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A generation of deluded narcissists


DieChecker

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http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/01/08/are-raising-generation-deluded-narcissists/

A new analysis of the American Freshman Survey, which has accumulated data for the past 47 years from 9 million young adults, reveals that college students are more likely than ever to call themselves gifted and driven to succeed, even though their test scores and time spent studying are decreasing.

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.”

I see this happening every day on Facebook. My wife's sisters are much younger and everything that goes on in social circles in High School and College is about the Drama of being recognized and not being disrespected. Giving a kid today negative feedback is not considered to be instructional anymore, it is considered an attack.

Kids have been taught that they are super special regardless of if they are C or even D students. Having good self esteame is one thing, but being delusional is another all together.

Edited by DieChecker
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That is a result of the mini family, there where there is only one or two kids they are made to feel special from day 1. We had that type before but not in such numbers.

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I'll agree with this unfortunately. As a child of this generation, I've recognized this in many of my peers.

Even in myself at times; although it was always a matter of laziness and not intelligence for me.

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That is a result of the mini family, there where there is only one or two kids they are made to feel special from day 1. We had that type before but not in such numbers.

IMO that's too simplistic because in a larger family a somewhat sensitive soul can get so trampled on and pushed to the back of the 'queue' all the time that their self esteem can be killed off almost completely. Likewise, if there's only one child in the family they can become the only focus of their parent's fears and worries, making them over-anxious and timid.

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Kids may be smart but they lack 0 life experience and many lack the wisdom which comes from having a few more years not sheltered by a education system that is set up to spoon feed them what it wants.

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Kids have been taught that they are super special regardless of if they are C or even D students. Having good self esteame is one thing, but being delusional is another all together.

Well Einstein didn't finish school (his choice though) and his class mates thought he was stupid.

So really you can't judge on School exam results. It's a very flawed system for lot of reasons. One of the biggest being the fact 70% of kids that age do not take them seriously which means the results really show who did. Not how intelligent they are.

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These are the people that will be running this country in a few years. No need to excell at anything, all will be treated equally and nobody will be left out. I am so glad that I have just a few more years on this planet, what I am watching is just making me sick.

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As a retired teacher of 35 years I have heard the plaint that our children needed more self esteem. I was not very popular when I suggested that was the last thing they needed and that a dose of humility would serve them better.

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don't blame your kids for being arrogant a holes, blame yourself for letting them become this way. lack of YOUR parent skills made that happen.

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Not surprising, considering on how schools teach self-esteem. You need self-esteem to succeed. Reversing the cause and effect. Should be you get self-esteem when you succeed, when you don't succeed try harder to succeed. Nothing ever good comes out of making something out of nothing. Self-esteem is one of them.

Can't teach people how things really work because heaven forbid we hurt people's feelings.

Edited by Jinxdom
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A lot of people I know who have this problem have family issues. Thats where the problem is. I do agree, one such person wants to be famous, worships the famous people, is extremely insecure and has a low self esteem. Has mummy and daddy issues and mental issues on top of that. All I see in this is self destruction. I know I can help but not at this time.

People just need to realise all this fame and such means squat. If it meant a solution to all your problems we wouldn't have so many depressed celebrities. As mentioned earlier, people need some sort of humility. They all think the world owes them something but guess what, it doesn't owe them a thing.

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I completely agree.

As harsh as it sounds, kids need to be told that unless they have the drive and bust their asses to excel they will, more than likely, simply lead insignificant and unimportant lives. And frankly, even if they do those things, there's still a good chance that they'll live little to no mark on the planet that they ever existed.

No amount of Facebook/Twitter friends and duck faced self shots will change that.

That's the reality of things.

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I have seen positive characteristics in some of the youngsters that come through the doors of our college. Polite manners are not all gone and some students are quite friendly and kind of remind me of the way we (80's kids) were growing up. For the most part, I am shown respect from a lot of the students that are probably fresh out of high school. Of course, there are the ones that want me to do the work for them or snap their fingers to get my attention or in general hate to be told what to do or how to do things. These are probably be the kind that end up making AT&T commercials in their ad department which are probably the most disrespectful commercials I think I have ever seen...

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I see this daily, the internet is rife with these people. Ever since FB happened, some people have felt the need to be in the spotlight 24/7.

Self-esteem is important, yes. But so is hard work and responsibility.

Also, I took a note from the Tao Te Ching, which teaches (among other things) to "accept being unimportant."

That is, to deal with your own insignificance and mortality. The moment you let go of your ego, is the moment you free yourself from many cares and social stigmas.

Now, that isnt to say that you ARENT important, (all life is important), you just arent that big a deal among +7 billion.

Find your own self worth, take the time to bond with those that are close to you, appreciate the "little" things more often, and youll find that you are "special", in a way.

You wont need to profess or prove your self worth to anyone.

Its true, the world dosent revolve around any one person, but I beleive that each individual has a limited "local" importance, if you catch my meaning.

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Narcissism through social media, violent media, and pills are huge parts of the overall problem. Some young minds are just too weak to handle the combination, and tragedy results. How many mass school shootings were there in the states prior to those three things, in regard to how many shootings there are now? There's other factors, but we're doing something wrong here people. Over the past century moral and ethical values have spiraled, why? Thoughts?

Edited by WoIverine
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my kids mom used to be a narcissist. She was able to get over it without medications.

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As a retired teacher of 35 years I have heard the plaint that our children needed more self esteem. I was not very popular when I suggested that was the last thing they needed and that a dose of humility would serve them better.

I want to like this more than once but I can't.

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http://www.foxnews.c...ed-narcissists/

I see this happening every day on Facebook. My wife's sisters are much younger and everything that goes on in social circles in High School and College is about the Drama of being recognized and not being disrespected. Giving a kid today negative feedback is not considered to be instructional anymore, it is considered an attack.

Kids have been taught that they are super special regardless of if they are C or even D students. Having good self esteame is one thing, but being delusional is another all together.

I agree with the generational attitudes we've cultivated but I'm not going to make any slippery sloped conclusions about how bad society is going to become because of them. I think every generation has the "Oh those kids these days" cycle. Those of us who have parents usually turn into our parents once we get enough experience under our hats.

On the other hand, being driven is worth a lot more than how hard you study for a liberal arts exam, or even what you major in, or even where you go to school.

As this video proves:

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Most people grow up and mature, become more aware of who they are and whats important but some people go through life never changing.

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Generation Me, also known as Generation Y:

Jean Twenge, the author of the 2007 book Generation Me, considers Gen Ys along with younger Gen Xers to be part of a generation called Generation Me. This is based on personality surveys that showed increasing narcissism among Millennials compared to preceding generations when they were teens and in their twenties

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y

In contrast to our upbringing, we resolved to be a more constant presence in our children's lives. Many of us, now as mothers, are now staying home, sacrificing career and economic prosperity to be the one to do the drop-offs and pick-ups. We read every new parenting book, determined to raise our children with all possible opportunities and advantages. By the time the children are two, they are enrolled in ballet, soccer, gymnastics, music and art class. Our kids are constantly praised for their efforts and are repeatedly told how smart, talented, beautiful and special they are.

And this is how we raised the "Me" generation.

The problem is that these children are now dependent on their parents. They have become accustomed to their moms and dads holding their hands through each major decision, and many of these young adults now call home multiple times a day for guidance. College professors are fielding phone calls from parents wanting to discuss their child's grade on a paper. Managers complain that this generation is so unfamiliar with criticism that they are nearly impossible to train. This generation truly believes that they are exceptionally smart, talented, and beautiful, and therefore unprepared for the real world.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rhiana-maidenberg/generation-x-parents_b_1257602.html

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