" and even "feeling good," then it works as a catch phrase for the most popular way to waste our lives.

I happen to believe that we only get one life, one chance to make the most of it. "Looking good" is phony. Living by that rule makes phonies of us. As one gets older (I am an oldie [but goodie? not goodie goodie, however]) it gets easier to spot the phonies. But you can fool all the people some of the time. I keep learning to admit my foolishness in order to avoid being a phony full-time.

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I agree with the above posts, Empathy is the key to developing meaningful and lasting friendships, and being happy.

We are such a complacent society.

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For example, beyond the ranks of the upper 25% of the hereditary middle class you will find a working class America sorely in need of "self esteem" education. IOW, one suspects that this whole "narcissism" issue is distinctly an "affliction" of the privileged class. So the real question concerns the maldistribution of "self-esteem".

And yes, youth is the time to implant self-esteem.

And I agree, the Baby Boomers screwed up big time. And I am a (younger) Baby Boomer, so I am quite free to say what a bunch of lying, treacherous, greedy Ronald Reagan - giving, invade Iraq - deciding SOBs they are. Smoking dope and watching Saturday Nite Live at the end of the 1970's while Bzrezniski was cooking up Jihad on the Hindu Kush together with "Americas' Ally" Saudi Arabia, giving the world Al Qaeda. Ronnie Reagan loving wise guys, huh.

I hate my generation (with self-esteem, of course :-) The biggest bunch of over-hyped failures and FU's in human history. The "Caligula" generation. Worse than Caligula.

What a dishonor, what a disgrace!

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As a generation Y'er myself, I take issue with the purported causes of growing generational problems. Far more convincing might be the assumption that perhaps increased intrusive consumerism may have more to do with self-absorbtion than bunk parenting or over-positive education. No generation has ever been so heavily sold to.

Many friends of mine are in their mid twenties with little or no plans to move out on their own. For many of them the jump is impossible to make on a minimum wage job. Anyone living on their own knows it isn't. You spend less, you buy less,, you waste less. Why are young people increasingly with their parents into their late twenties: Our generation can no longer sacrifice our buying addictions.

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Perhaps what we need is definition. It is my understanding that "boomers" were the children of returning WWWII vets, which means they were born between 1945 and 1955/57 (or now currently 50 to 60, teenagers between 1958 and 1968/71).

The children of "boomers" would have been born between 1965 and 1975 (now currently 40 to 50, teenagers between 1978 and 1983). Gen X?

Their children would have been born between 1975 and 1985 (now currently 30 to 40) and as well as I can tell, these are the SUV driving, self-aggrandizing, soccer moms, drug-the-kids for displaying "difference" from their peers. Gen Y?

Their children (now currently teenagers to young adult) are who this article is talking about, no?

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If it's geting harder to make a living, people will fight ever harder over the scraps. Maybe we ought to stop beating up on each other and start looking at who's really causing our problems--the rich and their Republican submissives. A lot of what you've both described is 'my mom sucks' or 'my daughter sucks', which is kind of like being feminist because your boyfriend was a jerk, or antifeminist because your girlfriend dumped you. (Or as in my case, you can't get a girlfriend in the first place...) there are so many people in any given generation that your individual family member is a very small piece of the pie.

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it's that these problems are really caused by hard-core porn, girls being called guys, and Dubya Dubya Dubya

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The focus on age group, while bringing the topic into discussion, distorts the tendencies of an entire society. All age groups demonstrate personality disorders. Narcissism is merely among them; let's include Anit-social, Borderline, and Histrionic with Narcissism here.

Our cultural attitudes and the pressures from government, media, religion (driven by the individuals in gov't, media, religion) push us to develop personality disorders of the dramatic variety. To resist developing personality disorder is to resist power, wealth, and comfort.

So the leaders of our society are foocked-up because, to be drawn to President, and the horrific steps that need be taken to accomplish or attain it (particularly the Bushco goes about this) require severe distortions of personality. [Y'all can think of plenty of horrifying leadership examples.]

What do we do? We (culturally) own very few limits that filter twisted-persons from achieving great status, wealth, and power. The more of them get it, the more they'll draw like-minded, warped individuals into power positions, and the more distorted our culture becomes! Doh!

What now, navel gazers?

