Quantcast
 
 
 
Top Story
The Politics of Gay Marriage in Campaign 2008
My Journey to the Top
 
 
Latest News
Late Senator figures in 2008 presidential furor
 
 
expand

Narcissists in Neverland

Gen-Yers say they are willing to make financial sacrifices to make the world a better place. But how long can they really expect to work less, volunteer more--and count on their aging parents to push back retirement?

By Emily Flynn Vencat | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Oct 16, 2007 | Updated: 5:01  p.m. ET Oct 16, 2007

« Return to Article

 
Discuss
 
Member Comments
  • Posted By: gggp @ 04/17/2008 4:15:26 PM

    Comment: I don't think I've ever read an article that I disagreed with so much. It even seems to suggest that trying to find a career that you love is somehow "childish". On the contrary, it is the ONLY way to go, the way to leave your competition in the dust. If you "settle in", "make sacrifices" and worry about your job every waking day, you're making yourself a more stressed and less productive. I just can't believe the cluelessness of quotes like: "They've been raised on bad advice, like "believe in yourself and you can do anything," leaving many with deeply unrealistic expectations about their lives". The people who actually acomplish things in life were not only raised on this "bad advice", they also live by it. This faith is every bit as necessary as hard work.

  • Posted By: gggp @ 04/17/2008 4:15:18 PM

    Comment: I don't think I've ever read an article that I disagreed with so much. It even seems to suggest that trying to find a career that you love is somehow "childish". On the contrary, it is the ONLY way to go, the way to leave your competition in the dust. If you "settle in", "make sacrifices" and worry about your job every waking day, you're making yourself a more stressed and less productive. I just can't believe the cluelessness of quotes like: "They've been raised on bad advice, like "believe in yourself and you can do anything," leaving many with deeply unrealistic expectations about their lives". The people who actually acomplish things in life were not only raised on this "bad advice", they also live by it. This faith is every bit as necessary as hard work.

  • Posted By: gggp @ 04/17/2008 4:15:02 PM

    Comment: I don't think I've ever read an article that I disagreed with so much. It even seems to suggest that trying to find a career that you love is somehow "childish". On the contrary, it is the ONLY way to go, the way to leave your competition in the dust. If you "settle in", "make sacrifices" and worry about your job every waking day, you're making yourself a more stressed and less productive. I just can't believe the cluelessness of quotes like: "They've been raised on bad advice, like "believe in yourself and you can do anything," leaving many with deeply unrealistic expectations about their lives". The people who actually acomplish things in life were not only raised on this "bad advice", they also live by it. This faith is every bit as necessary as hard work.

  • Posted By: gggp @ 04/17/2008 4:07:16 PM

    Comment: .

  • Posted By: Karina Ioffee @ 11/30/2007 3:39:15 PM

    Comment: This article completely ignores all of the positive and innovative things Gen Xers are doing in their communities and the world. My friends and I regularly volunteer in our community--whether it's with seniors or in the soup kitchen-- and it does not stand in the way of us working hard to pursue our career goals. So what if we won't settle for a job just to pay the bills, that we aspire to accomplish great things and do jobs that have meaning? It's not necessarily unrealistic and selfish, but admirable and should be celebrated as a new awareness that happiness does not necessarily mean making a lot of money, buying a house and retiring comfortably, but rather working on improving the state of our towns, cities, countries and the world.

  • Posted By: seker2k @ 11/11/2007 2:26:12 PM

    Comment: Of course this article does not mention how corporations and politicians have destroyed America's jobs and economy. The day of reckoning is at hand as more Americans learn the truth that neoliberalism is destroying their lives.

  • Posted By: BabyBoomer @ 10/24/2007 12:54:17 PM

    Comment: One problem with this article is that it is such a tiny slice of the population. Twenge discusses Americans as well as those from other countries but there is a great spectrum of individuals across the developed world and within America ??? and now there is a widening disparity between the rich and the poor.

    Since I was born in 1939 and have seen a lot of change, what I think is missing is an analysis of what a Twentysomething faced in the 1940's, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's vs what they are facing now and in the 90's. It is a different world. In the 40's, 50's, and even the 60's, Middle-Americans could enter the American workforce and with hard work, keep the same job just about for life, earn a salary that would enable you to buy a home, support a family of four, get health insurance as part of your job, send your kids to college without taking a huge loan, and still manage to save for your retirement. Everything changed in the 70's and beyond and those who started working in the 70's at age 25 or so, have been finding themselves in their mid to late 50's and losing all the job-related benefits as they lose their jobs and also becoming too old to be attractive to any employer. The same future faces their counterparts who are now in their 30's and 40's as the world changes even faster. The boomers and pre-boomers are the ones who lived through the age of opportunity and they will probably have the last good years of retirement of any generation to come. Each of the succeeding generations will be finding it more and more difficult to enjoy what we had access to and I would not want to be an 18 year old today, facing the world as it evolves, without having had the good fortune of being raised by parents who understood that a good education and a work ethic would be the two most valuable tools with which to navigate successfully through this coming maze of life with its only consistent pattern being "change" - coming at you at warp speed.

    One can find fault with all past generations but that solves nothing. Until Americans decide that they want more from their government and decide to vote into office those who believe that both education and health care should be our highest priorities, nothing will change. You cannot successfully fight any challenge, whether it is terrorism or illness or environmental change unless you have an educated and healthy population. The true terrorism comes from our ignorance, our egocentric belief of American superiority and narrow view of the world, our unhealthy lifestyle, our damaging acts to the environment with wasteful practices of energy use and pollution of our water supply, our dismissal of climate change, and most of all, our belief that we should tell any other country how they should run their government or which is the one true religion. When you spend $700+ billion on defense and less than a 10th of that on education, energy, science/technology, and the environment, something is wrong.

  • Posted By: MSIMagus25 @ 10/24/2007 9:18:58 AM

    Comment: Rather one sided and unfair article. Yes our generation has been told you can do anything and essentially babied but who did that to us? Thats right your generation. Putting that obvious problem aside though lets look at the fact that the baby boom generation made their money on the back of the enviorment the undeveloped world and even off of our own poor. Its easy to sit and call our generation lazy, but your generation was coddled just in a different way. Nowe we face having to buckle down and not just work, but sacrafice like people havnt in years because your generation dropped the ball. Now our generation must face the fact that in a time when accourding to your own magazine people are making less then they did since anytime till the 1920s. Our generation will be the one to pay the taxes on your generationsSSI retriment. And our generation will be the one that has to pay the taxes for your global warming. So before you sit and point fingers and say its sad that we take jobs for fun in our early 20s why dont you think about the legacy your generation is leaving us and jst how much work we have to do in the coming years. And why dont you think about how many people from your generation were hippies, people that didnt work and enjoyed their 20s ALOT more then we did.

    • Posted By: Luvseaturtles @ 10/25/2007 10:08:54

      Comment: As a baby boomer who took my education, career and a lifetime of environmental activism very seriously, I do look very closely at who will continue the legacy I leave behind. While I have seen some impressively thoughtful and insightful letters from young folks in these comments, your letter frightens me. You seem very angry, and you don't even possess basic grammer and spelling skills that should have been mastered in Middle School. These are the skills that will enable you to survive and compete in today's world. I know you don't serve as a perfect example of others your age, but yes, it does frighten me to leave the legacy of everything I have accomplished in my life to the likes of you.

