Natalie Yemenidjian
While observing fellow classmates at Pierce you might see signs of a narcissistic Generation Y on the bound.
The student looking intently at themselves in their car door and then through every reflection they cast on doors and windows on their way to class, the flood of MySpace and YouTube practically anywhere the Internet is accessible on campus, and the occasional student that seems to speak in class only to hear his or her own voice.
Or, you may see students that reflect altruistic ideals and are more charitable than ever before.
An analysis titled, “Egos Inflating Over Time,” by Jean Twenge, associate professor of psychology at San Diego State University and four other researchers, argues that narcissistic tendencies in today’s college students are more prevalent then ever before.
She isn’t saying that we all need to see psychiatrists as soon as possible, but she is saying that she’s worried that there is an increase in a lack of empathy, an emphasis on materialism and an unrealistic expectancy of entitlement.
According to the article, Twenge wrote for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, we are more promiscuous, we gamble and cheat more, as well as are more aggressive.
Twenge states that Generation Y is anyone born in 1982 and on. The average Pierce college student would fall into this category.
According to Edward Mazeika, Ph.D., chair of the psychology department and teacher at Pierce since 1986, we may be only focusing on the negative aspect of people’s character.
“When we categorize people, one thing we use is availability heuristic. When we categorize we’re quick to use what we remember about the person and forget the good things we see,” said Mazeika.
“The study needs verification and replication,” said Mazeika. Twenge drew her analysis based on 25 years of personality surveys and 16,000 college students that took psychological surveys.
Our apparent inflated sense of ego is brought on by the idea that we can do whatever we want in life and the constant validation from our parents and teachers that we are “special.” Also, the emphasis on being successful and capitalizing on everyone and anything because we are entitled to that right makes our Generation apparently more narcissistic.
So should we be banning Adam Smith from our Economics classes because we might become too self-centered? Should we start censoring Sesame Street so that children don’t feel too special?
Chair of the Philosophy and Sociology department, Betty Odello doesn’t think we need to go to those lengths.
“There are students that are very altruistic… some people are spending their time down in Louisiana helping hurricane victims, instead of going to Florida [to party] for spring break,” said Odello.
Since Odello started teaching at Pierce in 1980, she has seen an increase in discipline problems.
She notes that there seems to be more cheating and plagiarism then before and that students expect to get grades just by showing up.
“It isn’t that the student didn’t study, it’s that I didn’t write the test right,” said Odello, referring to students who aren’t satisfied with grades they earned in their class.
“Generation X was put down with sayings like ‘you can’t do this and you can’t do that,’ so you just got that fight up and said…I’m going to,” said Odello.
The differences between Generation X and Y become clear when you look at the forms in which we communicate and within the daily activities that we are take part in.
Odello shares her concerns of the Internet with Dr. Mazeika, who both worry that the new Generation isn’t getting enough one-on-one contact with other human beings.
Mazeika is worried that we won’t be able to read the signs of body language well enough to understand others.
Second year student, Gina Srmabekian would classify herself as a member of Generation Y.
“I spend more time than should be allotted for on MySpace.
“To be perfectly honest, my MySpace page is minimized on my computer screen as we speak. Even if I’m not doing anything on it, it’s there for the sake of just being open, in case I miss something,” said Srmabekian.
“The reason many in our Generation are so self-centered and self-assured is that we have been raised, more or less, with a silver spoon in our mouths. Most of us were told that we are unique and that we would succeed regardless of anything,” said Srmabekian.
(Melissa Keyes and Alex Fuenes)