Today's journey into the obvious. Your children aare avoiding adulthood as long as possible:
A recent study found that young people in Spain take six more years to reach adulthood compared to their counterparts 20 years earlier.
[. . .]
But what about young Americans?
Much discussion surrounds the whereabouts of 20-somethings at this time. Jeffrey Arnett, a psychology professor at Clark University, leads a movement toward creating a new developmental stage called "emerging adulthood" that highlights the instability and uncertainty of the lives of people between the ages of 18 and 25.
And are full of themselves:
Narcissism has increased among Americans over the past 15 years, a joint study from San Diego State University (SDSU) and the University of South Alabama has concluded. The results suggest that the United States is poised to experience social problems as younger narcissists age and move into positions of power.
The study, led by SDSU psychologist Jean Twenge, sought to settle a hot debate in psychology over mixed results of studies examining the prevalence of narcissistic personality traits among tens of thousands of American college students. These traits include an unfounded sense of entitlement and overly high self-regard.
[. . .]
What this means is that we have generations of people entering the workforce that expect special treatment, are demanding of others and making risky decisions -- ones that could be quite costly when you consider recent business fiascoes," says Amy Brunell, an Ohio State researcher unaffiliated with the study.
There is debate about the underlying causes of any increase in narcissism. Theories implicate parents, teachers and the media, which either allow or celebrate overly permissive attitudes toward individualism, and lead to an inflated and unwarranted sense of self-importance.
Those inclined to "unwarranted self-importance" could probably stand a few more years of cooling off in Mom's basement, and we'd be better off, too.
Not sure about this, though. I think my Baby Boom generation was probably the most narcissistic in history, and a lot of us still haven't grown up.
Comments
Waiting for the generation that studies a younger generation and determines that the younger generation is smarter, harder working, and listens to better music. As it is, if these generational reports are to be believed, we've been in decline since Eve got Adam kicked out of Eden.
From what I see, it's not just the younger generation that is acting in a more self-centered manner; it's all ages.
That being said, when a psychologist talks about narcissistic behavior, it means something other than the basic self-centeredness the rest of us think of.
It denotes inability, rather than unwillingness, to behave in a socially acceptable manner, and the behavior includes grandiosity/fantasy, and lack of empathy.
Psychologists are probably the last ones to notice any change. Narcissists are notorious for avoiding psychologists.