  • Posted By: rphilbin @ 10/23/2007 3:48:29 PM

    Comment: The REAL solution this article calls for is generational warfare. I'm all for it. As a GenXer I know damn well my generation will get trounced by the sheer numbers. I welcome this and consider it the greatest sacrifice we could make. So who's with me? Let's gather up arms and let the killing begin! The earth's human population needs a good pruning anyways.

  • Posted By: rphilbin @ 10/23/2007 3:48:17 PM

    Comment: The REAL solution this article calls for is generational warfare. I'm all for it. As a GenXer I know damn well my generation will get trounced by the sheer numbers. I welcome this and consider it the greatest sacrifice we could make. So who's with me? Let's gather up arms and let the killing begin! The earth's human population needs a good pruning anyways.

  • Posted By: Tammy Erickson @ 10/23/2007 9:46:38 AM

    Comment: I am toubled by the tone of this article and others that reflect the conclusions of Dr. Twenge's book. Empathy for generational diversity is a great challenge for corporate leaders today -- and is not helped by work that is critical of one generation based, I'd suggest, on the standards and expectations of another -- with little attempt to understand the logic behind this new generation's actions. Based on our research, I am confident that Gen Y will make a tremendous contribution to business. They grew up in a very different world than did the Boomers or Gen X 'ers-- it would be unrealistic to expect them to behave in similar ways as a result. Let's see what we can learn from them.
    Tammy Erickson (blog: "Acoss the Ages" http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/erickson/)

  • Posted By: Just watching @ 10/18/2007 5:59:32 PM

    Comment: Same issue of the magazine:

  • Posted By: Just watching @ 10/18/2007 5:58:21 PM

    Comment: Two articles in the same issue:
    "Dream House or Nightmare?" and "Narcissists in Neverland"
    Neither have a grip on reality.

  • Posted By: Eric.Murray @ 10/18/2007 2:27:52 PM

    Comment: I have read the comments below and can understand that as an individual it is hard to be luimped into a group like Gen Y or Gen X, etc. However, the sad thing is I know half a dozen Gen Y'ers and they all fall into this category. Once, a few years ago, during a conversation with some of my friends, I asked them what their 10 year goals were. None responded with any words but rather blank stares met my question. Then, one of my friends piped up and said," Well, you are 30, when I am 30 I will have a good job, savings, a house and all that you have also." I tried to explain that I have worked since I was 12 years old as a paperboy first, then fast food, and finally now have a good career making decent money. I put myself through college; it took 10 years to complete my Bachelors degree. It was my hard work when I was younger that allowed me to work my way up.....yes kids...work your way up. No one, unless you own the company, gets to start with a glamorous, high-paying job. Heck, even movie stars, sports heroes, etc have put in a lifetime of work to achieve their accomplishments. I am getting into my upper 30's now and my friends are all fast approaching their 30th birthday. I wonder what great career they will get handed when the time comes? I will just have to wait and see. LOL!

  • Posted By: Eric.Murray @ 10/18/2007 2:13:38 PM

    Comment: I am a 36 year old male living in California with many younger friends that fit this category to a "T." I find it humiliating for them to still live at home when they are in their mid to late 20's. I moved out of my parents home at 19 and have held a full-time job while completing my Bachelor degree. It took me 10 years to finish school, but the work and life experience I garnered during this time was invaluable. My friends, just a few years ago, used to tell me that when they were 30 or over their lives would be like mine, i.e. careers with decent pay, living on their own, and stable. I tried to explain that it was my hard work in my 20's that have allowed me the opportunity to hold my current job and home. It is funny....almost like they expect upon their 30th birthday that someone will tell them, "Oh the line for good jobs starts here." A frriend recently turning 30 has finally admitted he knows he is going nowhere and has begun to listen to my diatribes about education and self-accountability. If it is not obvious, I am conservative fiscally and do not believe in hand-outs for anyone...not even from your parents. I have a good start on my retirement and plan on retiring young and travelling with my parents. We are friends now. Friends that can only be due to our mutual respect for each other. Kick 'em out! The real world is so much more challenging and interesting.

  • Posted By: rdaffron @ 10/18/2007 2:12:02 PM

    Comment: Your mistake was letting her move back in. It is time she grew up and you put her out. Period.

  • Posted By: rdaffron @ 10/18/2007 2:11:27 PM

    Comment: Enter Your Comment

  • Posted By: StephS @ 10/18/2007 2:00:33 PM

    Comment: I am a Gen Y, as is my husband (both of us in our mid-twenties). I see articles like this one, and cannot relate, and nor can my husband. I really think the reason why is our upbringings and the "stuff" that our parents did not allow us to take for granted. My parents expected me and my siblings to work on our family farm each summer growing up, and sometimes on the weekends during school. It wasn't a choice. We knew what was expected of us and didn't question it. We did receive pay for our work, and our parents allowed us to manage our own money. We were expected to pay for our own college educations, and they made us firm believers at a young age that college would be a given. Because of that, my siblings and I all learned how to manage our lives before we moved off to college at 18. Our parents had very high expectations of us, and raised us to be very independent, which is contrary to the way most in my generation were raised. In a way, I think some parents aren't quite ready for their children to grow up, so they don't teach their children how to be an adult when it is imperative (while they're teens). Also, parents tend to pay for everything -- clothes, cars, phones, etc. -- and kids, in turn, do not learn the importance of a dollar, and how hard it is to earn that dollar. So I hate to say it, parents Gen Yers, but I think a lot of the blame falls back on you.

  • Posted By: Debiw @ 10/18/2007 1:28:35 PM

    Comment: My husband and I are boomers. We have a 28 year old daughter, a GEN ME. She is again, living at home. Has a law degree, worked for a major hotel in the legal department. Decided that was not what she wanted to do with her life. Law was too stressful. She choose that, not us. She is now back in school to be a physician's assistant. She has a part time job , which does not begin to cover her life style. All the
    education and expenses in the past have been covered by us. We are so disappointed with her attitude.
    We want a life after her. We beleive we have created this monster adult. Everything has to be fun. Life is not always fun. We have worked very hard to be were we are. Why do these kids not see that.? When will the wake up call come?

    • Posted By: rdaffron @ 10/18/2007 15:25:20

      Comment: Excuse me, but if SHE decided that her chosen career wasn't to her liking, then it is HER responsiblity to find something that she wants and NOT yours. It is HER responsibility to figure out how to do this and NOT yours, nor is it yours to enable her. You ask when will the wake up call come? It comes when you kick her behind out and tell her to figure things out on her own. For God's sake, SHE'S 28!!!! , not 18. You have created yoiur own problem by allowing her to take advantage of you and use YOU as a DOORMAT.

    • Posted By: mallieo @ 10/18/2007 15:17:56

      Comment: Maybe you DID create this "monster adult" but you put a stop to the entitlement now. I'm a 23 year old college graduate who discovered that I didn't like my career choice, either. When I asked my parents if I could have the option of moving back in with them while I worked and figured out what I wanted to do with my life, their answer was quite simply, "No." It's not that they don't love me--they live in a small town with few opportunities and felt that moving back was not in my best interests. They also believed that I should support myself. Was I mad? No. I happen to think they were right. It forced me to get in gear and take a job in the city, get an apartment away from campus and live in the real world. I pay all my own bills, and yes, it's hard. In fact, it sucks. Entry-level jobs pay next to nothing and it's all I can do to make rent/gas/groceries/insurance every month.

