Dr. Jean Twenge sits at her home in San Diego, CA on Monday, July 15, 2013. l the narcissism debate into the mainstream. By comparing 30-plus years of college personality test results, Dr. Twenge has concluded, over and over again, that younger generations are increasingly entitled, self-obsessed and unprepared for the realities of adult life.
Point the finger, she says, at America’s culture of self-esteem, in which parents praise every child as “special” and feelings of self-worth are considered a prerequisite to, rather than a result of, success.(Photo by Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times)