Our Narcissistic Generation

A recent study conducted by Paul Harvery of the University of New Hampshire (go Wildcats!) found that members of Generation Y (the best definition I could find is those born between the mid-’70s and the mid-’90s) make for employees who demonstrate an excessive degree of entitlement. They don’t handle criticism well, they tend to blame others or outside circumstances for their failures, and they don’t like to perform tasks that won’t lead to praise or rewards.

When I heard about this study, it got me thinking. I believe we really have become the most narcissistic generation. Social networking sites allow us to disseminate the inane minutiae of our mundane lives, and we believe people want to read it, that we’re truly interesting. And Twitter has exacerbated this epidemic by allowing us to microblog about what we’re doing at any given moment; people seem to abuse this priviledge, announcing such legendary milestones as, “Great workout today!!!” My writing of this very blog is executed under the assumption that someone out there will be riveted by what I have to say.

Reality television has convinced us that every Average Joe out there is but a dormant super star, which in turn waters down the talent pool. For example, we don’t watch American Idol for the good singers, right? We watch it for the trainwrecks, who are now becoming famous in their own right (I’m looking at you, William Hung). And since anyone looks good compared to a trainwreck, we deem mediocre singers and dancers “talented.” Hence the Adam Lamberts of the world. 

And then there’s YouTube, a site which is built on collecting anything and everything that anyone anywhere wants to broadcast for the world, and somehow, there are people out there who have developed successful careers out of this.

So what does this heightened narcissism amongst the general population mean for celebrities? Hugely inflated egos and an off-the-charts sense of entitlement. They partake in the Twitter fest, using it to bolster their fame under the guise of “connecting with the fans,” and we’re supposed to get excited that Kim Kardashian is at another fabulous photo shoot, or that Ashton Kutcher thinks his wife’s ass is hot. Please. We don’t need to be reminded that their lives are better than ours.

All of that said, I present an examination of Hollywood’s most infuriatingly, unjustifiably, bafflingly narcissistic egomaniacs:

Exhibit A: Miley Cyrus
It’s our fault, really. Well, not me personally. I’m a bit older than the Ms. Montana target deomgraphic. But her meteoric success at an early age can’t have helped in the humility department. With her gruff smoker’s voice and slapped-with-a-frying-pan face, I literally cannot fathom why her popularity seems to be growing exponentially. Forever in the limelight, the media cling to her every word and action, and we stand in awe of her disdain for musicals and her predilection for Big Macs and genital-grazing hotpants. She just seems so damn cocky. A word of advice, Miley: dressing like a slut doesn’t make you more of a grown up, it makes you more of a slut. And enough with the f***ing peace sign already.

Exhibit B: The Entire Twilight Gang
I haven’t read any of Stephanie Meyer’s books. I’m sure they’re great, but I loathe massive popularity. My theory is that if something is hugely appealing to the general public, and I have a great disdain for the general public, then it stands to reason that I probably won’t share in their enthusiasm for things like The DaVinci Code or Grey’s Anatomy or expensive frozen yogurt shops or sandwiches that have meat where the bread is supposed to go. So the whole Twilight frenzy just annoys me, no thanks to these kids they hired for the movies. Kristen Stewart is the primary culprit here. She’s another case of someone trying desperately to look and act older than she is, all while coming off as too-cool-for-school. She tried to be nonchalant when accepting her MTV Movie Award this year, but she was really just glib and awkward. And this Robert Pattinson kid – it seems the insane fandom hasn’t gone to his head, but have you seem him in an interview? Not much between the ears. He’s not a real vampire, ladies! He’s not!!! Then of course there’s Taylor Lautner, whose narcissism is hard for me to define, but it’s clearly there. That’s what happens when someone is a terrible actor in a highly successful film: they think their skills played some part in the triumph when really it only did well because a million lonely virgins have a thing for fangs.

Et finalement,  Exhibit C: Justin Bieber
Ummmmmm…why is this kid rich and I’m not? He’s friggin’ 16! I understand that his renown is primarily with the “tween” (a word that makes me queasy) set, but I can’t imagine my 13-year-old self giving this guy a second look. Have you heard one of his songs? My Great Dane is a better singer. And it all started with YouTube. His mother uploaded some videos of him singing and he caught the attention of someone who will no doubt suffer serious consequences in the afterlife. Now the Bieb-ster is an astronomical success with an ego to match. He’s fond of posting his picture with celebrities online and seems to run the talk show circuit on a continuous loop, throngs of screaming girls waiting for him at every turn. And he laps it all up with a smug grin and a lesbian haircut. I’m sorry. I just can’t harbor any respect for someone when the crux of their career involves the words, “baby baby baby.” Someone please make him stop.

I think we all could use a healthy dose of Tyler Durden:

“Listen up, maggots. You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You’re the same decaying organic matter as everything else…You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your fucking khakis. You’re the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world.”

My remedy for a raging case of narcissism? I’m not going to argue that we all need to be more others-centered and altruistic. I’m not out there feeding homeless people or teaching kids to read. But the recognition that we are not that great, that no one cares about our every thought, that true talent is rare and hard to come by, would make the world an infinitely better place to live.