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.. I feel it's cultural. Since the 80s, the Reagan era and the resurgence of the fascist corporatists, people have become, from the Yuppies making a million before they are 30 to GenX being over educated working in a paper hat, far more self involved. Our bland corporate culture is something people fit thier square peg egos into, and it's created people who don't have the awareness to give a flying fuck about someone else. After all, you're in competition with that person for jobs, objects, and sex.

No one in north american culture cares about anything but themselves. thier identity is bought from the store, you can change it anytime. Today I'm a punk, yesterday I wore a tie.

It's all so empty. People just have sex now, no one makes love.

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Alternet's main Valentine's Day article

I quote:

People who want to see the world bettered -- made more just and honest and kind -- often set their gaze on the farthest horizon. Our instinct, as progressives with global perspectives, is to obsess over situations far afield of our own backyards -- Indonesia, Sudan, the Middle East. These situations stir a sort of Peace Corp romance within us, a love affair with that which might make us feel gallant and extraordinary for caring.

I am as guilty as the next bleeding heart of focusing the majority of my energies on problems I see as compelling in large part because of their strangeness to me. But when I sit with myself, quiet my righteous indignation, my whiny white guilt, my attachment to the idea that I am a humble truth teller among powerful fibbers, I realize that it is not the world outside of me that is in most desperate need of my world-changing instincts. It is the world inside of me, the world between me and my beloved.

We are so often wide awake about the decisions our elected officials make in the political, public realm and so asleep about our private choices. Our relationships can be sites of radical transformation but are so often soporifics. They have the capacity to tilt the whole world in the direction of ingenuity and kindness, and yet we are so often looking outside of ourselves for the tipping point.

After several dozen posters failed to disassociate themselves from the above confession, I just had to point out the obvious in a comment:


"As I type this, there have been 39 comments posted, yet I have not yet read one Alternet poster disagreeing with the psychological motives and obvious delusions of grandeur delineated above and requoted below:

a love affair with that which might make us feel gallant and extraordinary for caring.

when I sit with myself, quiet my righteous indignation, my whiny white guilt, my attachment to the idea that I am a humble truth teller among powerful fibbers

All of us would be much better people if we would focus on objective reality instead of one's subjective self-image and psychological whims. This can easily be done by behaving honorably and ethically is one's community and family life, following the principle of subsidiarity. "


Sounds like too many alternet readers agreed with the author that all their self-righteous concern and activism is merely a means to the end of repairing their self-esteem that they have failed to derive from their personal or professional lives.

How pathetic. Now Alternet posters beat up on under-30s for being "narcissistic". Pot, meet kettle.

Remembering how I felt about myself in my 20's, I don't fault young people for being "narcissistic" and focused on self. Like myself in my 20s, they have been parasites most of their lives and have failed to achieve and endure anything of consequence.

In order to achieve what Reese Witherspoon's character in Legally Blonde called "a strong sense of self", a certain degree of focus on developing one's own productive skills is exactly what is needed.

If some whiny, guilt-ridden, self-righteously indignant liberals have a problem with that, then I urge all 20-somethings to turn your backs on the Left and shrug like Atlas. They obviously have their own self-esteem issues to deal with and therefore have zero moral authority.

I should know. I was under their spell in my 20s but I'm a much happier and positive person now that I'm in my 30s and have achieved and endured a bit.

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this article nails the symptoms of "generation me" without trying to go into the why, which, understandably, is topic for a whole new essay or book.

so there are several speculations on the why. whatever the underlying reason you might agree with, there is always one institution that benefits from the status quo: the system. all the narcissistic droids consume and consume in a numbed out effort to fill their empty shells with meaning. instead of finding meaning in relationships, helping others or even accomplishments, they find it in new clothes, a new TV show or how many comments they get on their myspace page... and all the things that "I" want - things for ""me"

A young Lama (Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's son) Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, a spoken word artist, has made a video about "generation me"

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Searching for Purpose in a Brutal World by Bretigne Shaffer

As human beings, we do hunger for extreme experience, and to be passionate about something. Admittedly, risking death is at the top of the list of "extreme experiences," but there are other experiences that do not rely on violence, that provide powerful inspiration – and yes, sheer terror – for their participants. As anyone who has ever performed for a live audience knows, the terror before going on stage can only be compared to that of going into battle. And the thrill of having completed one’s best performance is a high that defies comparison.

