About the Author
Jean M. Twenge, PhD, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, is the author of more than 120 scientific publications and two books based on her research, Generation Me and The Narcissism Epidemic, as well as The impatient Woman's Guide to Getting Pregnant Her research has been show more covered in Time, the Atlantic, Newsweek, the New York Times, USA Today, and the Washington Post. She has also been featured on Today, Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, and National Public Radio. She lives in San Diego with her husband and three iGen daughters. show less
Works by Jean M. Twenge
Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before (2006) 625 copies, 20 reviews
iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us (2017) 504 copies, 20 reviews
Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future (2023) 352 copies, 8 reviews
Associated Works
Self and Relationships: Connecting Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Processes (2006) — Contributor — 6 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1971
- Gender
- female
- Short biography
- Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University and the author of more than 90 scientific journal articles and book chapters. She received a BA in sociology and psychology and an MA in social sciences from the University of Chicago in 1993 and a Ph.D. in personality psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1998. She then completed a postdoc in social psychology at Case Western Reserve University. She lives with her husband and daughters in San Diego, and enjoys swimming, reading, sitting in the sun, or reading and sitting in the sun -- though usually not swimming while reading and sitting in the sun.
She has made numerous media appearances to discuss her research, including:
The Today Show
Dateline NBC
NPR's All Things Considered
The New York Times
KPBS radio
San Diego TV stations: KUSI, XETV, KNSD, KFMB, KGTV
USA Today
Time magazine
Washington Post
The Wall Street Journal
Newsweek
More about Dr. Twenge's research can be found at:
http://www.iGenConsulting.com/article...
http://www.generationme.org/aboutauth... - Nationality
- USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future by Jean M. Twenge
I recently shared a reel in a private Facebook group called "Grandma can't see these and neither can my boss" (which ironically was created by my Millennial boss) captioned "When your mom is Gen X," featuring a woman singing along to the Warren G song "Regulators" in a restaurant while her presumably Gen Z daughter covers her face and otherwise dies of embarrassment. Another member (who I don't know personally) asked what birth years Gen X covered, then answered her own question that she's a show more Millennial. My (internal, not posted) response was "HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW THAT?"
Generational differences are a minor obsession of mine. I can tell you the generation of my parents, siblings, in-laws, co-workers, etc. in a split second. (On the other hand, I could not tell you any of their astrological signs.) Based on that interest, I feel that this book is a five-star must-read, but I realize that not everyone will feel that way.
The author is a professor of psychology who has spent her career studying generational changes, coming to the conclusion that technology has been the driving force behind them. Prior to the Lost Generation (a term originated by Gertrude Stein, inspired by all the young expat writers who moved to Paris after WWI), the concept of cultural generations didn't exist. Each generation's experience was essentially the same as the ones before. Some people argue that historical events have caused generational differences, but Ms. Twenge believes that technological advancements, which give people more leisure time, have driven generations to become more focused on individuals and slower to "grow up."
Each chapter examines a subsequent generation, starting with Silents and ending with "Polars" (her term, I personally prefer "Alphas), including the major events and technology that affected their personal development, along with the dominant trends and traits of that generation. The generational characteristics she identifies are based on a TON of studies (roughly half the book consists of graphs), although she also includes anecdotal illustrations and personal interviews. I found almost all of it fascinating and informative. (Some GR reviews have claimed that she's biased or anti-technology, but I don't find this to be true, but maybe that's because I'm also Gen X and therefore share the same biases. ::insert laughing/crying emoji because I'm old, but not skull emoji:: Oh, who are we kidding? Follow that with about 10 more laughing/crying emojis.)
While the Silent (my parents), Boomer (my in-laws), Gen X (me, my siblings, my husband, and a lot of our friends), and Millennial (other friends & my former students) chapters had me nodding along, the Gen Z chapter held the most revelations. My teens are Gen Z and they fit so many of the characteristics that she describes, which honestly, makes me feel better about certain things. My husband has a tendency to compare our kids' activities to what he was doing at their ages, which I don't think is fair because it's a completely different world from when we were teens in the 1990s.
In the conclusion, Ms. Twenge explores how the future might look based on the progression of generations, specifically in regards to work, family, politics, race relations, religion, and the economy. This was a little less interesting to me, because it's all speculation. (The declining birth rate will definitely change things up, though.)
