Me, Me, Me: The Rise Of Narcissism In The Age Of The Selfie

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Hidden Brain Me, Me, Me Episode 38: Me, Me, Me Listen · 24:58 24:58

Kanyes, Kims, and Donalds—oh my! Narcissism is all around us, and research shows it's on the rise. Millennials are more likely than their parents to claim they're above average in just about every way, from their leadership skills to their academic achievements to their drive to succeed. And while more millennials are getting straight A's and making plans for graduate school than previous generations, there's no evidence that they're actually any more productive or educated than their elders. This week, Shankar talks with psychologist Jean Twenge, author of Generation Me and The Narcissism Epidemic, about the rise of "me" and what it means for society

If you judged her books by their covers, it may seem that she's criticizing millennials, but Twenge is more focused on observation than evaluation. She's trying to get a sense of how American culture is changing over time and how school, work, and just about everything else may have to change with it.

Here's a list of some of what she's observed:

On the whole, millennials are simply more narcissistic than previous generations. That is, they score higher on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. This survey asks people if they relate to statements like "I have a natural talent for influencing people" and "I like to look at myself in the mirror."

More parents are giving their children unique names. Back in the 50s, a third of boys and a quarter of girls were named one of the 10 most popular names of the time. Today, fewer than one in ten are given a popular name.

Pop songs are more focused on the self. So are books, which use phrases like "I am special" and "all about me" more frequently now.

Using social media may lead people to view themselves more positively. And we know how much millennials love social media.

What's caused all this focus on the self? Well, Twenge points to some cultural shifts including our increasing concern for children's self-esteem. It's widely assumed children need to have high self esteem in order to be successful (e.g. pervasive phrases like, "You can do anything you set your mind to" and "You're special"). But how great you think you are doesn't correlate with how great you actually are. Take Asian Americans as an example. Research studies,show Asian Americans generally have lower self esteem than other ethnic groups, but they do significantly better than others across a host of metrics including education and income.

But all this self love hasn't led to greater happiness. Yes adolescents are happier but Twenge has also found millennials (many now in their twenties) report being more depressed and anxious than previous generations. One thing that could play a role is the rude awakening many millennials face in their twenties when their high expectations don't match reality—they don't turn out to be as successful and important as their parents promised they would be. Another concern is how workplaces may need to adapt to serve a generation who are more interested creative freedom and work-life balance than previous generations.

The Hidden Brain Podcast is hosted by Shankar Vedantam and produced by Kara McGuirk-Alison, Jennifer Schmidt, Maggie Penman, Max Nesterak and Chris Benderev. To subscribe to our newsletter, click here. You can also follow us on Twitter @hiddenbrain, @karamcguirk, @maggiepenman, @maxnesterak, and @cbndrv, and listen for Hidden Brain stories every week on your local public radio station.