Jessica Brown
indy 100Tue, 21 Feb 2017 17:13 UTC
© UNSPLASH
We might not agree on phone etiquette, or what to put on the radio - but there's one thing older and younger generations agree on.
Millennials (born between 1980 and 1994) are the most narcissistic - according to a study that consulted both millennials and their grandparents' generations,But there is one thing they disagree on: the extent of their narcissism. Older generations think millennials' narcissism goes beyond what millennials themselves will admit.Joshua Grubbs, a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at Case Western Reserve University, asked millennials and adults 60 years and older to rank generations on their narcissism.
The older group ranked millennials 65.3 on a 100-point narcissism scale, whereas millennials rated themselves as 61.4, according to the
Huffington Post.
He also found that millennials don't like being called narcissistic, even though they admit to having the trait. But having this label might not be a good thing.
Grubbs said:
Over time, the 'narcissistic' label could impact how millennials feel, their mental health (and) their attitudes about themselves and general generation.
This provides us with a broad picture we can use in further research.
Comment: More
quotes from Grubbs:
People in the study rejected the idea that they were arrogant, excessively self-centred and vain:
"Millennials generally object when the 'narcissistic' label is applied to them - it feels like a putdown. The only people that found the label acceptable were people who are actually narcissistic - and research shows there are very few of them."
Instead, millennials tend to think of themselves as 'individualistic'. Individualism is a trait highly valued by millennials. Mr Grubbs said:
"This research doesn't mean every single millennial is narcissistic. But on the whole, people of my generation probably are more narcissistic than in past generations.
[...]
Still, millennials experience more anger, frustration and sadness over the label than other generations. Even if they agree with it to some extent, it still bothers them."
Mr Grubbs said:
"This is the first generation where there's such a prevalent exposure to the message (that) they're narcissistic, mainly through the Internet. We'd like to know, over time, what effect that has. This is the first step.
Yet see this, too:
Shock findings! Millennials are not as selfish as you might think when it comes to jobs
Comment: More quotes from Grubbs: Yet see this, too: Shock findings! Millennials are not as selfish as you might think when it comes to jobs