Millenials/Kids today...

[besserheimerphat]

...are no different than they have been for the past 30 years. A study of American high school seniors from 1976 to 2006 found practically no difference in 31 psychological personality scores. "Kids today" on average are no more egotistical, "fragile," lazy or "weak" than kids over the past 30 years.

Abstract: Social commentators have argued that changes over the last decades have coalesced to create a relatively unique generation of young people. However, using large samples of U.S. high-school seniors from 1976 to 2006 (Total N = 477,380), we found little evidence of meaningful change in egotism, self-enhancement, individualism, self-esteem, locus of control, hopelessness, happiness, life satisfaction, loneliness, antisocial behavior, time spent working or watching television, political activity, the importance of religion, and the importance of social status over the last 30 years. Today’s youth are less fearful of social problems than previous generations and they are also more cynical and less trusting. In addition, today’s youth have higher educational expectations than previous generations. However, an inspection of effect sizes provided little evidence for strong or widespread cohort-linked changes.

Link: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1745691609356789

 

[Mtowncyclone13]

...are no different than they have been for the past 30 years. A study of American high school seniors from 1976 to 2006 found practically no difference in 31 psychological personality scores. "Kids today" on average are no more egotistical, "fragile," lazy or "weak" than kids over the past 30 years.

Abstract: Social commentators have argued that changes over the last decades have coalesced to create a relatively unique generation of young people. However, using large samples of U.S. high-school seniors from 1976 to 2006 (Total N = 477,380), we found little evidence of meaningful change in egotism, self-enhancement, individualism, self-esteem, locus of control, hopelessness, happiness, life satisfaction, loneliness, antisocial behavior, time spent working or watching television, political activity, the importance of religion, and the importance of social status over the last 30 years. Today’s youth are less fearful of social problems than previous generations and they are also more cynical and less trusting. In addition, today’s youth have higher educational expectations than previous generations. However, an inspection of effect sizes provided little evidence for strong or widespread cohort-linked changes.

Link: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1745691609356789

All the Polaroid pictures girls took of their asses in the 1970's are just lost to the ages instead of held online forever

 

[Cyclonepride]

A lot of people like to pretend that they were different when they were a kid. If we're being honest with ourselves, most of us were complete idiots and gradually got it figured out, just like the next generations will.

 

[srjclone]

...are no different than they have been for the past 30 years. A study of American high school seniors from 1976 to 2006 found practically no difference in 31 psychological personality scores. "Kids today" on average are no more egotistical, "fragile," lazy or "weak" than kids over the past 30 years.

Abstract: Social commentators have argued that changes over the last decades have coalesced to create a relatively unique generation of young people. However, using large samples of U.S. high-school seniors from 1976 to 2006 (Total N = 477,380), we found little evidence of meaningful change in egotism, self-enhancement, individualism, self-esteem, locus of control, hopelessness, happiness, life satisfaction, loneliness, antisocial behavior, time spent working or watching television, political activity, the importance of religion, and the importance of social status over the last 30 years. Today’s youth are less fearful of social problems than previous generations and they are also more cynical and less trusting. In addition, today’s youth have higher educational expectations than previous generations. However, an inspection of effect sizes provided little evidence for strong or widespread cohort-linked changes.

Link: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1745691609356789

Damn Millennials, ruining a good Millennial Smear Campaign too. Is there anything they can't "kill"?

 

[3TrueFans]

It's that damn Elvis.

 

[harimad]

Oh no, Millenials are different alright. They don't have kids, they all have furry babies instead. (jimlad, hopefully obvious)

Edit: obligatory get off my lawn

 

[Triggermv]

Get off my lawn!!!!!!

 

[cyfan92]

Social Media has just raised awareness of how dumb kids are. Those who didn't have their childhood captured on the internet love to hold their noses high and say they would never have done that...

I'd argue that parenting has gotten worse, not kids getting worse. This is because technology keeps kids "occupied" and parents don't have to plan activities to entertain their children.

 

[JM4CY]

 

[CascadeClone]

I'd argue that parenting has gotten worse, not kids getting worse.

This times 1 million.

Some of it is electronic babysitters. Some of it is parents both working (or single parents) not having the time and energy required. Some of it is parents doing TOO much keeping kids busy and not just letting them go do stuff on their own.

It's tough parenting and society doesn't put enough value on it compared to money and other visible signs of "success".

