Narcissists in Neverland

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

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

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.

...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.

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

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.

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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.

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.

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.

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??

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?