千禧一代，“自恋狂”还是“新人王”？

by Joel Stein Monday

I am about to do what old people have done throughout history： call those younger than me lazy， entitled， selfish and shallow. Heres the cold， hard data： The incidence of 1）narcissistic personality disorder is nearly three times as high for people in their 20s as for the generation thats now 65 or older， according to the National Institutes of Health. Theyre so convinced of their own greatness that the National Study of Youth and Religion found the guiding morality of 60% of millennials in any situation is that theyll just be able to feel whats right.

Millennials consist of people born from 1980 to 2000. In the U.S.， millennials are the children of 2）baby boomers， who are also known as the Me Generation， who then produced the Me Me Me Generation， whose selfishness technology has only 3）exacerbated. Whereas in the 1950s families displayed a wedding photo， a school photo and maybe a military photo in their homes， the average middle-class American family today walks amid 85 pictures of themselves and their pets.

我即将要做的事正是多少年来老一辈的人都曾经做过的：批评比我年轻的人懒惰、自私、浅薄、自以为是。以下是一些冰冷的硬数据：美国国家卫生研究院提供的数据显示，与目前达到65岁或以上的人相比，二十多岁的年轻人患自恋型人格障碍的几率是前者的将近三倍。这些人深信自己很了不起：“全国青年与宗教调查”报告发现，60%的千禧一代表示，他们在任何情况下遵守的道德是：他们觉得这是对的就行。

千禧一代，指的是从1980年到2000年出生的那些人。在美国，千禧一代是婴儿潮一代的子女。婴儿潮一代被广泛称为“自我的一代”，他们的子女则是“我我我一代”，后者的自私程度更甚。上世纪50年代，美国人家里会摆放结婚照片、学校照片，或许还有军装照。而如今，美国一般中产阶级的家里则是满布个人照片及宠物照片。

They got this way partly because， in the 1970s， people wanted to improve kidschances of success by instilling self-esteem.“When theyre little it seems cute to tell them theyre special or a princess or a rock star or whatever their T-shirt says. When theyre 14 its no longer cute.” says Jean Twenge， a psychology professor at San Diego State University.

Though theyre cocky about their place in the world， millennials are also stunted， having prolonged a life stage between teenager and adult. Now that cell phones allow kids to socialize at every hour， Millennials are interacting all day but almost entirely through a screen. Youve seen them at bars， sitting next to one another and texting. They might look calm， but theyre deeply anxious about missing out on something better.

Millennials grew up watching realityTV shows， most of which are basically documentaries about narcissists. Now they have trained themselves to be reality-TVready. In 1979， Christopher Lasch wrote in The Culture of Narcissism， “The media give substance to， and thus 4）intensify， narcissistic dreams of fame and glory， encourage common people to identify themselves with the stars and to hate the ‘herd， and make it more and more difficult for them to accept the 5）banality of everyday existence.”

他们之所以变成这样，部分原因在于，上世纪70年代，人们对孩子灌输自尊的理念，希望以此增加孩子成功的几率。圣地亚哥州立大学的心理学教授吉恩·特文格说：“当他们还小时，你让他们自觉特别、是个公主、是个摇滚明星什么的，这很好。等到他们长到14岁时，还这么说就不明智了。”

尽管千禧一代对自己在世界上的地位狂妄自信，但他们的成长也受挫，他们从青少年转变为成年人的生命阶段被延长了。如今，手机使得孩子们随时能够进行社交活动，千禧一代整天都在互动，但几乎全是通过屏幕。你也曾在酒吧里见过他们，他们紧挨着坐在一起发短信。也许他们看起来冷静，但其实心中充满焦虑，生怕错过什么精彩资讯。

千禧一代看着电视真人秀长大，这些节目大多数基本上都是有关自恋者的纪录片。如今，千禧一代把自己训练成随时能上真人秀的选手。1979年，克里斯托弗·拉希在《自恋文化》一书中写道：“媒体描画出大众追求名望的自恋梦，加剧了这种渴求，鼓励普通人将自己视同明星，憎恨‘芸芸众生，使得他们越来越难以接受日常生活的平庸。”

So while the entire first half of this article is absolutely true， millennials self-involvement is more a continuation of a trend than a revolutionary break from previous generations. For example， millennials perceived entitlement isnt a result of overprotection but an adaptation to a world of abundance. What idiot would try to work her way up at a company when shes going to have an average of seven jobs before age 26？ Because of online dating， Facebook circles and the ability to connect with people internationally， they no longer have to marry someone from their high school class or even their home country. Because 6）life expectancy is increasing so rapidly and technology allows women to get pregnant in their 40s， theyre more free to postpone big decisions.