 

[Cybyassociation]

Just so we're clear, "kids these days" aren't Millennials. No high school senior this year was born before the year 2000. Sure, toss in Juniors and Seniors in college right now at the back end, but most Millennials are in their late 20's to early 30's right now.

 

[Sigmapolis]

A lot of people like to pretend that they were different when they were a kid. If we're being honest with ourselves, most of us were complete idiots and gradually got it figured out, just like the next generations will.

The long-term trend is actually for intelligence to increase...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect

I volunteer for some academic competitions for talented and gifted students in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs, and some of the high school students involved in the same are almost frighteningly intelligent compared to what I remember from the same era. I have no worries there will not be future stars and leaders coming out of that.

I think there is a bifurcation in the "path" many children and young adults take in life. The playing field used to be a lot more level in my parents and grandparents' generations (and I am 31 now) when socioeconomic and familial circumstances were more even across the population compared to where they are now. That has changed significantly of late.

There are a lot more families now of single-parents, who are obviously fighting the good fight, but the less certain home and economic situations that come with it are putting a lot of kids behind on the "social capital" pyramid. At the same time, there has been a rise of "super-couples" -- two parents in a stable marriage, both with good careers and most often both with college degrees, bringing a few children into the world and endowing them with practically every advantage from birth through starting college and even into the labor market.

We have more falling behind and more surging ahead than we used to.

These socioeconomic changes and the "positive assortative mating" of the super-couples is changing our society in ways we do not often appreciate. We often want to put simple economic explanations on them (i.e., immigration, globalization, capitalism, inequality, etc.), when many of them have deeper familial and demographic roots.

Social Media has just raised awareness of how dumb kids are. Those who didn't have their childhood captured on the internet love to hold their noses high and say they would never have done that...

I'd argue that parenting has gotten worse, not kids getting worse. This is because technology keeps kids "occupied" and parents don't have to plan activities to entertain their children.

I actually think parenting has trended towards the "smothering" nowadays. Adolescence keeps getting extended because of the parents, not the kids.

I think of how much interaction and supervision most kids I see nowadays from their parents, particularly in those good familial circumstances, has gone up and up and up. I compare it to what I had... a father who traveled almost perpetually for work and a mother always more interested in her own social life, to be honest... and think I was basically on my own day-to-day far earlier and had way more autonomy at a younger age compared to kids now.

I think that over-parenting does leave some of them docile and overly risk-adverse, though. Sometimes you need to screw up on your own to learn.

 

[cyclonedave25]

Thread title should probably say “Kids today/Generation Z”.

 

[srjclone]

"Damn iGen-ers" / "Damn Gen-z-ers" just doesn't have the same ring to it..

 

[SCyclone]

As a society we have striven to make our lives easier by implementing technology to replace actual work. While admirable, I'm not so sure it's completely beneficial - as evidenced by the overwhelming number of overweight and obese people in this country.

A little physical work - mow the yard, shovel snow, etc - isn't demeaning or beneath anyone. Yet I would argue the vast majority of young people today seem to view it that way.

And before you reply, yes, I'm an old guy, but this isn't a rant, merely an observation.

 

[harimad]

The long-term trend is actually for intelligence to increase...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect

I volunteer for some academic competitions for talented and gifted students in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs, and some of the high school students involved in the same are almost frighteningly intelligent compared to what I remember from the same era. I have no worries there will not be future stars and leaders coming out of that.

I think there is a bifurcation in the "path" many children and young adults take in life. The playing field used to be a lot more level in my parents and grandparents' generations (and I am 31 now) when socioeconomic and familial circumstances were more even across the population compared to where they are now. That has changed significantly of late.

There are a lot more families now of single-parents, who are obviously fighting the good fight, but the less certain home and economic situations that come with it are putting a lot of kids behind on the "social capital" pyramid. At the same time, there has been a rise of "super-couples" -- two parents in a stable marriage, both with good careers and most often both with college degrees, bringing a few children into the world and endowing them with practically every advantage from birth through starting college and even into the labor market.

We have more falling behind and more surging ahead than we used to.

These socioeconomic changes and the "positive assortative mating" of the super-couples is changing our society in ways we do not often appreciate. We often want to put simple economic explanations on them (i.e., immigration, globalization, capitalism, inequality, etc.), when many of them have deeper familial and demographic roots.



I actually think parenting has trended towards the "smothering" nowadays. Adolescence keeps getting extended because of the parents, not the kids.

