Write something different than other posts, please!

Which argument do you agree with (point or counterpoint)? Explain your reasoning.

Point

Those in college today have many good qualities: they are more technologically savvy, more socially tolerant, and more balanced in their work and family priorities than previous generations. Thus, those poised to enter the workforce today do so with some important virtues. Humility, however, is not one of them.

Several large-scale, longitudinal studies found that those graduating from college today are more likely than those from previous generations to have seemingly inflated views of themselves. Compared to previous generations, more U.S. college students now rate themselves as above average on attributes such as academic ability, leadership, public speaking ability, and writing ability. College graduates today are more likely to agree they would be very good spouses (56 percent, compared to 37 percent among 1980 graduates), parents (54 percent, compared to 36 percent among 1980 graduates), and workers (65 percent, compared to 49 percent among 1980 graduates).

Studies measuring narcissism suggest that scores are rising, especially among younger generations. For example, by presenting a choice between two statementsI try not to be a show-off versus I will usually show off if I get the chancepsychologists have found that narcissism has been growing since the early 1980s.

Another recent study found that, compared to Baby Boomers and Generation Xers, students entering college today are more likely to emphasize extrinsic values (e.g., money, image, fame) and less likely to value intrinsic ones (e.g., concern for others, charity, jobs that contribute to society).

It doesnt paint a pretty picture, but data do not lie: the sooner we admit it, the sooner we can begin to address the problem in families, in education, and at work.

Counterpoint

THE YOUTH OF TODAY ARE LOST! This argument is like a broken record that seems to play over and over: every generation tends to think the new generation is without values, and the new generation thinks the older one is hopelessly judgmental and out of touch. Didnt the supposed Me generation occur a generation ago? Lets send the broken record to the recycling bin and review the evidence.

Another study offered an interesting explanation for why people think Millennials are more narcissistic. Specifically, young people in general are more self-focused, but as people age, they become more other focused. So we think young people are different when in fact theyre just the way older folks were when they were younger. As these authors conclude, Every generation is Generation Me. Our level of narcissism appears to be one of the many things that changes as we get older.

In fact, this raises an important point: values change over time as we age, but we should not confuse that change with generational effects. One large-scale review of the literature revealed that during college years, we place more weight on intrinsic values, and as we progress in our careers and start families, extrinsic values increase in importance.

Other research has found that people think the generations differ in their values much more than they in fact do. One study found that of 15 work values, in every case, the perceived differences between among Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and Millennials were greater than the actual ones.

More broadly, narcissistic folks exist in every generation. We need to be careful when generalizing about entire groups (whether one sex, one race, one culture, or one generation). While generalizations have caused no small amount of trouble, we still like to simplify the world, sometimes for good reason. In this case, however, the good reason isnt there, especially considering the latest evidence.