      The point is--if your kid has a job "that does not begin to cover her lifestyle" maybe she should scale it back. It's called a cheap apartment, a roommate, ramen noodles and used cars. I'm doing it, my friends are doing it--sometimes you don't have a choice. If you want "the wake up call" to come then YOU need to make it. Give your daughter 30 days to get a place. If she's got a law degree and is in school to be a physicians assistant then she's got a big jump on the rest of us. The medical field is one of the easiest industries to work in these days. This article is ridiculous but it describes your daughter to a "t". I wonder how she got that way--and why you're allowing her to mooch off you--and then why you're blaming this generation??? Maybe YOU need the wake up call--it's your kid that makes the rest of us look bad.

  • Posted By: Debiw @ 10/18/2007 1:19:26 PM

    Comment: Enter Your Comment

  • Posted By: Debiw @ 10/18/2007 1:19:07 PM

    Comment: Enter Your Comment

  • Posted By: rdaffron @ 10/18/2007 1:09:53 PM

    Comment: My husband and I are Boomers. We have a 17 year old daughter, who qualifies as a Gen ME. My hubby is a retail manager at a national electronics retailer and has several Gen Y people who work for him, as well as a couple of Gen X and a couple of Boomers. That said, the problems he has, as have other managers, is with the younger crowd thinking that they can show up whenever they please, take off whenver they please and not do the work they're assigned to do. He had one gal who put in a letter (mailed it) that gave her 3-week notice, then never showed up again for work. He tried to call her on her cell and home #s and she would NEVER return the call. I guess she figured that giving notice meant never having to come back to work. WRONG!!! What she did in not answering sat herself up to be FIRED. Manager after manager has had experiences with younger workers doing shoddy work and not caring. Now, granted, it's retail and the hours are lousy BUT it's a very bad reflection on you as a person if you act this way. Yes, there's been older workers whom show characteristics of not caring, but they, by and large, are few and far between. And what is even worse, is the attitude of "I don't care."

    Every generation has its problems - mine grew up with hippies, free love, communes, etc. But we had to grow up and realize that the real world isn't the ideal place we wanted it to be, just as Gen Y will have to do. There's no doubt that a lot of things will HAVE to change because of the way the world has become. Undoubtabley some boomer parents, as well as Gen X parents have allowed their offspring to become lazy and privelaged, that the world OWES them. They themselves have created the monsters of Gen Y and ME. So, in that respect, they have no one else to blame but themselves. However, Gen Y and ME will HAVE to grow up and realize that this world does NOT owe them a job or anything else. They will have to WORK for what they get and stop whinning about it. Best advice - get off your butts, out of your parents house, and start supporting yourself and stop whining as who is to blame. Words won't fix the problems, actions do.

  • Posted By: StepMo @ 10/18/2007 10:06:12 AM

    Comment: I am not a member of gen Y. The largerst obsticle to indepentant living is the cost of living. I live in denver where the cost of living is high. It is difficult for a person to be able to afford to live alone in a nice part of town and a pay all the bills and still have money to enjoy being single. People have decided to live with family to have the opertunity to enjoy life in america instead of being burdened with the difficulties of living in a society that is increasinly more hostile to workers that are not in the upper management. The gen Y problem is bigger than young people with a lack of ambition. The problem is america is greedy. The everyone wants more and everyone wants to do less. We want companies with high profits so your 401k will grow. So companies minimize saliries (non top management) , cut and outsource jobs to increase profites. While retailers, houseing industry, and oil companies maximize the prices of there goods. The result is America is cuting it's own throat and killing the middle class. Members of generation Y do not want to be the first generation that will live a lower lifestyle that there parents but that is exactly what is going to happen unless there is major change is how american corporation view the american people and how american poeple view there jobs.

  • Posted By: bpphil @ 10/18/2007 9:08:07 AM

    Comment: landgraf1021, do you say the same thing about all black people contribute substandard work, you would be shunned. It is nice for you that it is still acceptable to discriminate based on age. ***.

    • Posted By: rdaffron @ 10/18/2007 17:49:41

      Comment: Unfortunately, his statements are somewhat valid, particularly if they've NEVER been taught the right attitude in the first place. You reap what you sow, the old saying goes. And those who think a job is owed or they're going to waltz in and get $$$$$$$$$$ for little or no work have a very rude awaking coming. Yes, a lot of parents are partly to blame for their attitude and it most definitely shows in the Gen Y work ethic (or lack thereof). As I told my then 14 year old (who obvously knew everything in the world and parents were stupid), you will fall very far and very fast with the attitude displayed. At 17, working 20+ hr/week and school on top of it, she's finding that just maybe her parents weren't as stupid as she thought. When she graduates college (no "if", only "when"), it is expected and understood that she will move out to be on her own. If her career decision leads her to have to change cities, then so be it. That's the way it is and it HAS to be for you to stand on your own 2 feet and learn to be a responsible, productive ADULT.

  • Posted By: hallo.john @ 10/18/2007 9:02:23 AM

    Comment:

  • Posted By: hallo.john @ 10/18/2007 9:01:43 AM

    Comment:

  • Posted By: epim @ 10/17/2007 11:30:44 PM

    Comment: I think the "narcissism" of Gen-Y, of which I am a part of, is just a response to having watched our parents live unhappy and unfulfilled lives doing it their way. So now we're trying to do it differently and see if it turns out better for us in the end. Parents always hope you do it better than they did, and this generation of parents is no different. That's why they let us hang around for so long, they want to see us do better, too.

  • Posted By: epim @ 10/17/2007 11:05:38 PM

    Comment: As a gen-y'er, I found myself at times affronted by this article, and at times agreeing - a lot of the time it was being affronted initally and then realizing the statement might be true, might even apply to me. But this article simplifies it way too much. I think my generation's "narcissism" is a response to having watched our parents live unfulfilled and unhappy lives - we don't want to repeat that. In a lot of cases, our own parents don't want us to repeat that either, afterall, they are the ones allowing us to live at home, willing to pay some of our bills while we take our time to discover what will really make us happy. We're idealistic and sometimes that can translate to "naive" but for the most part I think our intentions are good and we're taking longer to settle down now so that we can be happier later. I wish my parents would have done the same.

  • Posted By: landgraf1021 @ 10/17/2007 8:48:12 PM

    Comment: I find it humorous that all the Gen Y-ers responding to this article are outraged. As a Gen X-er, I am tired of being lumped in with them by the baby boomers. I am hard working and put MYSELF through college and have never expected anything handed to me. I don't consider a college degree a right to anything. It irks me to no end that these Gen-Ys contribute substandard work, and then act like they made this HUGE contribution. The baby boomers are still very much in control in corporate America.

  • Posted By: KingCthulu @ 10/17/2007 6:36:18 PM

    Comment: Enter Your Comment

  • Posted By: ToBeAnAmerican @ 10/17/2007 6:30:20 PM

    Comment: So many problems, so little time. Many people in all generations do not have stable jobs because the way the economy works today. Generation X who runs the show has created a system where you need a college degree to get a decent paying job and to advance in your career path you need a graduate degree. The fact that 50% of high school students think they will get a graduate degree at some point has NOTHING to do with false ideas, but actually shows that high school students understand that harsh nature of today's society!!! Today, a college degree means as much as a high school degree did 25 years ago and the same goes for a graduate degree. If you don't like what the kids are thinking today, you created the system, we are just trying to follow the rules!