Fighting evil is sometimes necessary, and where one can do it without becoming evil oneself, it is a worthy goal. But it is not our purpose in being here. Likewise, it may sometimes be necessary to destroy, and there are certainly enemies worth fighting. But to make destruction the focus of one’s life or to build a life around one’s enemies is not only unnecessary; it is contrary to our purpose as human beings. Our purpose is not power. It is not what the headlines tell us it is, nor what politicians would have us believe it to be. It is something much more valuable, and much more enduring.

And perhaps the best way to fight evil is to expose its banality, its cheapness. To reveal that it’s really not that "interesting" after all. And then to put forward the radical notion that, as human beings, we are happiest when we contribute to the happiness and well being of others and to humankind, and perhaps that is our only purpose in being here. When we can replace the cheap thrills of violence with the genuine excitement of creativity, maybe then things will start to get really interesting.


And from her father, Butler Shaffer: To End All Wars

It is the essence of responsible behavior for individuals to experience all the costs of undertakings of which they approve. Most of us prefer to hide behind and take refuge in our ignorance. Perhaps pictures of dead and maimed soldiers and children can help overcome this trait, tempering the enthusiasm with which so many people feed their children to the war machine.

How do we dismantle the ego-boundary structures in our mind, and walk away from the citadels of state power? Is it possible for us to discover how to be an American – or an Australian, Norwegian, or Egyptian – without attaching existential importance to that fact? If so, we will likely end the divisions between ourselves and others and end our contributions to the war system that is the state. We will then be able to embrace our children and grandchildren with the love we have hitherto given to the nation-state, and no longer be willing to sacrifice their lives in the playing of this insane game.

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Off to update my myspace and watch american idol. lol.

I don't think the problem is that my generation (20-30) is becoming more narcissistic, it's that the whole country is.

I went to SDSU, perhaps the study was conducted mainly there.... that could explain it, hahahaha

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I agree that there seems to be two very different camps- the narcissists and the ones who are evolved in many ways, and more so than in other generations.
But, I see so many parents who SEEM to care, seem to be involved, but aren't. They're boasting about what their kids do, they want their kids seen in designer outfits, driving SUV's, etc. But, they don't stop to look AT their kids. Who is that being living in this body I created; and what does he/she really want, think, etc. How rare is it now to see a parent correct a child who is publicly screaming? They just ignore the kid, and let the waitress, store clerk, etc. be the babysitter.
I hear 20 somethings (and younger) say things like "I'm moving to Hollywood where I will be a famous actor within half a year, then I'll become a rockstar". I believe they've gotten their concepts of reality from sitcoms. Where all your dreams can be had in half an hour; or all your problems (no matter how huge) can be solved in the same amount of time. IT's too sad. However, huge kudos to the ones who are too advanced to be drawn into this stuff. They are facing hard times. I might add that I see from my GenY brother that being narcissistic is "in". It's everywhere in the media.

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To state that the gen “y” ers are shallow is correct. The depth of the shallowness is bottomless. To say they are not equipped when they get to college is an understatement. They disregard knowledge and have no time for listening or learning. They are utterly vacuous. There is no hope for most of them. And they, unfortunately, will never learn they are shallow, since they have no depth and no soul. They are the lost generation and they will never have to go anywhere. Someone’s god helps us, and them…

lastmanoutlives

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I believe all the gen-this, gen that, boomer come directly from marketing research; why would anyone use these descriptors which have been invented by people who want to fleece you?

It doesn't have anything to do with reality anyway.

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Some of you really should check this out ...


Society of the Spectacle

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I'm a GenXer (born in the 60s), and I remember people - mostly baby boomers - saying the same thing about my generation.

In my experience, I have found millenials to be nicer, more practical, and less self-absorbed than baby boomers. Studies show that millenials don't do drugs as often as the boomers did. Perhaps this is because there isn't as much social pressure among the millenials to be "hip" or "cool." Sure, they're inundated (as most Americans are) with American Idol and Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, but many of them know better than to take them seriously. And while every generation has its own peer pressures, none of them expect to be worshipped like the Boomers do.

Boomers are famous for never growing up, and never being able to face the fact that they're no longer teenagers; even though they're approaching their sixties. I used to go to a poetry reading in San Francisco, where most of the men were aged hippies (the women were varying ages). These men pretended it was still the sixties and they were these bad-boy young studs any woman would die to go out with. It was really sad. One of them thought and acted like I was desperate to go out with him, even though I didn't take him seriously at all as someone to date because I thought he was an overgrown child.

