Teo Hosaka
Ms.Caroline C. LafortezaEnglish for Academic and Professional Purposes 12
August 6, 2018
Critical Analysis of “The Millennials: The So-Called “Me Generation,” a Tough Generation To Contend With”
The paper entitled “The Millennials: The So-Called “Me Generation,” a Tough Generation To Contend With” is about the narcissistic personality of the millennial generation and tackled why this generation is considered to be the ‘Me Generation’ or a generation that is more self-absorbed. There is a tendency that most people under this particular generation will develop narcissistic behavior because of many factors which include the availability of more revolutionary technology and the competition that they experienced in work and school. Because of this narcissistic characteristic, Millennials are hard to contend with as this paper implied. With the use of reliable sources, the paper concluded that although narcissistic behavior could help in the success of individuals, there are also people who became successful not because of this behavior.
On the contrary to what the paper relays, despite the observation that Millennials are hard to work with, this is because they are strong-willed and value-focused but not really narcissistic (Mesika, 2018). This critical analysis, as supported by relevant references, argued that narcissism is not that common among Millennials. Not all millennials have the tendency to develop narcissistic behavior or characteristics but Millennials are known for their tough approach in life. Moreover, Millennials are just expressive but not arrogant, that is why they seem to be more considerate of themselves and not of others. In the recent history, Millennials is remarkably the most expressive generation; this is due to the fact that they have the eagerness to freely voice out their positive and negative opinions about the world (Kim, 2015). This makes them clear and concise in their communication which makes them straightforward but not self-centered.
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Millennials could be called the ‘Me Generation’ not because of their tendency to develop more narcissistic personality but because of their higher self-esteem and their ability to express themselves better. Compared to the other generations, Millennials don’t waste time when they want to change something, they change themselves first and share their positive and negative opinions to others (Kim, 2015). They indeed have higher self-esteem but are always considerate of what is the best for the majority and not just focus on what pleases them.The past generations are less-expressive and that affected their own sense of freedom. Millenials learned from the flaws of the past generations so they became more expressive but not necessarily narcissistic.
There are studies that have directly contradicted the idea that Millennials are the most narcissistic compared to the generations before it; one survey found little change when the ideas about individualism, self-esteem and life appreciation are compared between the Millennials and the younger versions of the previous generations such as the Generation X and the Baby Boomers (Foster 2014). According to psychology researchers, when narcissism is observed in generation and life stages, they have found that narcissistic behavior is related to age developmental stages and not actually to generation; which conclude that every generation is considerably a ‘Me Generation’ as younger people are observed to be more narcissistic compared with the older people (Foster, 2014). This makes more sense than generalizing that the Millennials are mostly narcissistic.
According to the paper, Millennials could develop a narcissistic personality because of the way the technology affects them. They also look-up to the famous celebrities who have a great online presence and aspire to be like them. Since the ‘me generation’ is composed of people who have grown up in the world of mobile camera, selfies, social media and internet socialization, it is easy to surmise that they will be led into admiring their own reflections (Jacobs, 2017). Due to this alleged narcissistic behavior, many Millennials are more focused on gaining popularity as they relate it to success. However, it should be noted that not all Millennials are utilizing the internet to gain popularity but to openly express themselves better. There are researchers who agreed that Millennials are a lot less selfish even if people see them as a self-centered generation (Foster, 2014). They are even more willing to share what they have, particularly their talents and abilities. Millennials are not as narcissistic and self-absorbed as the media described them to be; nor focused on having pleasing physical features and taking self-photos (Kim, 2015). They simply value themselves and are more confident in the things that they do.
The continuous improvement of technology leads the Millennials to use the latest trends to become successful not just in business but in making friends as well. This makes them appear more narcissistic because they seem to seek attention while they are just more sociable compared to the previous generations. Millennials are also more likely to appreciate technology compared to older adults because of the way technology makes life easier and brings family and friends closer together (Pew Research Center, 2010). Moreover, since Millennials are more sociable and more appreciative, they get along well with their parents and they respect their elders (Pew Research Center, 2010). Although there are indeed narcissistic celebrities and famous personalities who belong to the ‘Me Generation’, it doesn’t mean that most Millennials have narcissistic tendencies. As they are reaching adulthood, Millennials have already distinguished themselves as a generation that gets along well with others (Pew Research Center, 2010). The paper used inadequate sources in its claim that Millennials are tough to contend with.
In general, this essay refutes the information that Millennials have high narcissistic tendencies. Millennials are just open-minded, expressive and more adventurous but this does not mean that they could easily become narcissistic. Millennials are known for having a great sense of inclusion and being comfortable with uncertainty and technology (Glaser, 2017). They have a positive mindset which allows them to find the right solutions in the middle of adversities. In contrary on what the paper claims, Millennials are more collaborative, entrepreneurial, communicative and are willing to go extra miles to help others. I recommend further research on the characteristics of Millennials and their motivations, insights, behavior, and values in general. The essay has insufficient information that proves Millennials to be narcissistic and hard to contend with.
References:
Foster, B. (2014). The Persistent Myth of the Narcissistic Millennial. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/the-persistent-myth-of-the-narcissistic-millennial/382565/
Glaser, J. (2017). Understanding the Mindset of Millennials. Vistage. Retrieved from https://www.vistage.com/research-center/talent-management/retention-engagement/20170622-understanding-millennial-mindset/
Jacobs, T. (2017). Millennials may not be such Narcissists after all. Pacific Standard. Retrieved from https://psmag.com/news/millennials-may-not-be-such-narcissists-after-all
Kim, L. (2015). Why Everything You Think You Know About Millennials Is Wrong. Inc. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/leonard-kim/everything-you-know-about-millennials-is-wrong-backed-by-data.html
Pew Research Center. (2010). Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change. Pew Social Trends. Retrieved from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/02/24/millennials-confident-connected-open-to-change/
