AVOIDING A PERILOUS FUTURE FOR THE iGENERATION: Pastor Mark

 

Becoming Familiar with The "iGENERATION": Foundational Insights in Counseling Youth.

 

It is with great concern and apprehensive observation with which we comprehend the upcoming and un-anxious, immature direction of growth of the “iGeneration. “ The iGeneration {so named for the phone they grew up with} are devastatingly uninformed and naive. Their contented comfort to follow that which is regurgitated by others millions of times, rather than utilize the device the use to “stay connected”… a huge misnomer, they should also utilize this technology of enormous access to knowledge as well. In a word, the iGeneration is “LAZY.”

 

If you grew up in the 1970’s through the 1990’s, you are familiar with and comprehend the phrase so often heard by our parents and those senior to us, “You’re growing up too fast”. The children of the ‘Baby Boomers’ are reared in a completely opposite methodology. There is a many year long history in which Teenagers through 20-Somethings are unprecedented in that they postpone participating in ‘family time’, greatly more unlikely to be gainfully employed, date or even have such a simple rite of passage as a driver’s license. They are also much less likely to engage in sex or drink alcohol. According to recent research, it has been definitively demonstrated; the iGeneration are satisfied to maintain their single status for a greater length of time.

 

Dr. Jean Twenge, PhD, professor of psychology at the San Diego University in California stated, “Eighteen year olds are now content with acting like 15 year adolescence did.” Twenge’s intensive research illustrates the iGeneration to be making progress emotionally, psychologically and accountability at a surprisingly much slower rate than previous generations. Dean of Advisement of Stanford University, and acclaimed author of “How To Raise An Adult”, remarks “Adolescents seem to be behaving in ways that are safer, and instinctively that sounds good; but we are not going towel served if we have a society of 20 and 30-somethings who lack the impulse to be in charge of their own decisions or have a sense of obligation to work, pay their bills, and be productive.”

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Dr. Twenge published a sweeping study observation of seven independent survey’s asking 8.5 million teens between the years of 1976 through 2016. The results were stunningly astounding. The methodically collected data shows where teens were ‘at’ during key milestones of their life. Twenge comments, “in all of my analysis of generational-data, some of it reach back to the 1930’s… I had never seen anything like it.” High school seniors enjoy much less family time than 8th grades did in 2009. Teens are engaging in physical intimacy much later than those of the GenX had earlier. The population of 8th graders who have ever drunk alcohol has fallen in half and among high school seniors, one quarter by the 1990’s. Quite amazingly the population of high school seniors who graduate, a quarter of them do so without having applied for a driver’s license.

 

 

In an age of information and enlightenment, surprisingly so many iGener’s even though more connected via technology, they are regrettably are completed ill-prepared for intra-personal engagement. These sub-social groups of individuals are less likely to pursue interests outside of their homes. Dr. Twenge quips “the party is on snapchat.”

 

A report by the American Psychiatric Association in 2018 summarized “Adolescence who spent more time on electronic communication and screens and less time on non-screen activities, including in-person social interactions, had lower psychological well-being”. While parents seeming are content with less desire of their children to challenge themselves, they might be better serving the future of their children by a consistent presence and ushering their children into adulthood. This entails limiting social media access time, prompt their children to engage socially with in person interactions and consistently applying rules for either jobs or chores.; speaking candidly about unprotected sex and binge drinking. I’m sure most parents appreciate the slower progress of growing up as it reminds parents of the passage of time. However, children must eventually mature and became productive adults.

 

Pastor Mark is available in faith to offer guidance and counseling to those brave enough to reach out and seek it. All session are held in the strictest of confidence in an atmosphere conducive to maturing in personal strength through candid communication.