Is the New Generation "iY" Subject to Unprecedented Dangers of Solipsism?

 

 

This morning I heard KFI's Bill Handel interview (probably a repeat) Dr. Tim Elmore, author of Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future. Elmore's thesis is that today's children is so immersed in computers that they are subject to solipsism, the withdrawal into the self, a form of insanity. 

My wife, a Generation X, said there were books warning of her generation's demise as well. 

Comments

[Doug T.]

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly disrespectful and impatient of restraint."

Attributed to Hesiod, 8th century BCE

[Angelo]

Jeff: Hopefully this isn't an issue with your Mrs., but I remember reading about "problems" the Gen-Xers faced in the '90s----and I came away laughing out loud. In short, they had a sense of entitlement that was stupifying. They complained about "all the hard work" of college and the fact that they couldn't find jobs that paid as well as what their parents or older siblings were making--and couldn't find jobs related to their major. Well, join the freakin' club. I'm a very young baby boomer---missed Gen-X by a few years---but it really is a generation apart. Gen-Xers were "troubled" when they had to drive an older car or work for less than baby boomers were making. They ran up credit card debt and then complained that the system was stacked against them. With any luck, "iY" will be introspective but not suicidal. I actually don't think insanity is a high risk for them---but depression might be. If you live your life in front of a computer and shun interaction with other humans, I imagine it can get lonely. And let's face it, we really are getting to a point where we can use computers to do everything from clothes shopping, to grocery shopping/delivery, to banking and everything in between. Kids text instead of picking up the phone---and in the future, maybe even big sporting events, concerts, movies and plays will be "attended" in a virtual way. Most of us grew up in a society where we depended on people and interacted with them most waking hours. "iY" might be the first group that is growing up the new way.

[Steve]

I am suspicious of any sweeping generalizations made about all humans born between this and that year. I am sure there are generational trends in behavior and beliefs, but it's also true that each generation is sure that its own is the pinnacle of humanity and that it's all downhill from here (I'm guilty of this too.) Like Doug's Hesiod quote above.

[Angelo]

Steve: I agree with you to a point----and I think it's periods of time rather than generations, that characterize people. World War II populace, giving way to the hippie movement, giving way to the yuppies of the 80s, and on it goes.

[KECYT]

Oh Horrors - today's youth, unwilling to lift a pen to write their elders -- instead using the vulgar, impersonal typewriter! And those horrid telegraphers; as if their ability to communicate over vast distances entitles them to their superior attitude and impertinent jargon! I can take no more... Mildred, bring me my absinthe!