    Today's economy has also taken many jobs out of America and put them into other countries. Who's idea was this? Generation X of course! Jobs come and go as companies decide to shift headquarters and branches to meet tight profit margins. Do I blame Generation X for doing something that makes economic sense? No, the world is changing but I do blame certain members of Generation X for not considering since everything is changing, perhaps life goals in people's twenties should be changing too!

    As for changing Generation Y to Generation ME, which generation refuses to raise the age of social security benefits despite the fact that people 65 years and older are more capable of working today than 65 years old 25, 50 years ago? GENERATION X!

    Which generation came up with all of the small products that make life eaiser but wreck havoc on the envoirnment which Generation Y will have to clean up?!

    Which generation elected candidate after candidate to office on a platform of LOW TAXES and TAX BREAKS to those who built their dream homes out in unsustainable communities that are stretching the economic infrastructure of this country?

    Which generation snubbed public transportation in favor of cars and created the leading problem in air quality?

    Which generation creates and markets the 'selfish toys' as must have items like the IPOD, Wii, etc.?

    Is Generation X the entire reason for our society's problems? No, but they aren't giving any solutions either. They refuse to vote away the nice little tax breaks and government handouts they get while complaining about young people needing their parents to help them out when their companies don't provide health insurance because the economy has changed from when they were 25 years old.

    It's hard to finish writing this because the author has it all wrong and I can't stop going after the holes, but whatever people, there you have it.

  • Posted By: mscarr1 @ 10/17/2007 6:18:10 PM

    Comment: I think it's a mixed bag. There is a vast number of Narcissistic young people who are afraid to grow up and be responsible - check out reality tv - the Hills, Laguna Beach blah blah blah, there are also a good number who are responsible contributing members of the society - be it in traditional work or volunteerism.

    The fear is that the Peter Pans will never grow up - leaving the rest in the generation to support them in their fastasy pursuits.

    The blame belongs on the backs of the boomer parents who mis-managed having a balanced life. They were either too lenient (no rules/no discipline) or too greedy (work work/money money). So balanced living did not exist - leaving insecure children who just want to have fun.

    I plan to kick my Gen-Yer's out in a couple of years...right after they finish graduate school.

  • Posted By: mscarr1 @ 10/17/2007 6:13:28 PM

    Comment: Enter Your Comment

  • Posted By: Steveo @ 10/17/2007 5:18:34 PM

    Comment: You know it occurred to me that this article is statistically invalid. You would need a representative population to make this claim and be taken seriously. I see one incidence, Felicite, and you have made a conclusion around it with anecdotal evidence from one survey to support it (that study could also be interpreted to say that today's young workers are parasitically underpaid by their employers). Also, the "regional studies" you cite aren't cited. I bet I can find someone who is 50 that will say that he is made of cheese if I look hard enough. Bam! All 50 year olds are made of cheese! To quote the great Ron Burgundy, "it's science."

  • Posted By: gigiperforma @ 10/17/2007 4:09:46 PM

    Comment: I disagree. As a 20something who is both working at a meaningful job AND living on my own, I think my generation is responding to the equal parts of selfishness and apathy I see in the gerneration above me. So maybe we want to change the world. And maybe we realize that we'd rather live with our parents (not easy) and make some financial sacrifices (which ultimatley we WILL pay for) in order to do it. I, for one, wish we had more examples in ANY generation of people making socially responsible and thoughtful choices, even at the cost of (gasp) the great American buck.

  • Posted By: gigiperforma @ 10/17/2007 4:04:18 PM

    Comment: Enter Your Comment

  • Posted By: bpphil @ 10/17/2007 2:11:58 PM

    Comment: Why not ask some of the 18-29 year olds in Iraq or Afghanistan if they are feeling narcissistic rather than some anonymous chick named Felicite

  • Posted By: bpphil @ 10/17/2007 2:01:15 PM

    Comment: -Blame the kids- is a cowards way to deal with this complex social problem.

  • Posted By: bpphil @ 10/17/2007 1:48:32 PM

    Comment: Are all boomers war mongering dick-holes like Dick Cheney? No.
    This article is offensive on many levels but probably most offensive is the attempt by the author to make an unfair generalization about an entire generation. That is just stupid.

  • Posted By: volvo1971 @ 10/17/2007 1:31:10 PM

    Comment: ...as I was saying...to do it until I am able to sort-of retire in 15 years. THEN I can have fun and bring some meaning and substance to my life?! Nope. I may die before I get old; there's no time like the present. Maybe the article's author is bitter that she never did what we are doing now.

  • Posted By: volvo1971 @ 10/17/2007 1:28:13 PM

    Comment: I guess I am a member of Gen-X, being almost 40 years old, married and with a cushy desk job that pays well and has generous benefits. And guess what...I'm not happy!! Life isn't getting up at the crack of dawn, working for some stuffed suit-and-tie doing something that I don't enjoy very much, coming home and having a few hours to myself before going to bed so I can do it all over again tomorrow. And next week. And next year. xmc

  • Posted By: crabber @ 10/17/2007 1:09:08 PM

    Comment: AK28 makes a good point about pursuing money and not finding happiness. These generalizations are completely backwards from what I've seen as a 26-year-old. My parents and people their age, many of them were given a great deal by their parents, who lived through WWII and had a culture of hard work. The children, the "That 70's Show" generation, did not plan for the future very well, and created an era of divorce and broken homes. Now the Gen-Y'ers are the product of broken homes, and we have a different priority - finding happiness. However we are capable of learning from the mistakes of our parents - like how many baby boomers were screwed by the transition from company pension plans to self-directed 401k plans. Also, they are the ones who gave us a lot of bad advice: "Follow your dreams. Anything you can dream, you can do." Well, many of us have followed that, and now they say we live in a fantasy. Nice. Thanks.

  • Posted By: EmilyRose79 @ 10/17/2007 1:08:14 PM

    Comment: (continued)
    The statistics you give in this article hardly illustrate that this "phenomenon" represents a majority of the people in my generation. Perhaps a follow-up article on Gen-Yers who make a difference, make a lot of money (which seems to be important to you), or put in 80+ hours of work every week would make your study of this generation more complete.
    On the other hand, I will agree with you that many members of my generation are co-dependent, whiney, and have no clue what living on their own actually entails. I simply hope you to know that we are not all the same.

  • Posted By: EmilyRose79 @ 10/17/2007 1:02:37 PM

    Comment: I am a 27 year old, unmarried woman living on my own in Chicago. I moved out of my parents' home when I was 18 and have only returned for holidays. I graduated college early, found a full time job in the "real world" right away, and have been working (very hard) and supporting myself since the day after I completed my college classes. The reason? I was raised by parents who told me that the world doesn't offer a "free ride" and that I had to learn to take care of myself. Your article makes some decent points about many of the people in my generation. I know a lot of irresponsible people whose parents pay their bills, rent, send them to Europe, buy them cars, and bail them out of any trouble they manage to get themselves into. I also know many more people my age who are focused, career-driven, and have their futures in the forefront of their minds. The difference between the two groups can be found not only in the Gen-Yers, but also in their parents. Your article seems to victimize the "aging parents" as you call them who are putting off retirement to help their deadbeat kids. Those parents are choosing to do that for their children. Both of my parents worked hard for themselves and their children and retired in their 50's. I do not expect to inherit a large sum of money, nor should I. I wasn't raised that way. If I found myself in a financial bind tomorrow, I would go to the bank for loan, not to my parents. Then again, I am not a spoiled child. If these Gen-Yers are not prepared for the "real world," the parents are partially to blame for that. After all, children cannot spoil themselves. Another point you bring up that I found a little irriatating is the consistent mention of marriage and children. No, not all of us got married at 23 and I think that is something that should be applauded, not immediately labeled as "narcissim." You question whether this generation will be able to handle having children. Once again, it is not a bad thing that people in their twenties are putting off having children and getting married until they are ready to handle it. Think of how many children in the DCFS program are children of mothers in their twenties. You should also remember that our generation has more divorced parents than any generation before us. Perhaps we are not rushing into marriage before the age of 25 because we want to make sure we are getting married for the right reasons and because we want to avoid painful divorces that many of our parents endured.
    I am not saying that the examples you have provided do not illustrate a certain degree of narcissism, but I do think your agrument appears one-sided throughout most of your article. If you pick up any number of business magazines in a given month, you will find an article entitled "The Top 40 Under 40." I realize people in their 30's and 40's are not part of Gen Y, but there are many of us out there putting in the work that earns the right to be on the cover of those magazines. The statistics yo

