College students think they're so special

[Hara!]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17349066/

NEW YORK - Today’s college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors, according to a comprehensive new study by five psychologists who worry that the trend could be harmful to personal relationships and American society.

“We need to stop endlessly repeating ‘You’re special’ and having children repeat that back,” said the study’s lead author, Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University. “Kids are self-centered enough already.”

Twenge and her colleagues, in findings to be presented at a workshop Tuesday in San Diego on the generation gap, examined the responses of 16,475 college students nationwide who completed an evaluation called the Narcissistic Personality Inventory between 1982 and 2006.

God forbid people feel good about themselves. Apparently, teaching your kid not to be self-loathing is equal to teaching him that he's better than everyone else.

I hate it when people don't think things through.

[RecentMidget]

well it all depends on what they meant. Remember, you can't really put feeling into text. For example, I could call you a *****. Am I serious, or am I joking? It's all about interpretation. They could be talking about people who are confident and outgoing, but put themselves before others (aka, my sister). Or, they could be talking about the god-awful Disney interpretation of mean and nasty. (again, my sister. she forced me to watch some of the **** they make)

[VidelCoolGirl]

Hell, this is nothing buy preaching the truth where I come from. My school is full of people who seem to just talk RIGHT out their arse.

[Sendo Takeshi]

This report seems rather old. I remember reading about this a year ago. And it's true, anyway. Just go visit the NYU campus. Half those kids have their heads so far up their arses, it's not even funny.

Hell, most college kids want to think they're better than anyone else. I just point out their future debt when they have to pay back their loans and laugh.

[VidelCoolGirl]

^ What future debt? If anything, the only reason they DO have their heads up their butts is because their parents pay everything. They're too good for debt, and only kids like that have the ability to have tunnel vision like that. Usually, kids who come from poor families and work/loans for college seem to be a bit more down to Earth. (From what I've seen at least...)

[Xhalen]

^ What future debt? If anything, the only reason they DO have their heads up their butts is because their parents pay everything. They're too good for debt, and only kids like that have the ability to have tunnel vision like that. Usually, kids who come from poor families and work/loans for college seem to be a bit more down to Earth. (From what I've seen at least...)

Hmm, interesting. I suppose it depends on where you live and where you go to school.

[VidelCoolGirl]

Well, Evergreen IS a Liberal Arts school.

[Rain]

Am I the only one who's not afraid to admit that I'm one of them?

[The Million Dollar Prons]

Am I the only one who's not afraid to admit that I'm one of them?

A narcassict?


Well I'm sure on anime forums and stuff narcisim gets a bad name, because after all, being a narcasist implies you have something about yourself like that's likeable, and well I don't know how many people on the internet meet that criteria if you catch my drift you probably didn't because nothing I say evere makes any sense.

[fujyoshi]

looks like some local residents /heh well I guess thats good to know that they do have self confidence and do consider themselves something unlike me who thinks I'm useless and a waste of flesh. That would be too much self confidence though if you think your better then everyone else, even if NY does take there education system quiet seriously o.o well lets put it this way there's less drop outs /swt

[Spadesy]

Hey, college is a good thing. But it shouldn't be confused for the destination...it's just part of the journey.

[Shiroiyuki]

I would love it if the self-satisfying little skanks of today gave way to the emo children of tomorrow (most likely sooner than we think, knowing the little ****s around my area....O_O...).

Couldn't you just see the heart-to-heart talks between idiot and spawn?

"Wow, Timmy -- you got all A's! I'm so proud of you, you are our special boy! Wait, scratch that. Forget I just said that."

"You mean...I'm not special, Dad?"

"Well, erm, you have to remember that everyone else is special, too, son. Like little Peter, your best friend? He's special. And Mr. Bob, our politically correct, alternative-partnered 'Mail Person'? He's really special."

"What about Eloise Hampton down the block? She goes to Special Ed, does that make her special?"

"....Y-yes. Eloise is special too. In a different way. See -- we are all special in our own unique, but equal, way -- which never makes us better than anyone else. You must remember that, it's important. So I guess...in a way, none of us are really special per se, we are all just completely normal, equal human beings. Um...who are all equally...special...uh..."

"So I can only be special if I'm...not special?"

"How about we buy you a new bicycle?!"

[Bernard_Monsha]

Wow an entire generation of entitlement ***** special snowflake Barney bots. Yay!

[taily]

^ What future debt? If anything, the only reason they DO have their heads up their butts is because their parents pay everything. They're too good for debt, and only kids like that have the ability to have tunnel vision like that. Usually, kids who come from poor families and work/loans for college seem to be a bit more down to Earth. (From what I've seen at least...)