In fact， a lot of what counts as typical millennial behavior is how rich kids have always behaved. The Internet has 7）democratized opportunity for many young people， giving them access and information that once belonged mostly to the wealthy. So the great thing is that they do feel entitled to all of this， so theyll be more innovative and more willing to try new things and theyll do all this cool stuff.

“Can you imagine if the boomers had YouTube， how narcissistic they wouldve seemed？” asks Scott Hess， senior vice president of human intelligence for SparkSMG，“I think in many ways youre blaming millennials for the technology that happens to exist right now.”

Millennials are able to use their leverage to negotiate much better contracts with the traditional institutions they do still join. Gary Stiteler， who has been an army recruiter for about 15 years， is more impressed with millennials than any other group hes worked with. “The generation that we enlisted when I first started recruiting was sort of do， do， do. This generation is think， think about it before you do it，”he says. “This generation is three to four steps ahead. Theyre coming in saying， ‘I want to do this， then when Im done with this， I want to do this.”

But if you need the ultimate proof that millennials could be a great force for positive change， know this： Tom Brokaw， champion of the Greatest Generation， loves millennials. “Their great mantra has been： Challenge convention. Find new and better ways of doing things.” he says.

So heres a more rounded picture of millennials than the one I started with. Theyre earnest and optimistic. They are 8）pragmatic idealists， life hackers and 9）tinkerers more than dreamers. They want constant approval—they post photos from the dressing room as they try on clothes. They have a massive fear of missing out and have an 10）acronym for everything. They want new experiences， which are more important to them than material goods. They are cool and reserved and not all that passionate. They love their phones but hate talking on them.

So， yes， we have all that data about narcissism and laziness and entitlement. But a generations greatness isnt determined by data； its determined by how they react to the challenges that befall them. And， just as important， by how we react to them. Me， I choose to believe in the children.

因此，尽管这篇文章前半部分的内容绝对属实，但千禧一代的自恋更多的是一种趋势的延续，而不是不同于之前世世代代的革命性决裂。比方说，千禧一代怀有的自以为是并非是父母过度保护的结果，而是面对丰庶世界的调适。如果一个人在26岁前平均会换7份工作，有哪个傻瓜会试图争取在一家公司获得晋升？由于有了在线约会、“脸谱”网上的交友圈以及在跨国人际互动的便捷方式，他们不再需要与高中班上的同学甚至是本国的人结婚。由于人类寿命迅速延长，科技使得女性四十多岁也能怀孕，她们在推迟重大决定方面有了更大的自由。

事实上，许多被视为千禧一代所特有的表现，有钱人家的孩子一直就是这样做的。对于许多年轻人来说，互联网让机遇变得均等，让他们可以获得方法和信息，而过去这些优势多半只属于富人。所以难得的是，这一代人确实感觉到了自己的优越性，所以他们会更具有创新精神，也更愿意尝试新鲜事物，他们会做些酷酷的事情出来。

“想像一下，如果婴儿潮一代拥有YouTube视频网站，他们会变得多自恋？”创意公司SparkSMG的人类智能高级副总裁斯科特·赫斯说，“我认为从许多方面来说，之所以千禧一代受到指责，是因为刚好在这个时候出现了许多新技术。”

千禧一代能够利用各种手段为其投身的传统机构争取到更好的合约。在从事了15年征兵工作的加里·斯蒂特勒看来，千禧一代比他接触过的其他群体更让人印象深刻。他说：“我刚开始负责征兵工作时，入伍的那一代人都是那种做、做、做的类型。这代人则会在做事之前一想再想。这一代人向前迈进了三四步。他们一来就会说：‘我想做这个，然后等我做完了这个，我想做那个。”

但是如果需要最有力的证据来证明千禧一代能成为推动积极变革的重要力量，那么有必要了解这一点：“最伟大的一代”的拥护者汤姆·布罗考对千禧一代喜爱有加。他说：“他们的信念是：挑战常规，找到新的、更好的做事方法。”

所以，以下关于千禧一代的描述比起我在文章开头的表述更加全面。他们是真诚、乐观的一代人。他们是务实的理想主义者，喜欢小打小闹但不做白日梦，他们是懂得利用技术来享受生活的人。他们不断寻求认同——他们在更衣室试衣服时就会把照片发到网上。他们极其害怕错过任何事，谈论任何事物都喜欢用简称。他们希望有新的体验；对他们来说，体验比实物更加重要。他们矜持淡定，并非热情十足。他们热爱手机，但是讨厌打电话。

所以，诚然，关于他们的自恋、懒惰和自以为是，我们拥有各种各样的数据。但是，一代人的伟大之处并非由数据决定；决定因素在于，当有挑战降临在他们面前时，他们会如何应对。而且同样重要的是，我们将如何看待他们。至于我本人，我会选择相信这些孩子。