    • Posted By: CivilServantBradley @ 10/17/2007 14:46:16

      Comment: Well spoken. I think placing the blame here in this article is also pointless. The article overlooked the very heart of the issue: the "American dream" is abstract and dynamic. Who are we to criticize Gen Y-ers who choose to live at home to pursue purported selfish interests, just the same as we try and fault the boomer generation who pushed so hard to gain wealth and homes. Granted, there will always be some people who piddle their lives away and are drains on society, their families, etc...but this article seems to imply that this is not the exception, but rather the rule.

    • Posted By: Spadesp78 @ 10/17/2007 13:09:40

      Comment: I have to admit, when I hear King Rod propose that "kids" up to age 29 should be allowed to be on their parents' health insurance policies (a practice in New Jersey that drove up premiums for ALL people responsible enough to provide their own insurance) I wonder just what the heck is wrong with some people in our generation. If you're that old and still on your parents' insurance, it's safe to assume that person still lives at home (thus does not have the expenses associated with rent/owning a place to live), and is either a freeloader living off their parents (and other people paying health insurance) or just a total loser who doesn't have a real job and apparently has no marketable skills to make that person employable. We should NOT reward total irresponsibility.

      • Posted By: nadine07 @ 10/17/2007 22:54:55

        Comment: They could be a graduate student! Since I've been working a technically non-permanent job and going to graduate school, I have exactly ONE choice of health plan. It's overpriced, and I literally have not been able to afford the medical care I need (e.g. basic annual checkups). My mom, on the other hand, works at a hospital where they have a very good, cheap medical plan. My life would be so much better if I could get on it, not for being a freeloader, but just for wanting regular health care without going into debt.

  • Posted By: kreed177 @ 10/17/2007 1:01:43 PM

    Comment: As a GenYer that does have wealthy parents to fund her "explorations" I'd like to say that this article blows. There are plenty of hard working people in their late twenties who work hard and have promising careers - they're just too busy working and taking care of themselves to be noticed - it's not fashionable I suppose. Nonetheless, if my generation truly has their collective heads that far up their own asses, I'll laugh all the way to the bank.

  • Posted By: Spadesp78 @ 10/17/2007 12:58:22 PM

    Comment: This article is completely offensive, considering that the generation being scolded here is going to be the generation that pays for the misdeeds of the MOST irresponsible generation in American History (that would be the combined chronological generations of the Baby Boomers and Gen-X - the MOST irresponsible generation in American history - the people who can't even raise their own kids today without community sacrifice and government help.

    This hits me more as a pathetic attempt for THE MOST IRRESPONSIBLE generation in American history to avoid looking at themselves and assigning appropriate blame where it's due. I'm not the least bit surprised that the idea of sacrifice is foreign to these people (they were, after all, the people saying "it's MY money" while also voicing their opinions to send other people's kids off to war) or or the idea of PROVIDING FOR YOURSELF before you get yourself in over your head in debt is a form of narcissism to these people. It's the Gen-Xers after all who are looking to the government for a handout now that they've gotten themselves in over their heads in debt and are now facing foreclosure because of their ignorance and/or irresponsibility.

    I think old people should continue to work if only to offset the future tax burden on future generations because of the abject irresponsibility of the current older generations. Imagine that...working to pay for what you chose (i.e., war). Sorry, old-timers and irresponsible middle-agers, this is what we "narcissists" call PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.

  • Posted By: diezel0880 @ 10/17/2007 12:57:16 PM

    Comment: Good lord...whats wrong with pursuing your dreams and HELPING PEOPLE in the world ?? The last I checked this kind of stuff is what kept people genuinely happy and karma steadily moving. And if the parents are willing to put up their children for a bit longer as long as they are pursuing SOMETHING, isnt that their own business? I'm tired of listening to you money grubbing older folk who forgot what it was like to be satisfied regardless of your paychecks. You have no sense of community or selflessness which is what the world (particularly the US) needs more so now than ever. I'm sure most of these kids are not intentionally sponging or taking their parents for what their worth, they're absolutely entitled to pursuing dreams no matter how fruitless the pay is! Thats what being young is all about isnt it? Unrealistic dreams and exploring new paths no matter how low the pay. What better time to try and do some humanitarian poor paying work when you dont have a family to support?!? Would you rather see them bouncing from low paying job to low paying job while trying to support children? I highly doubt it since that would mean money out of your own pockets for welfare. Sounds like this author needs a trip to Never Never Land since she's obviously lost touch with her own inner passions and forgot what it was like to be young and full of dreams. If she had it her way we'd all be carrying briefcases and paying morgages at the age of 23...UNREALISTIC. What were YOU doing at that age??

  • Posted By: diezel0880 @ 10/17/2007 12:56:32 PM

    Comment: Good lord...whats wrong with pursuing your dreams and HELPING PEOPLE in the world ?? The last I checked this kind of stuff is what kept people genuinely happy and karma steadily moving. And if the parents are willing to put up their children for a bit longer as long as they are pursuing SOMETHING, isnt that their own business? I'm tired of listening to you money grubbing older folk who forgot what it was like to be satisfied regardless of your paychecks. You have no sense of community or selflessness which is what the world (particularly the US) needs more so now than ever. I'm sure most of these kids are not intentionally sponging or taking their parents for what their worth, they're absolutely entitled to pursuing dreams no matter how fruitless the pay is! Thats what being young is all about isnt it? Unrealistic dreams and exploring new paths no matter how low the pay. What better time to try and do some humanitarian poor paying work when you dont have a family to support?!? Would you rather see them bouncing from low paying job to low paying job while trying to support children? I highly doubt it since that would mean money out of your own pockets for welfare. Sounds like this author needs a trip to Never Never Land since she's obviously lost touch with her own inner passions and forgot what it was like to be young and full of dreams. If she had it her way we'd all be carrying briefcases and paying morgages at the age of 23...UNREALISTIC. What were YOU doing at that age??

    • Posted By: rdaffron @ 10/18/2007 23:36:51

      Comment: And btwa, at 23, I had graduated from college, left home and got a job, low paying, but a JOB and started to support myself, without my parents' help, thank you very much. I got laid off from my first job, was 300+ miles away from home, but found temp jobs until I got a full time one. My parents said to come home. I said NO, because to go home was to admit defeat and I was NOT raised that way. And I only went home to visit. At 23, you're an adult....maybe you should try acting like one.