I understand that's probably based on experience, but I do hate it when people make that steryotype.

[Magami No ER]

Generally, if people make it a habit to act like this, I repel them.

I go to art school. They're surprisingly humble people here, who really want to make a career doing what they love, even if it means paying for it for years before it's reciprocated. Of course (not as bad as RISD, but still) then there are the artsy farsty types that live in their own world, and everyone is a stepping stone on their path to greatness. One of these lovelies even had the audacity to call me retarded because she asked me a question in haste and I didn't understand a word coming out of her mouth. I had no idea who the ***** was to boot. But I'm slowly learning how to deal with people like this in person, which some forget is a whole other ball game than online.

Also, this thread veins into the Mr. Roger's one, the overzealous Fox story.

I loved Mr. Rogers (shady as he was irl), and his message made kids feel good. Some would argue "too" good, and now there are scapegoats being created to explain why we have so many narcissists and "elitists". Well, I thought we had plenty beforehand, myself, even during the times when being a teenager was the same as an adult. I will admit, the collegiate lifestyle (which is far more prevalent than in years past) implies a collection of "well to do kids" and that's a recipe for such aggravating behavior.

For me personally, it never hurt to show a little humility in my actions through my day to day life, and yeah, sometimes I really doubt the specialness of my individual self as a result. But regardless, vanity finds its way back on occasion, and I'm certainly not a "self-loather" anymore. It's all about the attitude that goes along with it. Otherwise, people respond negatively.

And really, home life has the biggest factor in this, the way I see it. While I hate the thought of kids being beaten for doing something wrong, I also hate the newer trend of JUST verbalizing, as it just doesn't work on some kids. As a babysitter/counselor, this is tough to see in action, a new generation of kids that want to piss on those lesser than themselves.

Barney

I had superficial reasons for liking Barney. He was purple. And I thought he could make my stuffed animals come to life. Specialness was not a factor. :P

[Samurai Drifter]

It's true, people need to stop thinking they're special.

"You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You're made of the same decaying organic matter as everyone else. We are all part of the same compost heap."

[Magami No ER]

Certainly a unique compost heap tho, with some amazing results. And many terrible.

[Caster13]

And really, home life has the biggest factor in this, the way I see it. While I hate the thought of kids being beaten for doing something wrong, I also hate the newer trend of JUST verbalizing, as it just doesn't work on some kids. As a babysitter/counselor, this is tough to see in action, a new generation of kids that want to piss on those lesser than themselves.

They have to verbalize, because kids today use Difys to get back at their parents if they even just slap them. Hell my sister called the cops, SEVERAL times. My mom didn't even have to hit her.

She's crazy. I wouldn't doubt that when she does get married someday that she ends up killing her husband.

There's a little saying that's about 3000 years old, maybe you've heard of it. Spare the rod, spoil the child.

[Old Ape Face]

They have to verbalize, because kids today use Difys to get back at their parents if they even just slap them. Hell my sister called the cops, SEVERAL times. My mom didn't even have to hit her.

She's crazy. I wouldn't doubt that when she does get married someday that she ends up killing her husband.

There's a little saying that's about 3000 years old, maybe you've heard of it. Spare the rod, spoil the child.

Strict obedience only works with an ignorance of the consequences, basically saying if the child doesn't know of a way out of it then your "Supposed Child Abuse Tactics* will come out to your advantage.

[Holy Knight]

There's plenty of that going on here what with entire student bodies and faculties crying over a 50$ per semester increase in tuitions because our universities are starving for cash (to the point where Ph.D. professors with years of experience are underpaid by roughly 40k$ in some instances, but that's an extreme). Talk about entitlement.

Note : In Quebec, a semester costs about 1250$ for university courses.

It's true, people need to stop thinking they're special.

"You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You're made of the same decaying organic matter as everyone else. We are all part of the same compost heap."

But I'm the top of the compost heap. :P

[Raziel_MGS]

ok try coming to Purdue, where tuition plus room and board is upwards of 20,000, with out of state reaching 40,000. Yet they can't afford to buy new bike racks or anything for the students because they spent half a million dollars on the last party they had

[animeotaku99]

Videl I could not agree with you more. high school and college aged kids these days are so arrogant and self centered. They can not take criticism. The kids that I work with are in for a big kick in the pants by reality once they have to start working to make a living instead of living in mommy and daddy's house

[Reinas]

^ What future debt? If anything, the only reason they DO have their heads up their butts is because their parents pay everything. They're too good for debt, and only kids like that have the ability to have tunnel vision like that.

