Are people under 40 years old more selfish than previous generations?

I’ve often heard people, particularly people older than myself, lament the selfishness of younger generations. It’s a commonly occurring story-line: we’re more individualistic, more materialistic and less community-minded than those who came before us. People even commission research to back this up. As this article on Matador Network highlights, a recent American study claims that Generation Y are a greedy bunch and the worst employees in history.

I don’t buy this. Yes there’s a lot of individualism in society (which is different from selfishness), but to blame younger generations for this is like blaming baby boomers for climate change. It’s intergenerational stone throwing. We can’t remove our self from any generation that came before us, or pretend that those who are younger than us are living a completely separate life. We need to unpick these arguments.

Redirecting the focus

I don’t know if younger people are more individualistic than previous generations. Any research in this area is swayed by the views of the researchers and the questions that they are asking. What I do know is that I’ve grown up in a more individualistic society than my parents grew up in. There are more individual freedoms for lots of people. Many people also feel disconnected, although this seems to be shifting.

But where did this individualistic society come from? None of us created it on our own. Some key ingredients have been the rise of consumer societies (and the powerful interests that have fed them), technologies like television, and fossil fuels that have powered private cars and enabled urban sprawl. That’s a ridiculously short list, but the point is that this world was being created well before I came into being (I’m now 33), letalone any of the “Millenials“.

When some older people express their disdain at the selfishness of younger generations, I therefore wonder this: are they actually masking the guilt that they feel for their generation’s part in creating this world? Are they reacting to their own individualism? The louder that these people label other generations as greedy or individualistic, without questioning their own part in this process, the more likely this seems to me.

Generations X and Y are also being criticised for having a lousy work ethic. But instead of getting annoyed at people for not fitting into old ways of working, why aren’t we asking how we can create purposeful work for people that actually attracts them to put more of their self into their work?

Up and across generations

I’m incredibly grateful to my parents and their generation. We exist through their generosity. Yet I’m also disgusted about lots of things in the world that I’ve inherited and become part of. It’s a world with enormous social injustices and growing environmental decay (as the recent oil “spill” has made very clear). We also face some very dark shadows on the horizon, such as climate change.

As I noted in a previous post though, many of the young people that I know aren’t lowering their heads:

I sometimes like to think that an ‘up-generation’ is coming into power in society. We are people who can see that our environment and economic systems are in decline. We have a right to be upset, but we remain up-beat. We know that we need to bring our energy up to turn things around. We will beat this descent by rising above it. We are defined by who we are, and not by when we were born… We are simply active up-beat citizens.

In contrast to the grey views of those who groan about the greediness of younger generations, this video from Generation We tells a very different story:

Regardless of whether we think young people are part of “Generation Me” or “Generation We”, it’s time to stop throwing stones. Rather than asking which generation is the most individualistic (as if it’s a competition), it would be more fruitful to ask questions like:

• How connected and empowering does our society seem to us?
• If our society is too individualistic for our liking, how can we cultivate more reconnecting?
• How could reconnecting across generations help in overcoming feelings of disconnection?

I’m constantly inspired by many people who I meet—young and old—who are creating a better world. I can’t see the benefits in looking for their faults. Although I can’t be sure that the world will be in better shape than when I was born, I also have a growing sense that the tide has started to turn.

Related posts:

1. Do baby boomers need forgiveness?