Here’s another take on the research currently making the rounds suggesting today’s college students are far less empathic than previous generations. From Ray Williams, blogging at Psychology Today:
Twenge says this doesn’t mean GenMe is spoiled. That would imply they always got what they wanted. Young people today have to overcome many challenges their parents didn’t have to. For example, while families of the Baby Boom generation could once achieve a middle-class status on the earnings of one high school educated person, it now takes two college-educated earners to achieve the same standard of living. Many Gen Yers feel that the world demands perfection in everything, and some are cracking under the pressure. Many of them in their twenties today find that their jobs do not provide the fulfillment and excitement they had anticipated, and their salaries are not enough to have the lifestyle they wanted.
Does that mean that GenMe is selfish? Twenge says no. She cites the fact that youth volunteerism has actually risen in the last decade. GenMe wants to make a difference in the world. GenMe also believes that people should follow their dreams and not be held back by societal expectations. This theme is often reflected in the movies and videos of today.
