Ego Trip

Larry Gordon and Louis Sahagun make the claim that Generation Y is more egotistical and self-absorbed than previous generations. I feel that the article is incomplete and the argument isn't well supported. The opening sentence of the article says, "No wonder Youtube is so popular." I understand the claim that this sentence is trying to make but when you think about it, the claim doesn't really make sense. The claim is that Youtube is popular beause Generation Y wants to broadcast itself. If this were true then why would Generation Y be watching videos on Youtube? Youtube is popular because we want to see what's out there. Many of the videos on Youtube offer the poster no self gratification because they are video's of a new game trailer that just came out or a famous singer falling on stage. The article also makes reference to a study that found that "two-thirds of recent college students had narcissism scores that were above the average 1982 score." There are some things left unanswered here. How much higher are the scores? I feel like the stats are being twisted to make an attempt at swaying me one way. The article also claims that self esteem programs in elementary schools have helped promote MySpace and Youtube. I fail to see the connection. MySpace isn't meant solely to broadcast yourself, its a networking tool. You are able to communicate with people across the globe and see whats going on in a friends life who lives hours away. I don't see the connection to self absorption here. Keith Campbell, a psycology at UGA, claims that reality TV contributes to this so called "heightened self-regard." Once again, I fail to see a connection between watching other peoples lives and being obsessed with your own.
I feel like this article didn't touch on a few things. There is a huge difference in what is demanded of the youth of today as oppsed to the youth of yesterday. I was learning things my freshman year of highschool that my parents didn't learn until they were in college. Don't we have to be more self absorbed? The likelyhood of you getting a good job without going to college isn't very good. The likelyhood of you getting into college without caring about how well you do in school isn't very good. Competition for admittance into colleges is higher than ever. Wouldn't I be an idiot not to care a little more about me?