Oh hey, that's me! I'm one of them. I hate feeling down about myself considering I'm in a fortunate situation. Gotta make the most of what I'm getting!

It's like throwing a half eaten sandwich in the garbage before a starving child.

[Raziel_MGS]

There is a reason we are selfish and ignorant. We are the future of this country, we create everything, invent everything, discover everything, lead everything. Without a college degree you are extremely limited in life for career choices. This is a statistic. What you guys don't notice is that graduating from college doesn't automatically make you high class. The business world is cut-throat and only the strong survive.

[Bernard_Monsha]

There is a reason we are selfish and ignorant. We are the future of this country, we create everything, invent everything, discover everything, lead everything. Without a college degree you are extremely limited in life for career choices. This is a statistic. What you guys don't notice is that graduating from college doesn't automatically make you high class. The business world is cut-throat and only the strong survive.

But their mommy says they are special!

[Haro!]

This report seems rather old. I remember reading about this a year ago. And it's true, anyway. Just go visit the NYU campus. Half those kids have their heads so far up their arses, it's not even funny.

Hell, most college kids want to think they're better than anyone else. I just point out their future debt when they have to pay back their loans and laugh.
See that's the thing, for one reason or another, they (we NYU students?) are not gonna have to worry about debt. Either A) the parents are already rich (and that's why they're narcissistic) so the debt is covered or B) they're narcissistic and thus get the good jobs. You have to be an ******* to make something of yourself. But I will concede an ******* with vision is even better.
And have I mentioned that you haven't lived until you had a lay with an NYU girl. Making them un-narcissistic for even that long feels great.

Am I the only one who's not afraid to admit that I'm one of them?
Rain that is why we all respect you.

My thoughts. Many narcissists are short-sighted, tasteless and too self-involved to do great things. If all narcissists were like Steve Jobs or Frank Lloyd Wright the world would be an amazing place. The narcissists of today are narcissists in just definition and created by things like the venues available today that didn't exist before (internet social networking etc) and are pretty much just riding coattails. True narcissism is what is needed.

[VidelCoolGirl]

Although, like Sendo said; this report is old. I remember reading an article in the Times about this like...three years ago. Its this generation though. Telling kids they're special all through their childhood and into teenagerdom gets them all smart-alecky.

[Tidusauron12]

To get into a good university, it seems like you have to give up a good chunk of your social humanity. I know people who become complete machines so that they can go to Harvard. :lol: It makes since they would eventually become conceded.

[HSaabedra]

The current crop of college graduates will lead us to our downfall. Nowhere is this more apparent than the constant parental handholding within corporate and academic enviroments as evidenced by many large corporations and university professors.

[goddessofanime]

There is a reason we are selfish and ignorant. We are the future of this country, we create everything, invent everything, discover everything, lead everything. Without a college degree you are extremely limited in life for career choices. This is a statistic. What you guys don't notice is that graduating from college doesn't automatically make you high class. The business world is cut-throat and only the strong survive.

News flash: Having a college degree, while it will get you into some places, it won't necessarily get you as far as you might think it will.

[Jia]

Oh god this reminds me of an ex-classmate of mine from college.
She fits the bill perfectly.....I personally want to smack her in the face...she thinks she is so darn good. Bleh.

Most of the college people I knew were stuck up a-holes.

[HSaabedra]

Without a college degree you are extremely limited in life for career choices. The business world is cut-throat and only the strong survive.

You don't need a college degree if you have actual experience working in the real world. The idea that college degrees are necessary to achieve anything worthwhile in life is a lie perpetuated by the education system designed to drive revenue into the current system by milking students dry and spitting them out.

If vocational programs were completely eliminated at the public level, this would limit opportunities for people with no desire to go to college who want to pursue a non academic career path.

I have no desire to return to a 4 year program after seeing the struggles of recent BA, BS, and AS graduates with their constant crowing about lack of gainful employment while I'm happily pursuing my goals in online journalism, production, and mechanical engineering without an actual degree.

If I'm ever in a position where I need a degree (doubtful given the current circumstances) I can easily go back and dive in, though I might just get a doctorate in engineering just for the challenge and fun of being able to put the prefix next to my name on a business/name card.

Call it luck if you must, but keep in mind I'm leveraging skill sets that I learned in middle and high school with outside learning while taking them to logical ends.