While there are definitely players and immature people from later generations, I have never seen them pretend they were rockstars to the extent the boomers do.

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I agree with the premise of this article, but I think it tells of rampant insecurity, not overconfidence. Narcissists are among the most insecure people on the planet. They require everybody to see them as special and better than everyone else because they cannot see themselves objectively seperate from their social status. A threat to their perceived social status is a threat to them personally, and they react violently to it.

No group is more bombarded with propaganda (known as advertising) to be insecure and to use groupthink than children. A well-honed mass culture of advertising can't help but breed narcicism.

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Where I work we frequently hire people under 30. Most times we are disapointed. They expect to walk in the door and be treated like kings or queens with everyone doting on their every word. We have had a few success storys but they are few and far between. These kids and I'll call them that until they grow up, want everything. Top pay (no responsiblity), work when they feel like it, and above all they can be extremly rude. I have witnessed sexual harrasment to coworkers, rudeness to customers, the list is endless. If you call them on it you are made out to be the bad guy. When they are eventually let go it's high drama. It doesn't matter what their upbringing has been like. As a matter of fact some of the worst offenders have had expensive educations, with pretty much everything handed to them. We had one kid who has a degree from Tufts and is currently in a law school that mommy and daddy are paying for. I overheard him call two female employee's cu__s. I couldn't believe my ears. This same kid wants to get into politics. Lord help us. I had to work hard to get an education, a decent job, raise a family, and put the kids through school. I know this sounds like a rant but I can't believe what I see on a daily basis. Where does this sense of entitlement come from? The future of our country and above all our world is in their hands. Is that scary or what?

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LET'S GET THOSE SELFISH COLLEGE KIDS!

But when push comes to shove - it is about the individual and ask yourself what have I done in the last 24 hours to help the current situation in the world? Or are you another 1st world victim ? Be it of the bush admin or those terrifying college kids with their mtv? Or is it the faux left or the Israelis or the babyboomers blah blah blah. Who is really to blame?

Every time I read through an alternet article and then the comments and everytime I want to open my mouth and post I have to ask myself this. Otherwise this is just another myspace, another self congratulating waste of time.

I dated someone I thought was a massive narcissist - but I took a step back and realized that in the situation I was the one being the self centered pig. And on top of it telling myself I was the victim of their self centered ness.

While reading through this I noticed an advert on top for a kid with two teeth showing through his upper lip. Awesome - I can give some money there - it's 5am and I've wasted all of my other chances to help others today so I can squeeze that in.

What else can I do? Go find some college freshman and tell him/ her to be less self centered? Hack myspace? While there's a kid in Africa with a messed up face? While we're still in Iraq, while there is no universal health care?

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How's this different from Myspace? A lot of sound and fury signifying nothing- a lot of barking by a bunch of blame everybody else lazy impotent I'm socially active through my comments on Alternet hypocrites.

wah wah wah it's the college kids, it's the bushies, it's the babyboomers, it's the Israelis, it's the _________.

If that's not you great - what have you done to help the world today? Do you buy gasoline?

if this pisses you off - then see my other comment right before - I'm not better. I'm just sick of seeing all this for what it is - a bunch of moralizing from a bunch of inactive posers.

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Wow, there's a whole lot of generalization and name-calling going on here. I'm pretty sure that all "boomers" didn't screw up the world and all "millenials" aren't all narcissistic. I think the first thing we should probably do is reject labels like that. Seems to me that all they do is divide us and breed hate.

It would be nice if somewhere along the way we all realized that the only way we make it in a world where the top two percent of greedy assholes have us all by the balls is to stick together and go after them that hoard the wealth. What they want is for us to split up into little groups according to age, race, religion, political ideology, etc. and attack each other. Instead, we should be fighting for a world where everyone has the opportunity to make the world a better place and greed is not the norm. And if you think that greed just started with the boomers, you need to read a history book or two.

Here's a good way to start defeating the divisions: talk to someone you haven't talked to before. Find out what you have in common. Make sure it's someone who's not the same age, race, religion, etc. We might find out that are all in it together. Or, we can keep falling into the trap of hate and distrust that keeps us right where the rich and powerful want us.

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