    • Posted By: rdaffron @ 10/18/2007 23:31:50

      Comment: "Good lord...whats wrong with pursuing your dreams and HELPING PEOPLE in the world ?? The last I checked this kind of stuff is what kept people genuinely happy and karma steadily moving. "

      Nothing's wrong with it as long as you don't expect for somebody else to foot the bill because you're not paying yours. Nothing is wrong with it as long as YOU and others like you don't become a parasite to your parents and to society. If you want to help people, fine...but on YOUR TIME AND YOUR DIME, not mine, and not your parents. You do NOT have that right - not now, not ever. Plenty of hard working people volunteer every day and every weekend after having put in their time at work. Do NOT expect others to pay your bills while you're out "finding yourself."

  • Posted By: kreed177 @ 10/17/2007 12:56:18 PM

    Comment: As a GenYer, just let me say that some of us don't have wealthy parents to fund our "explorations." Am I the only 20 something with a promising career who doesn't have my head up my ass?

  • Posted By: AVB96 @ 10/17/2007 12:55:52 PM

    Comment: What a waste of an article and such a broad treatment of a segment of the population. Such generalizations about behaviors and attitudes would not be tolerated if the article was discussing an ethnic or religious group instead of Gen Y. Nice to know it's still acceptable to say such things in the media based upon age, as long as the people are under 50. Next time look for balance in your reporting of generational differences in the same way you do when reporting on ethnic and religious differences.rather than reducing s multitude of world views, experiences, and situations into a few bullshit cliches.

  • Posted By: ak 0001979 @ 10/17/2007 12:24:21 PM

    Comment: In response to Bri23.....Every generation thinks they had it tougher than the one before. At least you had the option to go to college, many people either didn't or currently don't. There are a lot of people that would be thankful to have a job that paid $400 a week. That is exactly the type of comment that supports many of the concerns in the article. You are not entitled to a high paying job just because you spent a lot of money on school.

    • Posted By: Philadelphia @ 10/17/2007 13:10:16

      Comment: No one is Entitled to a high paying job just because they spent a lot of money (and time and effort) on their education but it is surely a reasonable expectation. Although this article tends to lean otherwise - I would like to assume that anyone who is in their mid 20's and have secured an advanced degree on their own dime aren't lazy in the least.

  • Posted By: bpphil @ 10/17/2007 12:21:00 PM

    Comment: The crotchety article, ???Narcissists in Neverland???, written by the curmudgeon Emily Flynn Vencat, who has previously railed about such social ills as the iphone and online gaming, is little more than a baby boomer indulgent exercise in ???these darn kids today??? generational elitism. Had a better writer taken the time to actually interview a member of generation-y, rather than get a quick quote from the anonymous ???Felicite???, he or she would have found that far from being a drag, generation-y is making substantial contributions to this country. Ask any of the 18-30 year old American soldiers currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan if they are feeling narcissistic.

    ???Blame the kids??? is a coward???s way to deal with this social problem. It is getting harder to maintain the same quality of life and many of these younger workers are struggling financially with these hard facts. Over the past 11 years the average public tuition has grown 53 percent above inflation, and average private, nonprofit tuition has grown 47 percent above inflation. Coupled with stagnant wages, rises in cost of real-estate, rises in the cost of gas, and increased competition for quality living wage jobs, the odds are severely stacked against the younger generation. So if an older, more financially secure, generation is comfortable helping maintain the same quality of life they enjoyed, they should not be criticized for doing so.

    The worst criticism in this article has to be that generation-y is not money focused enough. Generation-y should be applauded putting a balanced family life above ???making a lot of money??? in this materialism driven society we live in.

    So if another writer would like to take a stab at this complex issue, we generation-y???ers are ready to be interviewed. We aren???t that hard to find, you can find us in millions of work places around the world. Stop by any time.


  • Posted By: br123 @ 10/17/2007 12:17:33 PM

    Comment: The student loan system, along with most loan and financial institutions is the biggest scam perpetrated by the Baby Boomers, and what's more is they've managed to make it perfectly legal and legal by force to either enslave the lower-middle classes, or destory their lives.

  • Posted By: Philadelphia @ 10/17/2007 12:12:26 PM

    Comment: Your article fails to mention the massive amount of debt that the Baby Boomer generation has heaped upon their children. While some parents may be footing the bill for extended childhoods all - of us (Gen X and Y) will be forced to foot a staggering cost for the health care and social security as our parents drop out of the workforce.

    I have paid into Social Security for nearly 10 years as a full time member of the workforce but at 31 years old I feel that I may never see a return on that investment.

    The 1st Baby Boomer became eligible for social security this week. Over the next twenty years the absolute plunder that has enveloped our economy will come to the forefront. A parent may ???allow??? their child to live at home through their 20???s, but that may well have to do with the prohibitive amount of debt they have ???allowed??? this child to incur. I???d love to see a study to the amount of debt a 25 year old would have in 2007 vs. 1970.

    Calling generation Y ???Narcissists??? gives too much credit to the baby boomer generation. I???m not sure where the moral high ground came from to begin with.. If you ask a baby boomer about their formative and rebellious years they tell you about some concert in upstate NY where they crashed the gate. Who hoo. From that day till this one the baby boomer generation has carried out their lifetime of social causes on their children???s dime, unwilling to sacrifice the BMW and the vacation home.

    The Baby Boomer generation introduced the concept to the two income family to the USA. They also found a way to introduce this concept without adding wealth to these same two income families. Now a women???s right to work has become the right to get a few weeks off after child birth, return to work post haste lest the bank comes to foreclose.

    The ???Hippies??? rallied against the Vietnam War just to see the same thing happen all over again. If 30 is the new 20, then 50 is the new 30??? Don???t trust anyone over 30!

    So much for the Baby Boomer generation. Hippies turned locusts through entitlement.

  • Posted By: PennGirl24 @ 10/17/2007 12:07:00 PM

    Comment: I think what many of you are missing here is that these so-called "fun" jobs, while they may be fulfilling and enjoyable, are also necesary and/or fulfilling for society. What would we do without social workers, Legal Aid lawyers, park rangers, graphic artists, musicians, doctors who eschew large salaries to work in underprivileged areas, etc. A person should not have to first amass a large personal fortune before taking up these careers. It's bad enough you have to be a multi-millionaire to run for public office. I am a 28-year old attorney who graduated law school at 25, but didn't move out of my parents' house until I was 27 because I was drowning in loans and chose a job in the public sector. Do I "enjoy" my job? Yes. But I also provide a necessary service to the public, and I am not the least bit ashamed that it took me a couple of years to cut the apron strings. The fact is, one income does not support a family in this country anymore, and many times it doesn't support one person, either depending on where you live. I think what these authors should have done instead was examine why the high cost of living (as well as the high expectations of the job market, which increasing require all of these advanced degrees that we are putting ourselves in hock to earn) is driving young people back home. It's just plain lazy to assume that we're there by choice.

  • Posted By: br123 @ 10/17/2007 12:01:22 PM

    Comment: We're living in much tougher times now, economically, than the previous generation, and generation before that... By far...

    My generation, Gen Y, will live at significantly lower standards of life thanks to the people in charge. Baby Boomers and such.

    Thanks guys.... really appreciate it. And don't give me this nonsense about not trying hard enough. This generation more than ever has a higher rate of masters, professional and soon to be doctoral degrees than any other generation. And plus you didn't face the burgening costs of Tuition, and studen loan payments. Myself, I have a Masters already, and am currently taking courses towards a degree in Business, possibly an MBA. that's nearly 100,000 in loans, hard work, and i'm feeling the pinch. What's 70,000 for an Undergraduate degree get you? If you're lucky you'll be a car salesman making 400 per week in no time.

