Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before

I'm 25, and since graduating from college I have felt that the problems in my life are mirrored by the rest of my generation. (Is this narcissistic? Possibly!) I've felt that the Boomers have advantages that we don't. I've felt that somehow our upbringing has set us up for failure. These are all vague notions that I couldn't prove or put facts to, but Dr. Twenge did.

This book was extremely useful to me in working out how my own life and the lives of my fellow GenMe-ers got to be so disastrous after we graduated from college, and in understanding the mistakes that I didn't know I was making in my attitude and approach to the world. I wish I could shove it into the hands of every Boomer who presumes that America is working not just for their own generation, but for all generations alive today. (It's not.) Dr. Twenge's research is extensive and interesting, her style inherently readable, and her conclusions logical and well-intentioned. Highly recommended.

Excellent read addressing issues of the teens today. As a teacher of 11-14 year olds and being in my 20s, I identify with this book on almost all levels. I also find myself quoting this and recommending to everyone. It's definitely being a Christmas gift for some colleagues and family members this year!

In and of itself this is a excellent source of clarity when one is trying to make sense of the Y generation. They aren't the easiest age cohort to understand or make sense of, in terms of thought processes, motivational factors, developmental forces, values, tastes, needs, or social drives. This often leaves the baby boom generation somewhat baffled by their seeming opacity. After a second reading of Generation Me, with extensive underlining and reflective contemplation, I think I'm beginning to get what makes them tick, and that's a valuable thing.

However, we are perhaps only now gaining an appreciation, and with that a sobering trepidation, of how powerfully medicated a generation the Y people are. This additional factor is all to easy to downplay or overlook, yet a high percentage of younger adults and adolescents are being medicated with strong mood altering medicines. Often these medicines are given for behaviors that would appear to be well within the envelope of adolescent normality 30 years ago, but today are framed as disruptive or antisocial. In my opinion, this is an exceedingly unhealthy trend as we develop institutional habits of "grinding off" any rough edges with pharmaceuticals, leaving nothing but a monotone consensus culture in their wake. Is this the collective form of life we truly desire ? Or have we been merely seduced by the low cost of medicating the young instead of alowing them to work through the discovery process of a rich, varied life experience ?

The second factor which is shaping the young of today is the legacy of the human potential movement, cults, and large group seminars which sought near instantaneous, collective Satori experiences and discounted the long, slow, saturnine process of becoming a fully formed human. We bought into this model of empowerment without reflection, much as we bought into the model that most problems with the mind were problems of chemistry.

In my opinion, it is the dual legacy which is very much derived from Baby Boom lifestyle and attitude, mind medicine and pop psychology, which has had a deep and woeful impact on the life arc of young people today.

I wish the author had devoted a thorough analysis of the origins and impacts of medicalization and psychologizing of the young.

"Physician, heal thyself." While this book is based on an impressive volume of research, it is written by a member of the group it purports to analyze. The author limited herself to investigating only the opinions of members of the GenMe generation, which is a perfectly legitimate scope for a single piece of research.

But then she goes on to make sweeping generalizations and recommendations based on that limited perspective, without looking outside of her own house of mirrors for validation or guidance. In this regard, she's a product of her own narcissistic generation, obviously, so it should come as no surprise that she clearly models some of the very traits that she bemoans in her peers.

Read this, but consider the source.

I wanted to read this book to better understand the younger people in my life, and it is of value in many ways, as dozens of other reader/ reviewers have noted.

I also agree with some of her conclusions: For example, many of today's young people seem to have a very difficult time accepting criticism, and have an exaggerated idea of their own importance and abilities.

However, there is one area of discussion that I disagree with, and that is that 'Generation Me' has it harder than previous ones. Yes, there is more competition and fewer opportunities, partially due to corporate downsizing and shipping jobs to India, etc. But at the same time, some of the competition is due to the fact that both men and women are in the mix. In earlier generations, men would have had the field more to themselves. In fact, if the author had graduated from high school when I or my mom and grandmother did, she may not have had the opportunity to enter the field of sociology as a professional, let alone have a serious book published, and if she did, fewer would have read it because she's a woman, and women weren't taken as seriously in intellectual pursuits. Women of my generation had very little career or professional opportunities, generally, and fewer people were even able to attend college. (I'm not sure there were even Pell Grants) In addition, immigrants from other countries -- then and perhaps even now -- have a much harder time 'making it' in our culture...In this particular regard, her viewpoint seems as narcisstic as she may feel these kids are.

I highly recommend this book. Reading it not only helped me to understand the college students I work with but also gave me reassurance about my own goals and ambitions. I gave a copy of it to my father for Christmas, so he could understand his "Generation Me" children.

This has been quite the hot topic at my and many corporations. In my opinion, after reading everything I can get my hands on regarding this area, this is the most recently and thoroughly researched treatment of this subject. Dr Twenge is fast becoming, if she isn't already, the leading researcher on this topic and I find it hard to imagine another book being able to draw from more in depth research sources. The writing not only has all the data one would need but also has plenty of anecdotal stories to support it and make for interesting reading. Frankly I was a bit depressed after reading this book about the younger generation (Disclosure: I'm on the older side of the Gen X spectrum), however forewarned is forearmed as they say. The facts are the facts and the quicker companies accept them and make arrangements to meet them the better prepared they'll be to deal with Gen Me. If you are looking for a book on the Generation wars, or what the new workforce demographic looks like this is essential reading.

This was a requirement for my sociology class. I found parts very interesting and parts very redundant and boring. I would definitely recommend this for new parent to read as it will give great insight into raising your child and show the repercussions of spoiling your child.

This is a great book. Is a real good coverage of how kids are today and why they are that way.

I attended a lecture by the author and was really fascinated with the data she presented. All of her findings are backed up with data collected from individuals dating back to the 1930'a to the present. The information the gave was not opinionated as I thought it was going to be and motivated me to buy her book. Being that I work in human resources, I find it is important to understand this next generation coming up that will enter the workforce and understand at best how a good portion of them think as well as what motivates them.

This book has been a page turner for me and I've enjoyed it ever since I started reading it.