[animeotaku99]

^Well i think the problem with graduates finding gainful employment afterwards has much to do with their degree choices, job availability, and they don't seem to understand that they won't be making six digits right out of college.
With my Criminal Justice degree i have many options, more if I go back for a 4 year. and there will always be a growing need for people in that field.
so kids need to stop with the Business and Psychology degrees and expect to go far in a pond that is filled with all teh fish for the ocean

[Caster13]

There really ARE a crapload of people going for psychology these days.:blink:

Actually it doesn't seem that there's much variety at all with what people are going to college for. And usually they end up in office buildings. And my view of that can be seen in my sig.<_<

[Jia]

I did pyschology :D

Well my major was education then minoring in pysch. It's really interesting :D There's a little injoke all the crazies joined to see what's wrong with them rather than help other people out. (Just a joke :P)

[fujyoshi]

I did pyschology :D

Well my major was education then minoring in pysch. It's really interesting :D There's a little injoke all the crazies joined to see what's wrong with them rather than help other people out. (Just a joke :P)

ok I need a shrink anyway am I crazy or not?

[Jia]

Depends what you did. I specialised in Children's Development sort of thing. :P

[Haro!]

There really ARE a crapload of people going for psychology these days.:blink:

Actually it doesn't seem that there's much variety at all with what people are going to college for. And usually they end up in office buildings. And my view of that can be seen in my sig.<_<

Yes lots of people like and take psychology but only seem to take the information at face value, and don't really apply it in any useful way. I've met very few people that have delved deeper into the subject matter than what is in the textbook. (I've also met quite a few bimbos that major in psychology.) I am considering taking some more psych courses since I found environmental psychology to be all sorts of interesting. Plus NYU has great psychology courses AND great bimbos.

[sailornyanko]

I don't personally like psychologists (nothing truely personal BTW). The thing is that they are licenciados that think they are doctors and they always have this pompous attitude that knowing how to draw an apple tree in the left corner of a piece of paper can really diagnose people with schizophrenia.

I've had a friend that was blatantly incorrectly diagnosed with Bipolar Type 2 disease after meeting this crackpot psychologist who didn't even have his degree after casually chatting with him in two conversations (Bipolar disease is one of the hardest psychiatric diseases to diagnose). The idiot even brought some Lithium meds and tried to force my friend into taking them. He didn't even have any psyquiatric diseases at all in the end after a real shrink saw him and the second shrink said the first guy was a crackpot.

That doesn't mean I disregard the work of real psychologists that know their limits to what they can do, but the ordeals of doing med school really shows a difference in the attitude of psyquiatrists (plus the latter CAN prescribe drugs) and virtually every psychologist I've ever met just doesn't see it because they think that by taking a few Gestalt courses they think they can cure serious illnesses.

Oh, and in my university it's pretty well known that the people that do psychology (usually supa dupa wealthy women) are generally bimbos that only get the degree because it's one of the least demanding careers so it's an easy title to get and then never use the title because they get married and become housewives.

I actually had to share a world religion/culture class with some of these girls and gawd were they D-U-M without a B. One of them didn't even know how to calculate her grade average. <_< But hey, I'm in the medicine faculty, we're usually workaholic feminist women.

[Caster13]

Um, what do you mean by grade average? do you mean score on tests, or GPA? Cause I have no idea how to figure out my GPA.

And figuring out if someone is bipolar is easy. Just see if they're normal behavior is like someone having a really bad period.:lol: jk.

[Bernard_Monsha]

Um, what do you mean by grade average? do you mean score on tests, or GPA? Cause I have no idea how to figure out my GPA.


.0000000000000000000000000000001

Done

[superplough]

Oooooh you're gonna need some salve for that burn Kenpachi :lol:

[Caster13]

Actually I was a slightly above average student, except when I had a computer programming class in Junior year. Oh man did I suck at that.X_X

And Auto shop in Senior year was a little hard though, since 90% of the class sat down and talked about what they did with their girlfriends last night the whole year and did squat. Which meant I had to do practically everything myself.<_<

[Jia]

Oh, and in my university it's pretty well known that the people that do psychology (usually supa dupa wealthy women) are generally bimbos that only get the degree because it's one of the least demanding careers so it's an easy title to get and then never use the title because they get married and become housewives.


Most of my classmates came under than catagory..I'm surprised most of them still managed to pass with some of their dumb*** antics.

The pyschology course was considered like something if you didn't get your first 2 preferences you could still go to college for something.:naughty:

[VidelCoolGirl]

You know, being in a film class, and hearing my friends laments on discussions made me think about this more. So many students (especially in film), spew off crap that makes no sense, as long as it sounds smart. Somebody in my friends class kept using the word 'exploited' wrong, and until she shot him down, was he like 'OOOH, you're right!'