    That's the American way of hard work, isn't it?

  • Posted By: br123 @ 10/17/2007 12:00:56 PM

    Comment: We're living in much tougher times now, economically, than the previous generation, and generation before that... By far...

    My generation, Gen Y, will live at significantly lower standards of life thanks to the people in charge. Baby Boomers and such.

    Thanks guys.... really appreciate it. And don't give me this nonsense about not trying hard enough. This generation more than ever has a higher rate of masters, professional and soon to be doctoral degrees than any other generation. And plus you didn't face the burgening costs of Tuition, and studen loan payments. Myself, I have a Masters already, and am currently taking courses towards a degree in Business, possibly an MBA. that's nearly 100,000 in loans, hard work, and i'm feeling the pinch. What's 70,000 for an Undergraduate degree get you? If you're lucky you'll be a car salesman making 400 per week in no time.

    That's the American way of hard work, isn't it?

  • Posted By: higworld @ 10/17/2007 11:54:53 AM

    Comment: I'm all for pursuing activities and employment that one enjoys. I'm 100% behind giving back, volunteering, and conducting one's life towards more than just monetary gain. I applaud the GenY folks who are doing that. But I do have a question ... why is it acceptable for a GenY person to do this and not a GenX? I've worked very hard to be able to pursue opportunities that I enjoy and that give back to the world. But now I find myself in a position where I have to again put aside these worthy goals so others can achieve them? Perhaps the mindset should be self-reliance. Determine what you can do to achieve your goals, not what others can sacrifice so you can.

  • Posted By: higworld @ 10/17/2007 11:54:03 AM

    Comment: I'm all for pursuing activities and employment that one enjoys. I'm 100% behind giving back, volunteering, and conducting one's life towards more than just monetary gain. I applaud the GenY folks who are doing that. But I do have a question ... why is it acceptable for a GenY person to do this and not a GenX? I've worked very hard to be able to pursue opportunities that I enjoy and that give back to the world. But now I find myself in a position where I have to again put aside these worthy goals so others can achieve them? Perhaps the mindset should be self-reliance. Determine what you can do to achieve your goals, not what others can sacrifice so you can.

  • Posted By: ak 0001979 @ 10/17/2007 11:49:06 AM

    Comment: I think it is pretty funny that these parents are upset that their 20 something children are still living at home. Their parenting style facilitated their current situation. The article above portrays the Generation Y as spoiled and entitled. This may be true in some cases, but what do you expect when this is the way they have been brought up by there parents.

    Technically I am at the upper end of "Generation Y", but I have always felt a part of "Generation X". I have a different perspective on why younger generations are not settling down into a stable career than discussed in the article. Most people in their 20's have seen their parents really focused on their career. In nuclear families many mothers worked, even if they didn't have to, so that the family would be more financially secure. This meant kids of our generation got more of the things we wanted, but family life was rushed and focussed on work. Many times the whole family suffered due to divorce, relocation or stress about money (afterall people can always find a way to spend what they make). My point with all of this is that I think that many young people do not equate money and careers with happiness or personal fulfillment. Many of us have not seen this pan out in our parents lives, so there is little motivation to pursue them ourselves.

    In addition we are left with a mess of a planet and tons of social problems. We are all collectively lucky that young people are stepping up to volunteer and do what they feel is right. It is hard to say what the effect of current job switching will have on the economy long term, but I am willing to bet that for every person in their 20's who doesn't work steadily there are at least 2 that do.

    I am lucky to be a young person who has a career that pays a decent wage and allows me to follow my interests. I have worked hard to be support myself independently since finishing college. During that time I have had to make decisions to follow career paths toward either money or social good. Up until now it has been easy to chose the path towards social good. It is all just about perspective. Do you want to drive a Lexus, or feel good about what you do everyday? For me it is an easy call to make.

  • Posted By: ak28 @ 10/17/2007 11:47:26 AM

    Comment: I think it is pretty funny that these parents are upset that their 20 something children are still living at home. Their parenting style facilitated their current situation. The article above portrays the Generation Y as spoiled and entitled. This may be true in some cases, but what do you expect when this is the way they have been brought up by there parents.

    Technically I am at the upper end of "Generation Y", but I have always felt a part of "Generation X". I have a different perspective on why younger generations are not settling down into a stable career than discussed in the article. Most people in their 20's have seen their parents really focused on their career. In nuclear families many mothers worked, even if they didn't have to, so that the family would be more financially secure. This meant kids of our generation got more of the things we wanted, but family life was rushed and focussed on work. Many times the whole family suffered due to divorce, relocation or stress about money (afterall people can always find a way to spend what they make). My point with all of this is that I think that many young people do not equate money and careers with happiness or personal fulfillment. Many of us have not seen this pan out in our parents lives, so there is little motivation to pursue them ourselves.

    In addition we are left with a mess of a planet and tons of social problems. We are all collectively lucky that young people are stepping up to volunteer and do what they feel is right. It is hard to say what the effect of current job switching will have on the economy long term, but I am willing to bet that for every person in their 20's who doesn't work steadily there are at least 2 that do.

    I am lucky to be a young person who has a career that pays a decent wage and allows me to follow my interests. I have worked hard to be support myself independently since finishing college. During that time I have had to make decisions to follow career paths toward either money or social good. Up until now it has been easy to chose the path towards social good. It is all just about perspective. Do you want to drive a Lexus, or feel good about what you do everyday? For me it is an easy call to make.

  • Posted By: pjmeyer @ 10/17/2007 11:40:44 AM

    Comment: So a generation comes a long that is more civic minded than any generation since the "greatest generation" and people like Vencat and Twenge decide to call us "Generation Me," how ridiculous. We are more voluntaristic, more engaged in politics, and more aware of the world than any generation before, but since we don't bow to the almighty dollar, we're supposedly living in a fantasy world. What sad lives Twenge and Vencat must live if they think one should not believe in his/herself and should be more concerned about accumulating wealth than living a life that makes one happy. Finally, I think Vencat and Twenge should step back and look at the world today's youth are stepping into. The economy is terrible for someone trying to get their first real job, college degrees are far more common than they were among previous generations, and we have taken on huge debts to get through school. Im sure many would love to get into a steady job that they can hold down for a long time, have health insurance, and live in their own place. Unfortunately, many have been unable to do so through no fault of their own.

  • Posted By: Humblenarrator @ 10/17/2007 11:39:58 AM

    Comment: This article blew my mind. It fails to offer a more logical cause to all of the ???Peter Pan??? habits of my generation. First off, the work week has grown significantly in the last decade or so. It is now averaging at about 50 hours as opposed to the 40 of times past. The fact that we have seen how so much work can tax ones personal life is a very good reason for many of us to put importance in balancing work and personal life. Also, the economy is in the crapper, many of us cannot get the high paying job we are apparently running from. Furthermore, the real cost of living has increased. People have less disposable income and more debt so moving out of the house has become increasingly difficult. In conclusion, this article was inflammatory and stupid!

