Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

The [Adult] Kids Are Alright [Mostly]

Today's young adults may bloom slowly, but they are doing something right: For the most part, they're pleasing their parents, a new survey finds.

The nationwide poll of 1,029 parents whose children are ages 18 to 29 paints "a very positive picture of how they view their kids and get along with them," says poll director Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a research professor in psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.

Seventy-three percent report "mostly positive" relationships with their kids, and 86% name their kids as a "source of enjoyment" – outpacing spouses, pets and hobbies.

The poll included a nationally representative sample of parents with an average age of 52. It found:

• 64% say their children are not a source of stress.

• 40% are "not at all concerned" that their children will ever find stable jobs; 18% say that's already happened.

• 38% have grown children living at home, and 61% of them say it's a "mostly positive" experience.

• 56% of parents are in contact with kids every day or almost every day.

It's not all rosy: 42% of parents say money is a source of conflict in the parent-child relationship. Though 52% say they consider their children adults, 34% say that's true in some ways, but not others; 15% say their kids are not adults.

When asked about the general trend of young people taking longer to reach adulthood, the parents are less positive than they are about their own kids: 44% say it is both positive and negative, 43% say it is negative, and 13% say it is positive.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/06/parents-young-adults-survey/2138727/

For Many Young Adults, 'Fantasy Gap' Exists Between Materialism & Work Ethic

New research by San Diego State University psychologist Dr. Jean M. Twenge — who has written about Millenials and other young adult cohorts in books such as “Generation Me” — compares the last three generations on characteristics of materialism and work ethic.

The research set out to evaluate the following question: Are today’s youth really more materialistic and less motivated than past generations, or do adults tend to perceive moral weakness in the next generation?

Study results, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, show that there is in fact a growing gap for today’s young adults between materialism and the desire to work hard.

“Compared to previous generations, recent high school graduates are more likely to want lots of money and nice things, but less likely to say they’re willing to work hard to earn them,” said Twenge. “That type of ‘fantasy gap’ is consistent with other studies showing a generational increase in narcissism and entitlement.”

Compared to Baby Boomers graduating from high school in the 1970s, recent high school students are more materialistic — 62 percent of students surveyed in 2005-07 think it’s important to have a lot of money, while just 48 percent had the same belief in 1976-78.

Sixty-nine percent of recent high school graduates thought it was important to own a home, compared to just 55 percent in 1976-78.

As for work ethic, 39 percent of students surveyed in 2005-07 admitted they didn’t want to work hard, compared to only 25 percent in 1976-78.

An interesting finding was the discovery that adolescents’ materialism was highest when advertising spending made up a greater percentage of the U.S. economy. “This suggests that advertising may play a crucial role in the development of youth materialism,” said Twenge. “It also might explain the gap between materialism and the work ethic, as advertising rarely shows the work necessary to earn the money necessary to pay for the advertised products.”

Source: PsychCentral
http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/05/02/for-many-young-adults-fantasy-gap-between-materialism-work-ethic/54379.html

Managers to Millennials: Job Interview No Time to Text

Newly minted college graduates soon entering the job market could be facing another hurdle besides high unemployment and a sluggish economy. Hiring managers say many perform poorly — sometimes even bizarrely — in job interviews.

Human resource professionals say they've seen recent college grads text or take calls in interviews, dress inappropriately, use slang or overly casual language and exhibit other oddball behavior.

"It's behavior that may be completely appropriate outside the interview," says Jaime Fall, vice president of the HR Policy Association. "The interview is still a traditional environment."

Fall and other HR executives say such quirks have become more commonplace the past three years or so, and are displayed by about one in five recent grads. They're prompting recruiters to rule out otherwise qualified candidates for entry-level positions and delay hiring decisions.

The trend reflects a generation of Millennials — ranging in age from 18 to 34 — who grew up texting and using smartphones and social media, says Mara Swan, executive vice president of staffing firm Manpower Group.

About half of HR executives say most recent grads are not professional their first year on the job, up from 40% of executives who had that view in 2012, according to a recent survey by the Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania.

Fall says Millennials also have been coddled by parents. "It's (a mindset of) 'You're perfect just the way are,' " he says. " 'Do whatever you're comfortable doing.' "

Why some job candidates flunked their interviews:
• Taking calls and texting.
• Helicoptering parents. (Parents attending interviews or making phone calls to negotiate higher salaries.)
• Pets in tow. (Bringing pets to inteviews.)

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/28/college-grads-job-interviews/2113505/

High Media Use Linked to Poor Academic Performance in College Students

A new study published in the journal Emerging Adulthood found that a high use of social media among college students was associated with lower grade point averages (GPAs) and other negative academic outcomes.

Researchers from The Miriam Hospital’s Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine found that freshmen women were spending nearly 12 hours a day texting, using the Internet for social media networking, or listening to music and watching videos.