I think of how much interaction and supervision most kids I see nowadays from their parents, particularly in those good familial circumstances, has gone up and up and up. I compare it to what I had... a father who traveled almost perpetually for work and a mother always more interested in her own social life, to be honest... and think I was basically on my own day-to-day far earlier and had way more autonomy at a younger age compared to kids now.

I think that over-parenting does leave some of them docile and overly risk-adverse, though. Sometimes you need to screw up on your own to learn.

Agree. I'll take my daughter as an example. She's a sophomore in high school and she thinks she's dumb, and she thinks I'm smarter than her. My jaw drops when she says things like this. She's maintained a 4.15 GPA, taking five advanced courses each semester. This in addition to year-round softball training, pretty much every night of the week. She's also playing volleyball at school this fall.

When she talks about other kids she knows taking the ACT, their scores are generally in the 28-33 range. AND THEY DID THIS AS FRESHMEN or SOPHOMORES. I took it once when I was a junior, got a 29, and said yep that's enough for me.

Kids are incredibly smart these days. The problem isn't their intelligence, it's their confidence. They're too sheltered, their parents don't allow them to fail on their own, and they can't deal with adversity. (Speaking generally, obviously. There are outliers.)

 

[Sigmapolis]

As a society we have striven to make our lives easier by implementing technology to replace actual work. While admirable, I'm not so sure it's completely beneficial - as evidenced by the overwhelming number of overweight and obese people in this country.

A little physical work - mow the yard, shovel snow, etc - isn't demeaning or beneath anyone. Yet I would argue the vast majority of young people today seem to view it that way.

And before you reply, yes, I'm an old guy, but this isn't a rant, merely an observation.

Data are better than observations.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Oh no, Millenials are different alright. They don't have kids, they all have furry babies instead. (jimlad, hopefully obvious)

Edit: obligatory get off my lawn

You got a problem with puppies???????

 

[madguy30]

As a society we have striven to make our lives easier by implementing technology to replace actual work. While admirable, I'm not so sure it's completely beneficial - as evidenced by the overwhelming number of overweight and obese people in this country.

A little physical work - mow the yard, shovel snow, etc - isn't demeaning or beneath anyone. Yet I would argue the vast majority of young people today seem to view it that way.

And before you reply, yes, I'm an old guy, but this isn't a rant, merely an observation.

Same with jobs.

It should be absolutely OK if someone serves tables or works for the city or whatever it is they do that they enjoy and pays for essentials.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Agree. I'll take my daughter as an example. She's a sophomore in high school and she thinks she's dumb, and she thinks I'm smarter than her. My jaw drops when she says things like this. She's maintained a 4.15 GPA, taking five advanced courses each semester. This in addition to year-round softball training, pretty much every night of the week. She's also playing volleyball at school this fall.

When she talks about other kids she knows taking the ACT, their scores are generally in the 28-33 range. AND THEY DID THIS AS FRESHMEN or SOPHOMORES. I took it once when I was a junior, got a 29, and said yep that's enough for me.

Kids are incredibly smart these days. The problem isn't their intelligence, it's their confidence. They're too sheltered, their parents don't allow them to fail on their own, and they can't deal with adversity. (Speaking generally, obviously. There are outliers.)

Great post! Thanks for sharing the perspective of a parent!

I agree with you. They are plenty bright. Society has just become more risk adverse about parenting and childhood, and it rubs off on the kids.

I can spitball a few reasons why...

-- cable and local news beating us over the head with stories of abduction and violence, even if children are objectively safer now than at any point in history

-- college degrees are one of the few reliable paths to economic security in our society, yet our educational system rewards "perfection" and conformity (way better to get an A and a 4.0 in an easy class than experiment and get a B even if you learn more, which ultimately becomes the thing that keeps you out of your #1 school choice or scholarships)

-- parents, especially college-educated parents, are also very keen about managing their children's "career" early to make sure they are on that college path... there are not the multiple ways "up" that you can improvise like you could as a young adult in past decades, so parents take the reins on that one rather early to put them on that path as soon as possible

-- families are smaller, so individual children get more attention, but that also gives them less of a chance to manage themselves and make mistakes

-- we are a richer society now than in the past, which ironically has made us feel less secure... freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose, but now we have so much to lose we naturally worry about downside risks more than future opportunities

Which sucks for the kids, because persistence, improvisation, being able to look out for yourself, and being able to forge your own relationships with peers and strangers, rather than having the watchful eye of your parents or teachers over you all of the time, are incredibly important skills for succeeding in life. I wonder if they might be missing that.