Narcissism: Generation Y

While searching the web at the last minute for an interesting fact, I stumbled upon this article http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0302/p01s01-ussc.html?page=1
that states "... according to the study, 30 percent more college students showed "elevated narcissism" in 2006 compared with 1982." And at first, I was a little surprised. But when thinking about it, all my shock went away. I thought about myspace and facebook. Some users post more pictures they take of themselves than anything. And I will admit, I am guilty of the "typical myspace photo" at times, but now that I am older, I am no where near as bad. Why do girls and even guys feel the need to take 40 pictures of themselves in the mirror, on the phone, making kissy faces, and being redic. I understand that people have "good hair days," but do we need to document every angle of it? Generation Y really is narcissistic. Aside from our array of self-photography, we all have social media Web sites that ask us to tell them about ourselves. It is an open opportunity for people to toot their own horn.

The other day in social media we discussed Generation Y in detail. How they are babied by parents and how fantastic their grades are. Our generation was over-rewarded in my opinion. My mom always laughed at the way parents rewarded their children for an A or acted like their painting was comparable to Picaso. I would question her and compare myself to my friends, asking why I didn't get to go out to dinner because I got an A. And she would always say something to the effect that I should be getting A's because I want to, not because I want a reward. And when I would bring something home from art class, if it was terrible, she would tell me it was a good effort or great for my first try. Other parents though were the complete opposite and I feel as though the way they acted plays greatly into the fact that a good majority of Gen Y is so self-centered and has such high self-esteem.

Another factor is the need for attention. Growing up, Generation Y had loads of attention from parents, teachers, and coaches. Once we enter college, our parents aren't there at every game and don't see every grade. Professors give us a little pat on the shoulder here and there, but nothing as monumental as what we saw in grade school. And coaches are constantly expecting us to be better and push harder. The lack of positive attention drives our generation to use social media outlets to gain attention. Some write blogs about their everyday life in hopes people will read, others post pictures so people can tell them how cute they look, and most have an about me section they have perfected so everyone wants to be their friend. Overall, I believe we are more narcissistic than previous generations, but it is not due to just one thing. Multiple factors have played large roles in Generation Y's overdose of self-esteem and constant need for attention.