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<p><a href=“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17349066/[/url]”>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17349066/</a></p>
<p>As a generalization, I agree. We learn through experience and this generation has fewer members who have had to struggle to obtain an education or material goods.</p>
<p>Narcissists are produced at an early age…long before the struggle for education begins. Look to parenting.</p>
<p>As someone whose birth family was essentially obliterated due to the pathological narcissism (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) of one member, I personally dislike seeing the term “narcissistic” bandied about in the colloquial sense. I think that it diminishes the hideously devastating and and permanent effects of this very damaging psychological condition. One can have “narcissistic tendencies” without being diagnosable, and adolescents, in general, live their lives in a somewhat “narcissistic” state. It is part of the age. The vast majority outgrow this stage and go on to live relatively normal lives, though some remain “self centered.” </p>
<p>True pathological narcissism occurs in about 1% of the population and 75% of those afflicted are male. The incidence of pathological narcissism is MUCH, MUCH higher in politics and show business. Branding relatively “normal” people with this label is counterproductive.</p>
<p>I’d like to know how many college students know the story of Narcissus.</p>
<p>I always thought teenager=narcissism. Have you ever seen the tee shirt that shows a graphic and reads “proof the world really DOES revolve around me” ? Appropriate for most teens I know (not all).</p>
<p>I also thought it interesting that sites like MySpace and YouTube is fueling this frenzy. I also think that reality TV in general adding to this need for instant fame. </p>
<p>I agree with Berurah, and I feel that labeling the self-centered obnoxious behavior of some of today’s youth as true narcissistic behavior waters down the clinical definition of the disorder. </p>
<p>Are we, as a society, creating true full blown narcissists, or just a generation of spoiled brats who will eventually grow up?</p>
<p>A generation of slightly spoiled brats who will eventually grow up. And reality TV and MTV are emphasizing those aspects of our society…we don’t get a lot of media coverage of teens who are doing good.<br>
Lots of My Sweet Sixteen parties on MTV with the teens we love to hate, not a lot of coverage of my kid feeding therapeutic riding horses every Saturday. It just doesn’t make good TV.</p>
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I think that the majority of these “spoiled brats” <em>WILL</em> grow up eventually, to one degree or another. Pathological narcissism is deeply rooted in very early childhood experiences, and its most noted hallmark, total and complete lack of empathy of any kind, is actually relatively rare compared with the types of numbers being alluded to in the above article. As I said, adolescence is, in general, a “narcissitic,” self-centered stage. Most relatively normal people will outgrow it when they take on the responsibilities of marriage/family after college.</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>[10 characters]~~~~~~~ DSM-V???</p>
<p>Actually, I thought that the ME generation label referred to the boomers. Boomer s are described as thinking that everything revolves around them. Their parenting style is said to reflect this perspective, insofar as their children are really extensions of themselves–which is why they can’t let go and engage in helicoptering. </p>
<p>I personally am getting tired of having newsweekly magazines bloated by special sections on health targeted at aging boomers (like myself).</p>
<p>The casual use of this clinical category has also bothered me for awhile.</p>
<p>That aside, I agree with the fact that the more modern parental emphasis on “specialness”, “uniqueness” (duh, we’re each unique) tends to make it more difficult to grow up with a naturally evolving sense of perspective & realistic self-image. As described in a broadcast news clip, an additional program feeding into this may be what I call the Extreme Self-Esteem movement. This has infected U.S. public education to the degree that, in addition to the psychological maladjustments, it has too often substituted self-esteem for achievement in the underperforming student.</p>
<p>Another article about the same study:</p>
<p><a href=“Gen Y's ego trip takes a bad turn”>Gen Y's ego trip takes a bad turn;
<p>"Flacks summed up the attitudes he often encounters in students, who expect a tangible payoff from their education:</p>
<p>"The old model was a collegial one in which students and professors alike sought knowledge for knowledge’s sake. The new model is ‘I paid my money, give me my grade and degree.’ It makes me want to ask [students], ‘Want fries with that order?’ "</p>
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<p>I’m not a psychologist, but it appears in this instance that the use of the term is more scholarly than casual – taken from the Narcissistic Personality Inventory tool that they used to conduct the study.</p>
<p>From the LA Times article:</p>
<p>"She and four other researchers from the University of Michigan, University of Georgia and University of South Alabama looked at the results of psychological surveys taken by more than 16,000 college students across the country over more than 25 years. </p>
<p>The Narcissistic Personality Inventory asks students to react to such statements as: “If I ruled the world, it would be a better place,” “I think I am a special person” and “I like to be the center of attention.”</p>
<p>The study found that almost two-thirds of recent college students had narcissism scores that were above the average 1982 score. Thirty percent more college students showed elevated narcissism in 2006 than in 1982."</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say that the word “narcissism” in this article, or in general, implies the existence of a pathological condition. NPD is a disorder, ie, an EXTREME variation of narcissistic behavior (even berurah and coronax2 recognize this since they both qualify their use of the word “narcissistic” with other adjectives like “pathological” or “true”). We have a common understanding that this one word alone means a combination of many characteristics: self-centered, selfish, egotistic, vain, conceited, lacking empathy, etc. </p>
<p>However, the very issue raised by the article is, as coronax2 notes: “Are we, as a society, creating true full blown narcissists, or just a generation of spoiled brats who will eventually grow up?” In other words, has this common adolescent behavior reached an extreme level where it COULD be considered a disorder? Or something that we should be concerned about as a society? Which makes the use of the word all the more appropriate if the purpose is to suggest a more serious magnitude of behavior.</p>
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<p>I think someone in academia is indulging themself with some starry-eyed old-fart romanticizing of “the good old days” when “the movement” was going up against “the man.” A lot of students are intellectually curious and love the learning process, and others just want the Good Job ticket punched. There were plenty of both when I was an undergrad during the reign of Henry V.</p>
<p>Agree with Washdad. When I was in college–must have been in the reign of the Virgin Queen–, the aim of many female students (“coeds”) was to obtain the all-important degree: Mrs.</p>
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I keep hearing that kids today are spoiled, pampered, and constantly complimented, but I’ve never had that experience at all. My experience with adults extends to being yelled at, ignored, or listened to for a minute or two before being given a pat on the back and told to run along. Then again, I’ve also been told I have irrationally low self-esteem, so maybe that’s why… :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Read the brief article in our local paper - many of the questions that they asked on their survey were vague and open to different interpretations at best. I think mostly what they have on their hands is a bunch of optimistic kids who think they can change the world (nothing wrong with that). </p>
<p>Will there be those who are selfish to no end? Of course, just like there are today in the adult world and just like there always has been. Will there be others who always look to see what good they can do for others? Of course. Just like there always has been. This is a non-issue; just an idea for a research study and thesis and a space filler for one day in the local papers.</p>
<p>I think there’s a disconnect here. As previously mentioned, there is a significant difference between wanting recognition as the result of hard work and achievement, and then there is wanting or craving attention because it is an easy way to feel good about oneself. There is no clearly defined line between the two, which is why a quantifiable narcissism test is not so authoritative.</p>