The Miriam Hospital study suggests too much media, especially in early adulthood, a time when many young people are living independently for the first time and are away from parental monitoring, could get in the way of academic activities including studying. This research is unique in that it is focused on college students, rather than teenagers still living under the same roof as their parents.

For this study, the researchers surveyed 483 first-year college women at a northeast university at the start of the semester, and the students were asked about the use of eleven forms of media. These included television, movies, music, surfing the Internet, social networking, talking on a cell phone, texting, magazines, newspapers and non-school-related books and video games. Those surveyed were asked about the average weekday and weekend usage from the previous weekend.

“We found women who spend more time using some forms of media report fewer academic behaviors, such as completing homework and attending class, lower academic confidence and more problems affecting their school work, like lack of sleep and substance use,” said the study's lead author Jennifer L. Walsh, PhD.

Source: RedOrbit
http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112821454/facebook-social-media-use-poor-academic-performance-bad-grades-041113/

Millennials: Most Stressed Americans

Stress levels for Americans have taken a decidedly downward turn across the USA — except for young adults, whose stress is higher than the national norm, says a newly released survey.

Those ages 18-33 — the Millennial generation — are plenty stressed, and it's not letting up: 39% say their stress has increased in the past year; 52% say stress has kept them awake at night in the past month. And more than any other age group, they report being told by a health care provider that they have either depression or an anxiety disorder.

The online survey of 2,020 U.S. adults 18 and older, conducted in August by Harris Interactive for the American Psychological Association, has been taking the stress pulse of Americans since 2007.

On a 10-point scale, where 1 means "little or no stress" and 10 means "a great deal of stress," the 2012 average is 4.9. But for Millennials, it's 5.4.

"Younger people do tend to be more stressed than older people do. It may be they are more willing to admit to it. It may be a phase of life. They just don't know where they're going in life," says Mike Hais of Arcadia, Calif., a market researcher and co-author of two books on that generation, including 2011's Millennial Momentum.

"Millennials are growing up at a tough time. They were sheltered in many ways, with a lot of high expectations for what they should achieve. Individual failure is difficult to accept when confronted with a sense you're an important person and expected to achieve. Even though, in most instances, it's not their fault — the economy collapsed just as many of them were getting out of college and coming of age — that does lead to a greater sense of stress," he says.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/06/stress-psychology-millennials-depression/1878295/

Millennials: Social Media Access is the New Currency at Work

Cisco interviewed college students and young professionals to see exactly what social media, mobile devices and the Internet mean to them and found a dramatic shift in workplace priorities. In short, social media access on the job is as important as salary for millennials.

The results of the survey showed:

• Two of three college students will ask about social media policies during job interviews.
• 56 percent of college students will not accept a job from a company that bans social media, or they will circumvent the policy.
• One of three college students prioritize social media freedom, device flexibliity, and mobility over salary.
• Four of five college students want to choose the mobile device for their jobs.
• 68 percent of employees and 71% of college students believe corporate devices should also be used for social media and personal use.
• 50 percent of college students and young employees said they would rather lose their wallet or purse than a smart phone or mobile device.
• Three of five college students think they have a right to work remotely with a flexible schedule.

Source: GenYHub
http://genyhub.com/page/the-new-workplace-currency

Cisco
http://www.cisco.com/go/connectedreport

Today's Young Adults Will Never Pay Off Credit Card Debt

A growing body of evidence suggests that today’s young adults are drowning in credit-card debt — and that many of them will take this debt to their graves.

More than three-quarters of renters between the ages of 18 and 24 spend more than they earn every month, according to a survey of 1,000 renters (of all ages) by Rent.com. This is the case even though 17% of respondents in that age bracket say they’re willing to live with roommates to save money.

More than 20% overspent their income by more than $100. That’s every single month. And since they haven’t built up their credit histories yet, it’s a safe bet that these young adults are paying relatively high interest rates on the resulting credit card debt.

Although more young people than older adults blame “socializing” as a barrier to saving money, most young people aren’t knocking back $20 drinks in trendy lounges. They’re struggling with much more prosaic financial demands. For 42%, rent is their top expense, while 18% say transportation costs eat up the biggest chunk of their earnings and 22% say paying for food eats up the greatest share of their monthly budget.

To a disturbingly large extent, the young and the broke are relying on credit cards to make it until their next payday.

A new study out of Ohio State University found that young adults are racking up credit card debt at a more rapid rate than other age groups, and that they’re slower at paying it off. ”If what we found continues to hold true, we may have more elderly people with substantial financial problems in the future,” warns Lucia Dunn, co-author and professor of economics at Ohio State University. “If our findings persist, we may be faced with a financial crisis among elderly people who can’t pay off their credit cards.

People born between 1980 and 1984, for instance, already have an average of $5,689 more in credit card debt than their parents did at that age.

Along with more debt, this age cohort is paying off those debts at a sharply lower rate than their parents. Dunn says a lot of these young people are never going to get out from under their credit card debt. “Many people are borrowing on credit cards so heavily that payoff rates at these levels are not sufficient to recover their credit card debt by the end of their life, “ she writes in the study. “We can expect more people to carry credit card debt at death, which could have loss implications for the credit card issuing banks.”