  • Posted By: lm_MD22 @ 10/17/2007 11:32:36 AM

    Comment: I must say I rather resent being lumped together in this category and the overly generalised comments that Gen Y'ers are lazy, selfish and don't like to take responsibility. I turned 25 last month and I haven't live at home since I went abroad for college when I was 19. I have since graduated with a degree in Molecular Biology gotten a job at a world reknowned institution. I am currently getting a Masters degree part time until I go to Medical school. I bought my own car last year and am getting ready to purchase my first place. I hardly think that is lazy. On the other hand, my sister is almost 27 and although she has a degree and a good paying job she still lives at home and has no intentions of moving out any time soon. She even went so far as to suggest that our parents "don't really want her to move out" (she's deluded). Many of us so-called "Gen Y'ers" are highly motivated and are extremely responsible. i think we know what we want to achieve in life but are also mindful that our lives are for living and we only get to do this once. Not to place blame but I like to believe that we gen Y'ers did not get like this on our own. Our parents are the ones that seem reluctant to cut the cord sometimes and let us go. They enable this sort of eternal dependence on them and then they wonder why their kids are are reluctant to step up to the plate and take control of their own lives. Growing up these kids were never given a chance to be independent and now just by virtue of the decade we were born in we're all being lumped together unfairly. Just my two cents.

  • Posted By: lm_MD22 @ 10/17/2007 11:32:02 AM

    Comment: I must say I rather resent being lumped together in this category and the overly generalised comments that Gen Y'ers are lazy, selfish and don't like to take responsibility. I turned 25 last month and I haven't live at home since I went abroad for college when I was 19. I have since graduated with a degree in Molecular Biology gotten a job at a world reknowned institution. I am currently getting a Masters degree part time until I go to Medical school. I bought my own car last year and am getting ready to purchase my first place. I hardly think that is lazy. On the other hand, my sister is almost 27 and although she has a degree and a good paying job she still lives at home and has no intentions of moving out any time soon. She even went so far as to suggest that our parents "don't really want her to move out" (she's deluded). Many of us so-called "Gen Y'ers" are highly motivated and are extremely responsible. i think we know what we want to achieve in life but are also mindful that our lives are for living and we only get to do this once. Not to place blame but I like to believe that we gen Y'ers did not get like this on our own. Our parents are the ones that seem reluctant to cut the cord sometimes and let us go. They enable this sort of eternal dependence on them and then they wonder why their kids are are reluctant to step up to the plate and take control of their own lives. Growing up these kids were never given a chance to be independent and now just by virtue of the decade we were born in we're all being lumped together unfairly. Just my two cents.

  • Posted By: knight7th @ 10/17/2007 11:31:20 AM

    Comment: I can think of another generation that put off moving out of the parent's home, took on low-paying work and engaged actively in politics - the generation that fought WW2. Did anyone call them the "Me" generation? Perhaps if the baby boomers were as concerned with the state of their world as the Gen-Yers, we would live in a nation that is involved in one less war, has better equality and lives up to the greatness on which it was founded. Some of these Gen Yers are a little foolish, and yes, materialistic (iPod anyone?), but the example that was given in the first paragraph makes me look forward to a future run by caring individuals like this young Parisian, not by SUV and Plasma TV obsessed I-Bankers and Mortgage Brokers.

  • Posted By: knight7th @ 10/17/2007 11:26:34 AM

    Comment: The one positive aspect of this cultural chift that the article ignores is mentioned in the first paragraph - the young Parisian is living at home so that her work can matter. Many people of this generation see their work in terms of both monetary reward and social reward. Perhaps if the previous generation were able to strike just such a balance between social responsibility and plasma TVs, we would have a more responsible population, one less war and a happier, more equitable nation. One such generation did just that - the "greatest generation" which served in a war first, then bought a home. I miss that attitude, that your country and your freedom comes first, and your needs (car, house, job, money) come later.

  • Posted By: pjmeyer @ 10/17/2007 11:22:11 AM

    Comment: So a generation comes along that is more civic minded than any generation since the "Greatest Generation" and Vencat calls us the "Me Generation," how ridiculous. Our generation is more voluntaristic, more engaged in politics, and more aware of the world than any generation before us (http://www.newpolitics.net/node/360?full_report=1), but since we don't value the almighty dollar above everything else, we're narcissists living in a fantasy world. What a sad life Vencat must live if she thinks that believing in oneself is the result of "bad advice" and living a balanced life makes one immature.

  • Posted By: Ombudsgirl @ 10/17/2007 11:12:02 AM

    Comment: Ever consider that some of us are actually full-time job seekers? I'm 27, still live at home, have years of full-time editorial work under my belt and several published clips, a BA in political science and communications and I still can't get hired in a full-time position anywhere - I'm either underqualified or overqualified. Maybe if some employers stopped assuming that all of us are flighty about work, those of us who aren't can prove ourselves. Yeah, some choose to laze around and drain their parents for all they've got, but some of us are simply stuck here, waiting for someone to look past our age and give us a chance.

  • Posted By: lillyd15 @ 10/17/2007 11:05:09 AM

    Comment: I'm a part of generation Y i am 24, and i hold down a steady job i own my own house and a brand new car, and guess what i moved out at 20. Granted there are those people out there who do live off of their parents and work a job because it's "fun", but really whose fault is that, who enables these people to do this; their parents, i mean come on if you want your kids out make an ultimatium, tell them they have to move out. i have many friends who actually still live at home, some of them just graduated and good god the amount of debt they have is staggering, so they cant buy a house or really even afford to make a rent payment they have 700-800 a month in school loans alone . As far as making decisions on my own, i can make my own decisions but i still have my parents on speed dial, you know what, i believe in the value of family, and yes i do run major decisions by my parents they still dont make the ultimate decison, but they have a wealth of knowledge and experience that i couldnt hope to have or achieve at my age. So come on now people remember to keep an open mind we are all not the same and basing our generation on the people you know limits not only us but yourselves.

  • Posted By: ph33 @ 10/17/2007 11:02:55 AM

    Comment: Where do I begin, I think this article is about 95% accurate. The 5% innaccuracy is due to their definition of a Gen Y. Just because I'm 26 does not make me or any other twentysomething a Gen Y. Gen Yers are just as theis article explains, spoiled, pampered, parent dependent, and embarassing. I have been completely self dependent since I was 17. I paid my own way through college, without a single student loan, and completed my BBA by the age of 25. Granted a little later than the rest of my age group, but that's because I didn't have mommy and daddy to take care of me. Now I work for one of the largest companies in the world, where I get paid very well, and love going to work every day. It's about time that society stops categorizing us by our age, and categorize us by what we've accomplished. There are plenty of "Gen Yers" that have taken responsibilty for their own lives, like we all should. Don't take away from all that we've accomplished by putting us in the same category as the real Gen Yers, unlike them we actually earned all that we have.

  • Posted By: ph33 @ 10/17/2007 11:01:23 AM

    Comment: Where do I begin, I think this article is about 95% accurate. The 5% innaccuracy is due to their definition of a Gen Y. Just because I'm 26 does not make me or any other twentysomething a Gen Y. Gen Yers are just as theis article explains, spoiled, pampered, parent dependent, and embarassing. I have been completely self dependent since I was 17. I paid my own way through college, without a single student loan, and completed my BBA by the age of 25. Granted a little later than the rest of my age group, but that's because I didn't have mommy and daddy to take care of me. Now I work for one of the largest companies in the world, where I get paid very well, and love going to work every day. It's about time that society stops categorizing us by our age, and categorize us by what we've accomplished. There are plenty of "Gen Yers" that have taken responsibilty for their own lives, like we all should. Don't take away from all that we've accomplished by putting us in the same category as the real Gen Yers, unlike them we actually earned all that we have.