Generation Me - Chapter 4

Jean Twenge has written a very interesting book studying today's youngest generation to have come of age. In these postings, I will begin to provide key quotes and references that have stood out to me. From that, I have posted a few questions for reflection. For more information on this book, I encourage you to explore her website: generationme.org

Also see my article: Me, MySpace and iPod: Tales of a Culture Stuck in the Mirror Phase of Development and Its Moral Implications

INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1:
YOU DON'T NEED THEIR APPROVAL: The Decline of Social Rules
CHAPTER 2:
AN ARMY OF ONE: Me
CHAPTER 3:
You Can Be Anything You Want to Be

CHAPTER 4:
The Age of Anxiety (and Depression, and Loneliness): Generation Stressed

NOTABLE QUOTES

"In past generations, suicide and depression were considered afflictions of middle age, as it was unusual for a young person to be depressed, but for Generation Me, these problems are a rite of passage through adolescence and young adulthood" (p.106).

"...when you were born has more influence on your anxiety level than your individual family environment... Generational differences explained about 20% of the variation in anxiety - thus four times more than family environment. So even if you come from a stable, loving family, growing up amidst the stress of recent times might be enough to make you anxious" (p.107).

"Someone commits suicide every eighteen minutes in the United States. While the suicide rate for middle-aged people has declined steeply since 1950, the suicide rate for young people has more than doubled... The suicide rate for children under age 14 has doubled just since 1980. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 24" (p.108).

"Our growing tendency to put self first leads to unparalleled freedom, but it also creates an enormous amount of pressure on us to stand alone. This is the downside of the focus on the self - when we are fiercely independent and self-sufficient, our disappointments loom large because we have nothing else to focus on. But it's not just us: Generation Me has been taught to expect more out of life at the very time when good jobs and nice houses are increasingly difficult to obtain. All too often, the result is crippling anxiety and crushing depression" (p.109).

"More than four times as many Americans describe themselves as lonely now than in 1957. In Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam documents the steep decline in all kinds of social connections: we're less likely to belong to clubs and community organizations, less likely to have friends over to dinner, and less likely to visit our neighbors. Our social contacts are slight compared to those enjoyed by earlier generations" (p.110).

Political scientist, Robert Lane: "There is a kind of famine of warm interpersonal relations, of easy-to-reach neighbors, of encircling, inclusive memberships, and of solid family life... we're malnourished from eating a junk-food diet of instant messages, e-mail, and phone calls, rather than the healthy food of live, in-person interaction" (p.110).

"...almost half of GenMe has seen their parents divorce, or have never known their father at all. This has a clear link to the rise in depression, as children of divorce are more likely to be anxious and depressed" (p.111).

"GenMe marries later than any other previous generation. Though later marriage has some advantages, it also means that many in GenMe spend their twenties (and sometimes thirties) in pointless dating, uncertain relationships, and painful breakups. Many relationships last several years and/or involve living together, so the breakups resemble divorces rather than run-of-the-mill heartbreak (as if there were such a thing)" (p.112).
"The sadness of being alone is often the flip side of freedom and putting oneself first. When we pursue our own dreams and make our own choices, that pursuit often takes us away from friends and family. An independence-minded society such as ours would never accept rules that encouraged arranged marriage or multigenerational households. Even marriage before a certain age - these days, around 25 - is viewed as unwise and overly restricting. There is nothing wrong with individual freedom, of course; this is the advantage of social change of the last few decades. But there are consequences, and loneliness is often one of them" (p.115f.).

This is the scenario for young people today: To get a decent job, you must have a college degree, preferably from a good school. It is harder to get into a good college, and more expensive to pay for it. Once you get in and graduate, it is difficult to find a job. Once you find a job, corporate downsizing and restructuring create the constant threat of layoffs. By the time you're in your thirites, career pressures are compounded by the demands of raising children when both of you have to work to pay the bills" (p.120).

Tyler Durden in Fight Club: "Our generation has had no Great Depression, no Great War... Our depression is our lives... We were raised on television to believe that we'd all be millionaires, movie gods, rock stars, but we won't. And we're starting to figure it out..." (p.129).

"In some ways, the shift toward melancholy in young people seems paradoxical: Genreation Me has so much more than previous generations - we are healthier, enjoy countless modern conveniences, and are better educated. But Generation Me often lacks other basic human requirements: stable close relationships, a sense of community, a feeling of safety, a simple path to adulthood and the workplace. Our grandparents may have done without television and gone to the bathroom in an outhouse, but they were usually not lonely, scared by threats or terrorism, or obsessing about the best way to get into Princeton... Technology and material things may make life easier, but they do not seem to lead to happiness. Instead, we long for the social connections of past years, we enter a confusing world of too many choices, and we become depressed at younger and younger ages" (p.136).

THOUGHTS TO PONDER

1. Twenge states that "we're malnourished from eating a junk-food diet of instant messages, e-mail, and phone calls, rather than the healthy food of live, in-person interaction" (p.110). In what ways can authentic community be fostered to help nourish the need for relationship that this generation has?

2. Do you think that there is a direct link between the increase in suicide and the challenges of living with the ideals that are promoted as normal in both the media and everyday settings? Is it possible that the pressures of education, success, managing image, establishing oneself in society, etc. - has helped to fuel this extreme reaction?

3. With an increase in school violence and the ongoing threat of terrorism, do you sense that there is an ominous culture of fear that manifests itself on Nightly News, webpages, and the casual conversation of today's youth?

4. How has the definition of success shifted from GenMe and previous generations?