Generation Me--Revised and Updated by Jean M. Twenge

Author:Jean M. Twenge
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books

LIFE DETERMINATION BY LOTTERY

Generation Me’ers external beliefs are somewhat ironic considering the better health and safety they enjoy. Neither GenX nor GenMe has ever been drafted to fight in a war. Life expectancy is at an all-time high, and advances in medical technology and pharmaceuticals make countless lives better. Safety measures have radically improved in the last thirty years, on everything from cars to playground equipment. Can you believe that babies used to ride in cars without car seats, and that kids rode bikes without wearing helmets? Even considering the threat of terrorism, fewer negative random events occur now than in previous eras.

It’s easy to take those things for granted, however, especially since this relatively safe world is the only one GenMe’ers have ever known. Instead they focus on the things they’ve seen change, such as the economy and the volatile job market. In an increasingly complex, competitive world, jobs and investments seem to depend more on luck than achievement. When only 5% of people are admitted to a graduate program—and most of the applicants are highly qualified—GenMe quickly learns that luck plays a big role in their lives. Or as Gaby, 20, puts it, “A typical saying in my generation is ‘I was in the right/wrong place at the right/wrong time.’ ”

Recent college graduates find it difficult to summon up enthusiasm for the job market. “Putting in effort does not seem to be related to getting the appropriate reward,” says Andrea, 22. “Getting a degree does not guarantee a stable job.” Eric, 23, has the same beliefs even though he has been successful. He described being “handed” a management job in a time-share company, making $45,000 a year when he was only 18. When the company was restructured and 75% of the employees lost their jobs, Eric says he “got lucky” and wasn’t let go. Even though most of the breaks went his way, Eric says, “In truth I had nothing to do with it.”

Though some of this attitude is based in realism, other members of GenMe have developed a skewed view of how success works. Perhaps because many role models on TV are actresses and athletes, becoming rich looks like a matter of luck. Apparently, some young people also believe that success in business usually happens overnight. Generation X Goes to College quotes Kelly, 18, who says, “Kids see people like Bill Gates who get rich out of nowhere. . . . It seems a lot of people get it that way, by not having to work. They just come into it real quick, like the lottery.” Bill Gates is many things, but he’s not a lottery winner; he founded a company and worked hard to make it grow. He may have been lucky, and he may have been opportunistic, but it’s astonishing that anyone thinks he got rich without working.

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