Its like, people spout off stuff to make themselves seem smarter, but have nothing meaningful to say; piggybacking on comments, or the ability to back it up, to actually know or research what the hell they're talking about. I mean, we've all made those mistakes of being uninformed once in a while, but don't be adamant about something you're 50%+ unsure about.

[The Million Dollar Prons]

And Auto shop in Senior year was a little hard though, since 90% of the class sat down and talked about what they did with their girlfriends last night the whole year and did squat. Which meant I had to do practically everything myself.<_<

Haha you were whipped by other men.

[Xhalen]

You know, ...good stuff in here ...something you're 50%+ unsure about.

While I understand making this observation in the context of the thread, I personally think it applies to a large portion of the US population in general, regardless of whether they('ve) attended college.

It seems everyone knows everything about everything these days, I feel bad because I'm being left in the dust. :P

[HSaabedra]

Its like, people spout off stuff to make themselves seem smarter, but have nothing meaningful to say; piggybacking on comments, or the ability to back it up, to actually know or research what the hell they're talking about. I mean, we've all made those mistakes of being uninformed once in a while, but don't be adamant about something you're 50%+ unsure about.

People do that with more frequency these days because it's becoming much easier to get access to information, but conversely those that seek information should verify that it is actually rooted in fact before taking it in.

I see too many people that are getting lazier and not really putting the simplest of education to work for them and instead rely on Google and Wiki without verifying anything for themselves. The only reason I know so much about so many things (and why I make a lot of money on my own) is because I learned early on not to specialize myself into a corner and become useless.

I'd like to see a return to actual curiosity and actual drive to learn in order to better oneself, instead of the new trend to learn for the sake of superficial perception.

[Bernard_Monsha]

^

It is the internet which has greatly increased psuedo-intellectualism and perpetuated the lie that everyone deserves to be heard.

[taily]

You know, being in a film class, and hearing my friends laments on discussions made me think about this more. So many students (especially in film), spew off crap that makes no sense, as long as it sounds smart. Somebody in my friends class kept using the word 'exploited' wrong, and until she shot him down, was he like 'OOOH, you're right!'

Its like, people spout off stuff to make themselves seem smarter, but have nothing meaningful to say; piggybacking on comments, or the ability to back it up, to actually know or research what the hell they're talking about. I mean, we've all made those mistakes of being uninformed once in a while, but don't be adamant about something you're 50%+ unsure about.

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll177/Taily-sama/nothingmaybeless.jpg

[Hara!]

It is the internet which has greatly increased psuedo-intellectualism and perpetuated the lie that everyone deserves to be heard.

http://anchan.an.ohost.de/save/src/12236760149.png

[Rurouni Saiyan]

^

It is the internet which has greatly increased psuedo-intellectualism and perpetuated the lie that everyone deserves to be heard.

The more information there is out there, the more spin there is.

Besides, people at large are sheep.

[Hara!]

The more information there is out there, the more spin there is.

Besides, people at large are sheep.


One of the problems with modern society is that there isn't a universal "right" anymore. People have discovered objectivity, but instead of dealing with the fact, they just believe whatever is convenient.

You can find evidence that supports anyone's claims in politics nowadays. Why? Because there are millions of voices who all believe different "rights" and "Truths" that will put a spin on anything to sound right.

Hey! I can ******** too!

[Raziel_MGS]

your non-degree may work in some areas, but science and engineering it wont

[HSaabedra]

your non-degree may work in some areas, but science and engineering it wont

Tell that to the academics. Most hands-on engineering work doesn't need more than a Bachelors. I do CAD/CAM and CNC work on a contract basis and any engineering that requires anything higher than a BA is theoretical and not practical.

Practical experience always beats out a piece of paper, unless you're looking to teach or get an entry-level job.

[Lacan]

I know people that never graduated from school that are much smarter then College students and graduates. To me graduating from any school and college is just getting a paper that doesn't impress me.

It ticks me off when people who get a degree automatically think they are smarter then those people that don't.

I graduated from High School and I find my diploma pretty much worthless. Was going to go to College but canceled due to illness and now I don't even want to go, even if I was better again.

[Rurouni Saiyan]

By no means does going to college make you better or smarter than the resident philosopher at the local barber shop. Also, hands-on experience > college paper.

However, I won't downplay college education, either. If you graduated from college, assuming of your own work, then more power to you. Just don't go around wearing your posterior on your shoulder because of it.