Generation ‘Me’: The Downside of Individuality

By Joel Pitney, EnlightenNext

When historian Christopher Lasch published his classic book The Culture of Narcissism in 1979, it was already clear that a new kind of human being had been forged in the cultural fires of the sixties—one who was more socially conscious, more free from traditional norms, and more thoroughly self-obsessed than in any previous generation.

Now, thirty years later, the Me Generation has given birth to Generations X and Y, for whom phrases like “Building self-esteem,” “You’re special,” and “Be all that you can be” have, for many, become instilled as foundational principles of existence. Indeed, with this new breed of budding narcissists, the cultural phenomenon that Lasch first defined has both expanded and intensified, causing many to question whether the trend toward individualism may have gone a bit too far.

Primary among these critics has been thirty-seven-year-old San Diego State University psychology professor Jean M. Twenge, whose 2009 book The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement may be the best and most comprehensive diagnosis to date of what she calls a “cultural disease.”

It would be difficult to find a person who cares as much about those who care mostly about themselves as Twenge does. Her interest in narcissism was piqued during graduate school in the nineties while doing psychological research on how changing gender roles were affecting young people, particularly women. Twenge found that in addition to the new level of equality and individual empowerment that women were experiencing, there was an accompanying degree of self-infatuation that was, ironically, holding many back from expressing their full potential as human beings. Her interest in the subject blossomed, eventually leading her to publish Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled—And More Miserable Than Ever Before in 2006. The book, which garnered attention from a wide range of major media outlets including the New York Times, the Today show, and National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, launched her into the national limelight and established her as one of the world’s foremost experts on the narcissism phenomenon.

With The Narcissism Epidemic, Twenge has taken her research to the next level. Filling more than three hundred pages with psychological data (much of which comes from original research) and examples from pop culture, she makes a strong case that we are in the midst of a narcissistic renaissance. From her discussion of new “personal paparazzi” businesses (which give anyone with a few grand the opportunity to feel what it’s like to be an adored celebrity) to her original graphs (which show a significant increase in the appearance of narcissistic language in newspapers), Twenge paints a stark picture of our current cultural predicament that is both shocking and implicating for those of us who have grown up in the self-reflective afterglow of the sixties. But Twenge isn’t just a critic. She’s on a mission to educate people about the harmful consequences of this disease and to help provide a much-needed objectivity on our own collective condition. Playing the role of cultural epidemiologist, Twenge explores the root causes of the narcissism epidemic, gives an overview of its many symptoms, and offers her own set of prescriptions for how she thinks we can treat it.

Related Link: The Dumbest Generation?

Next: Interview with Jean M. Twenge

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Carmen B.

11:25PM PST on Feb 17, 2011

It's very intresting, thanks

send a green star

Barbara E.

10:11PM PST on Feb 17, 2011

thanx for post

Gwendolyn K.

8:25PM PST on Feb 13, 2011

Thanks for this post. It was interesting reading.
Charlene R. thank-you very much. Without antidepressants many of us with hormonal imbalances in our brains would be dead or have hurt others or just be vegging in a home somewhere.
Clinic Depression and the many diagnoses that go with it are real.
Depression is different from the blues or a sad time due to circumstances. It is a disease. Our medication is as essential as a Diabetic's Insuline.

harriet s.

3:08PM PST on Feb 10, 2011

Very interesting article. I am a member of Generation X and my mother used guilt to discipline my sister and I. It worked on me....but not on my sister. To this day, I'm the one who suffers from guilt issues. I think I would have rather been popped on the butt a few times!

Isabel R.

9:18AM PST on Feb 10, 2011

Great, great article!

Mary B.

8:39PM PST on Feb 9, 2011

I have often wondered how people would develope if they lived 'naturaly' in this unnatural society.People used to rely on the Earth to supply their need for food, clean water, building materials, and plant medicines for healing. Today, that would require a living wage income given freely to all adults so no one did without if there were not enough jobs to supply money for sustenence.They would go about their lives doing the natural work that needed to be done,paceing themselves according to their age, health, and level of responsibility.Sleep when you're tierd, eat when you're hungry, and find fullfilment for doing your part in the community. Outside work for extra money would allow for expansion, both personally and communially.There would be public service jobs [police, firemen, teachers, ect] and private business jobs.Mainly, the thing that would change is this push to succeed so you don't starve.Right now the Haves treat all others like disposible slaves.It is no wonder the people have gotten so dysfuncional.An economy based on invented jobs is doomed to fail, but there is always plenty of real work that needs to be done.I think all of this riseing of self esteam was ment to bust people out of the slave mentality so they would demand basic human needs be met. Instead it was hi-jacked to force more productivity from the job slaves and more profit for the Haves. True self esteam doesn't need to prove its self.But it is totally entiteled.

Julie W.

6:29AM PST on Feb 8, 2011

Too much praise for achieving quite ordinary things when young don't help. The happiest, most stable, likeable kids I know only get praised for something exceptional, so they don't have an inflated idea of their own importance.

Rachel R.

6:25PM PST on Feb 7, 2011

Great article! I've definitely felt the entitlement from students. But having said that I have seen many people of my generation and younger who are truly engaged for the greater good (and no that isn't mutually exclusive from getting ahead). So there is hope!

Melissa M.

5:49PM PST on Feb 7, 2011

Alfie Kohn did a great job of debunking the MYTH of increasing narcissism here: http://www.alfiekohn.org/miscellaneous/spoiling.htm

You can also find information on how to raise children without hitting them on his site. Surprisingly children are NOT dogs a la Pavlov's experiments and have an innate instinct to fit in with the group and do good, when brought into a welcoming world.

Unfortunately we have decided that child raising isn't about meeting our children's needs (to be part of a group, to feel welcome and worthy, to learn what adults are doing) but about forcing compliance and pseudo independence and a host of other developmentally inappropriate and unrealistic expectations.

I highly recommend "Unconditional Parenting" by Alfie Kohn to anyone that believes this garbage.

Carl S.

4:54PM PST on Feb 7, 2011

A new book called "The View From Lazy Point; A Natural Year in an Unnatural World" ( http://bit.ly/gATt4E ) discusses the irony of too much individualism leading to being less of an individual. It says that because our relationships make us who we are, the more we are involved with others, the more we give, the more we become unique individuals. The book adds, "One note is not music. It is what lies between notes that makes the music. And what is between them is: their relationship. Relationships are the music life makes. Context creates meaning. Asking, ‘What is the meaning of life?’ is the wrong question; it makes you look in the wrong places. The question is, ‘Where is the meaning in life?’ The place to look is: between."