Here is an interesting quote from Jean Twenge’s book on the extremely high self-confidence of my generation (actually, the young over the last 30 years):
What kind of young people do [our emphasis on self-esteem programs] produce? Many teachers and school observers say it results in kids who can’t take criticism. In other words, employers, get ready for a group of easily hurt young workers. Peter Sacks, author of Generation ‘X’ Goes to College, noted the extraordinary thin-skinnedness of the undergraduates he taught, and my experience has been no different. I’ve learned not to discuss test items that the majority of students missed, as this invariably leads to lots of whiny defensiveness and very little actual learning. The two trends are definitely related: research shows that when people with high self-esteem are criticized, they became unfriendly, rude, and uncooperative, even toward people who had nothing to do with the criticism.
None of this should really surprise us. Students “look and act like what the [self-esteem] theories say they should look and act like,” notes Hewitt. “They tend to act as though they believe they have worthy and good inner essences, regardless of what people say or how they behave, that they deserve recognition and attention from others, and their unique individual needs should be considered first and foremost.” And, of course, this is exactly what has happened: GenMe takes for granted that the self comes first, and we often believe exactly what we were so carefully taught–that we’re special.
