How college students think they are more special than EVER: Study reveals rocketing sense of entitlement on U.S. campuses

Books aside, if you asked a college freshman today who the Greatest Generation is, they might respond by pointing in a mirror.
Young people's unprecedented level of self-infatuation was revealed in a new analysis of the American Freshman Survey, which has been asking students to rate themselves compared to their peers since 1966.
Roughly 9 million young people have taken the survey over the last 47 years.

Pyschologist Jean Twenge and her colleagues compiled the data and found that over the last four decades there's been a dramatic rise in the number of students who describe themselves as being 'above average' in the areas of academic ability, drive to achieve, mathematical ability, and self-confidence.

But in appraising the traits that are considered less invidualistic - co-operativeness, understanding others, and spirituality - the numbers either stayed at slightly decreased over the same period.
Researchers also found a disconnect between the student's opinions of themselves and actual ability.

While students are much more likely to call themselves gifted in writing abilities, objective test scores actually show that their writing abilities are far less than those of their 1960s counterparts.
Also on the decline is the amount of time spent studying, with little more than a third of students saying they study for six or more hours a week compared to almost half of all students claiming the same in the late 1980s.

Though they may work less, the number that said they had a drive to succeed rose sharply.
These young egotists can grow up to be depressed adults.

A 2006 study found that students suffer from 'ambition inflation' as their increased ambitions accompany increasingly unrealistic expectations.
'Since the 1960s and 1970s, when those expectations started to grow, there's been an increase in anxiety and depression,' Twenge said. 'There's going to be a lot more people who don't reach their goals.'
Twenge is the author of a separate study showing a 30 per cent increase towards narcissism in students since 1979.


'Our culture used to encourage modesty and humility and not bragging about yourself,' Twenge told BBC News. 'It was considered a bad thing to be seen as conceited or full of yourself.'
Just because someone has high self-esteem doesn't mean they're a narcissist. Positive self-assessments can not only be harmless but completely true.

However, one in four recent students responded to a questionnaire called the Narcissistic Personality Inventory with results pointing towards narcissistic self-assessments.
Narcissism is defined as excessive self-love or vanity; self-admiration, or being self-centered.

Twenge said that's a trait that is often negative and destructive, and blames its boom on several trends - including parenting styles, celebrity culture, social media, and easy credit - for allowing people to seem more successful than they really are.

Make sure to read the rest of the story. There are more depressing results of the most narcissistic generation. We may need a good dose of hard times to bring them down to earth and face reality.

HOW OUTRAGEOUSLY INCREDIBLE

And no big surprise.

The hard times ahead will exterminate major chunks of the cohort. I hope they have some moments to wake-up before being snuffed out.

Narcissism from hell matches the arrogance of satan and what got him tossed out of Heaven.

Self-worth; self-respect; a realistic appreciation of one's gifts is one thing.

Hollow, pie-in-the-sky fantasy world blather parroting Dr Spock mentalities . . . that's deadly stuff. Certainly spiritually deadly but will end up being bodily deadly as well.

Such super hollow, outrageous levels of narcissism tend to run at full speed into real life concrete walls. That tends to be rough on psyche's, careers, relationships and even bodily systems.

It's kind of an older (vs grown-up) version of pretend faith in the ultimate tooth fairy. Great Daddy Uncle Sam will provide the silver lining; the 8' of foam to fall down on; eternal flattery; status (without substance); position without performance; applause without work; a big screen TV; endless sex and soma pills; etc. etc.

The social 'correction' you speak of is coming . . . the slow learners will most likely not survive at all. Some may. If so, they'll have learned quickly, to learn quickly.

These young adults are in for a rude awakening. It will not be pretty watching the temper tantrums.

Quote: steph wrote in post #4

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These young adults are in for a rude awakening. It will not be pretty watching the temper tantrums.

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Boy isn't that the truth. Hopefully these young adults will have delayed reproducing to lessen the damage.

Quote: steph wrote in post #6

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Boy isn't that the truth. Hopefully these young adults will have delayed reproducing to lessen the damage.

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