Source: Time
http://business.time.com/2013/01/17/todays-young-adults-will-never-pay-off-their-credit-card-debts/

Study: U.S. College Freshmen Think They're More Special Than Ever

Books aside, if you asked a college freshman today who the Greatest Generation is, they might respond by pointing in a mirror.

Young people's unprecedented level of self-infatuation was revealed in a new analysis of the American Freshman Survey, which has been asking students to rate themselves compared to their peers since 1966.

Psychologist Jean Twenge and her colleagues compiled the data and found that over the last four decades there's been a dramatic rise in the number of students who describe themselves as being 'above average' in the areas of academic ability, drive to achieve, mathematical ability, and self-confidence.

Researchers found a disconnect between the student's opinions of themselves and actual ability.

While students are much more likely to call themselves gifted in writing abilities, objective test scores actually show that their writing abilities are far less than those of their 1960s counterparts.

Also on the decline is the amount of time spent studying, with little more than a third of students saying they study for six or more hours a week compared to almost half of all students claiming the same in the late 1980s.

Though they may work less, the number that said they had a drive to succeed rose sharply.

Still, these young egoists can grow up to become depressed adults. A 2006 study found that students suffer from 'ambition inflation' as their increased ambitions accompany increasingly unrealistic expectations. "Since the 1960s and 1970s, when those expectations started to grow, there's been an increase in anxiety and depression," Twenge said. "There's going to be a lot more people who don't reach their goals."

"Our culture used to encourage modesty and humility and not bragging about yourself," Twenge told BBC News. "It was considered a bad thing to be seen as conceited or full of yourself." Twenge said narcissim is a trait that is often negative and destructive, and blames its boom on several trends - including parenting styles, celebrity culture, social media, and easy credit - for allowing people to seem more successful than they really are.

"What's really become prevalent over the last two decades is the idea that being highly self-confident - loving yourself, believing in yourself - is the key to success," Twenge said. "Now the interesting thing about that belief is it's widely held, it's very deeply held, and it's also untrue." "You need to believe that you can go out and do something but that's not the same as thinking that you're great," Twenge said.

Source: Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2257715/Study-shows-college-students-think-theyre-special--read-write-barely-study.html

Emerging Adults, 18-29, Not There Yet

A new nationally representative survey of 1,029 people ages 18-29 found almost 60% say "adulthood will be more enjoyable than my life is now."

More than half (56%) say they often feel anxious; 33% often feel depressed; 65% say "this time of my life is full of uncertainty." Yet 82% say "it still seems like anything is possible."

The responses are based on data collected online and through cell and landline phone interviews, commissioned by Clark University in Worcester, Mass., with people ages 18-29 as part of an ongoing study of a relatively new life stage dubbed "emerging adulthood."

Among survey findings:
• 49% say they don't feel they have reached adulthood yet.
• 52% have daily or almost daily contact with parents via text, email, phone or in person.
• 34% say "my parents are more involved in my life that I really want them to be.
• 16% say they get "frequently" get financial support from parents, 16% "regularly," 31% "occasionally," and 38% "little or none".

To feel more like a grown-up, Alana Prant, 23 says she wants to become financially independent. That's the response of 30% of those surveyed who said financial independence is the most important factor in becoming an adult. "I'm about to be 24. I should feel like an adult, but I don't," she says. "My parents completely support me."

The survey was conducted by Clark University, where Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a research professor, coined the phrase "emerging adulthood" as a phase of human development for the period of late teens through the 20s.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/wellness/story/2012-07-30/Emerging-adults-18-29-still-attached-to-parents/56575404/1?csp=34news

Millennials Losing Their Religion

According to new research from the Pew Research Center, religious values are declining among Millennials.

The United States continues to be a highly religious nation. Most Americans say they belong to a particular faith and large percentages agree with statements about key religious beliefs and behaviors.

About three-quarters of the public (76%) say prayer is an important part of their daily life, while an identical percentage agrees that “we will all be called before God at the Judgment Day to answer for our sins.” And eight-in-ten say they never doubt the existence of God.

The percentage of the public agreeing with all three statements has shifted little since the first Pew Research values survey in 1987. That year, 68% of respondents agreed with all three statements; this year 67% do so.

Nonetheless, in the current survey, 68% of Millennials say they never doubt the existence of God, a decline of 15 points since 2007. Over this period, the proportion of older age cohorts expressing firm belief in God has remained stable.

There have been smaller declines in the percentages of Millennials agreeing to the other two statements about core religious beliefs – the personal importance of prayer and belief in a Judgment Day.

Still, just 55% of Millennials agree with all three religious values; among older age cohorts, two-thirds or more agree with all three religion statements.

Source: Pew Research Center
http://www.people-press.org/2012/06/04/section-6-religion-and-social-values/