Jaclyn Martin
(WNS) -- Researchers studying the
attitudes and behaviors of college students got a surprise when they analyzed
surveys completed by this year's incoming freshmen. The Millennial Generation
is more selfish, less interested in the well-being of others and less concerned
about the environment than previously thought.
Jean Twenge, a psychology
professor at San Diego State University and one of the study's authors, told
the Associated Press she did not expect the findings to turn out the way they
did: "I was shocked. We have the perception that we're getting through to
people. But at least compared to previous eras, we're not."
Twenge and her team based
their study on two long-term surveys, the American Freshman project and the
University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future project, given to youth for the
last 40 years. Despite the Millennial Generation's reputation for altruism, the
study revealed that today's young adults are more interested in being wealthy,
less interested in politics, and less interested in protecting the environment
than past generations.
Although the study did not
address the reasons behind the results, two Christian educators blame young
adults' inward focus on the economic downturn and on a disconnect from adult
society encouraged by technology that connects them more closely to each other.
According to the survey
results, young adults' inner values have been declining for four generations.
The study compares responses from youth of the same age from the baby boomer
generation, born between 1946 and 1961, Generation X, born between 1962 and
1981, and Millennials, born after 1982. The results show that each new
generation places less importance on life goals, concern for others and civic
issues.
The American Freshman
survey, given to students every year since 1966, showed that the number of
students who placed an importance on being wealthy increased from 45 percent of
baby boomers to 70 percent of Gen Xers. Among Millennials, the emphasis on
wealth rose to 75 percent.
Political interest among
youth fell from 50 percent for boomers to 39 percent for Generation X. Interest
among the Millennial Generation further declined to 35 percent, a significant
drop from the boomer generation. Interest in eco-friendly programs also dropped
from 33 percent among boomers to just 21 percent for Millennials.
Responses to a question
about the importance of "developing a meaningful philosophy of life,"
showed the biggest drop - 73 percent of boomers thought it was important,
compared to just 45 percent of Millennials.
Although the study's
authors found the results surprising, David Gordon, a religion professor at
Grove City College, in Grove City, Pa., did not. The Millennial Generation
"simply doesn't care about much other than its own pleasure and
well-being. Self-interest is the mirror opposite of public-mindedness,"
Gordon said.
But Jeff Doyle, dean for
Student Learning and Engagement at Baylor University, in Waco, Texas, called
the study both surprising and discouraging and described Millennials as
upstanding citizens and students.
"[Millennials are]
some of the friendliest, rule-abiding, and hard-working students I have been
around in my career," said Doyle, who has worked in Christian higher
education for six years and secular higher education for 14 years. Doyle argues
that what appears to be self-focus among Millennials could just be the result
of trying to survive in a difficult economic climate.
Today's students are living
in a hyper-competitive environment, and many leave college with serious debt,
Doyle said. College students from the 1960s and 1970s, often got jobs simply
because they had a degree, he said.
"College students of
the past two decades have increasingly been engaged in a battle to outshine
their peers for the right to jobs after college," he said. "The hours
spent working could cut down on their ability to meaningfully engage in
political demonstrations or ponder the meaning of life. This may result in a
focus on many of the extrinsic values that Twenge states are increasing in
Millennial students."
Gordon, however, attributes
the Millennial Generation's lack of involvement to digital media, which many
thought would make today's youth the most broad-minded, thoughtful, intelligent
generation ever. Instead, it has arrested their development, Gordon said:
"When they are 'podded up' they do not hear adult conversations. When in a
room with adults, they are texting other adolescents who are not present. They
are stuck in childhood, because they have so little acquaintance with adults
and adult concerns."
Instead of connecting to
the world at large, Millennials connect to other youth, leaving them
"utterly cut off from the broader culture that antedated them."
Gordon said.
But after working with both
Christian and non-Christian students, Doyle believes faith makes a difference.
"From my professional
experience, the Christian students I have worked with are not immune to the
same temptations and challenges facing non-Christian students, but they seem to
have a buffer that reduces their likelihood of beliefs and behavior that are
indicative of selfishness," he said.
c. 2012 WORLD News
Service.
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