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By ERIC HOOVER

Poor Narcissus: He could only gaze into a pool. Today's college students can watch themselves endlessly on Flickr, MySpace, and YouTube on their 27-inch, flat-screen LCD monitors.

But does that make them narcissists?

Jean M. Twenge, an associate professor of psychology at San Diego State University, says gadgets and online social-networking sites have stoked the self-loving tendencies of modern students. Last week, Ms. Twenge revealed her findings from a study that describes this wired and coddled generation, known as Millennials, as the most narcissistic in recent history.

The unpublished study is based on the responses of 16,000 college students who completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory from 1982 to 2006. The scale measures responses to an array of statements, including "If I ruled the world, it would be a better place," and "I can live my life any way I want to."

Ms. Twenge, who conducted the study with four other researchers, defines narcissism as excessive vanity and a sense of entitlement. People who exhibit such qualities, the researchers say, tend to lack empathy for others, behave aggressively when insulted, and ignore the needs of those around them.

In their report, the researchers warn that a generation of swollen heads could harm American society. "It is possible to imagine a narcissistic Lake Wobegon," they write. "Everyone is attractive or getting surgery to become so; competition and individual pursuits trump group or collective action; relationships are superficial and transient; kids are treated permissively at home and fed with self-inflating messages at school."

Ms. Twenge, who is the author of Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled — and More Miserable Than Ever Before (Free Press, 2006), blames this apparent scourge, in part, on the "self-esteem movement," pushed by parents, educators, and the media — all of whom, she says, have tried too hard to build children's confidence.

"We have to stop telling kids they're special all the time," she says.

'Unsupported by the Data'

One prominent researcher scoffs at Ms. Twenge's description of today's students. "Her characterizations are harsh, unfair, and unsupported by the data," says William Strauss, co-author of Millennials Go to College (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, 2003).

In defense of the Millennials, Mr. Strauss cites recent findings in an annual survey of incoming freshmen that is conducted nationally by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles. In 2006 the survey found that two out of three college freshmen — the highest percentage in a quarter-century — believed it was essential or very important to help others who are in difficulty. A record proportion, 83 percent, said they had volunteered at least occasionally during their senior year of high school.

"All of these social indicators show rising teamwork, rising service commitment, a lot of very positive youth behaviors that fly in the face of what she's saying," Mr. Strauss says.

Ms. Twenge counters that increasing volunteer rates may only reflect students' efforts to fulfill high-school graduation requirements or to impress colleges — and not a growing interest in civic engagement.

David P. Haney, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at Appalachian State University, believes that Millennials are more complex than Ms. Twenge's study suggests.

"There are a lot more opportunities for students to display their narcissism publicly, but that doesn't mean they're more narcissistic," he says. "Technology's not all that they're doing. They go and do their homework, they have friends, they play sports."

He describes the current generation, like its baby-boomer parents, as a bundle of contradictions.

"In the late 60s, we all wanted to go into teaching and saving the world," Mr. Haney says. "And at same time wanted to stare at our navels and do our own thing."