Overall, a fascinating read. Highly recommended. show less
Generational differences are a minor obsession of mine. I can tell you the generation of my parents, siblings, in-laws, co-workers, etc. in a split second. (On the other hand, I could not tell you any of their astrological signs.) Based on that interest, I feel that this book is a five-star must-read, but I realize that not everyone will feel that way.
The author is a professor of psychology who has spent her career studying generational changes, coming to the conclusion that technology has been the driving force behind them. Prior to the Lost Generation (a term originated by Gertrude Stein, inspired by all the young expat writers who moved to Paris after WWI), the concept of cultural generations didn't exist. Each generation's experience was essentially the same as the ones before. Some people argue that historical events have caused generational differences, but Ms. Twenge believes that technological advancements, which give people more leisure time, have driven generations to become more focused on individuals and slower to "grow up."
Each chapter examines a subsequent generation, starting with Silents and ending with "Polars" (her term, I personally prefer "Alphas), including the major events and technology that affected their personal development, along with the dominant trends and traits of that generation. The generational characteristics she identifies are based on a TON of studies (roughly half the book consists of graphs), although she also includes anecdotal illustrations and personal interviews. I found almost all of it fascinating and informative. (Some GR reviews have claimed that she's biased or anti-technology, but I don't find this to be true, but maybe that's because I'm also Gen X and therefore share the same biases. ::insert laughing/crying emoji because I'm old, but not skull emoji:: Oh, who are we kidding? Follow that with about 10 more laughing/crying emojis.)
While the Silent (my parents), Boomer (my in-laws), Gen X (me, my siblings, my husband, and a lot of our friends), and Millennial (other friends & my former students) chapters had me nodding along, the Gen Z chapter held the most revelations. My teens are Gen Z and they fit so many of the characteristics that she describes, which honestly, makes me feel better about certain things. My husband has a tendency to compare our kids' activities to what he was doing at their ages, which I don't think is fair because it's a completely different world from when we were teens in the 1990s.
In the conclusion, Ms. Twenge explores how the future might look based on the progression of generations, specifically in regards to work, family, politics, race relations, religion, and the economy. This was a little less interesting to me, because it's all speculation. (The declining birth rate will definitely change things up, though.)
Overall, a fascinating read. Highly recommended. show less
Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future by Jean M. Twenge
(audio) It was challenging to listen to non-fiction filled with references to charts and exhibits. There were PDFs available but as I was listening more for anecdotal narratives than scholarly research, I didn't look at any. I was challenged by a friend in the education field to immerse myself in the traits of the six defined generations (Silent, Boomers, X, Millennials, Z, and Polars - now known as Alphas) so as to better understand the differences between. Many areas such as marriage, show more education, careers, and children are covered, and also the defining political events of their times, in their times, and the impacts of past events on all. As a Boomer, I admit to being a bit smugly self-satisfied that our activism, our relatively free-range upbringings, financial security (for most, not all) and the music we championed would change American life forever, without having the ultimate outcome of the overwhelming anxiety and depression which seemed to have swamped all who came after us. Much is blamed on technology, and specifically on smartphones, for inhibiting the face-to-face contact and friendships that are essential for a life of contentment, but there have always been introverts, and I don't think that the twin malaises only are ruining so many lives. I'd place the blame equally on income inequality and racism, which are also covered here. All in all, a well-researched effort, and if I'd had a physical book, many pages would have covered in yellow highlighter. show less
iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us by Jean M. Twenge Ph.D.
Twenge makes an excellent case about smartphones transforming a generation, but she also makes enormous generalizations about Gen Z (sorry, iGen is like fetch--not gonna happen) and doesn't really back up her suppositions with great evidence beyond data from a few surveys.
My big issue with the book is that very little of her narrative about Gen Z is rooted in the cultural contexts of what bred and shaped this new generation. Nothing happens in a vacuum! I would have liked a more complex show more context setup.
Finally, this book is already a bit dated. Her projections about Gen Z moving libertarian/Republican didn't reallllllly pan out, as evidenced by the 2018 election (although the youth vote was relatively low). And the Parkland kids probably defy a lot of her findings. I'll be interested to see Twenge revisit this research in ten years or so. show less
My big issue with the book is that very little of her narrative about Gen Z is rooted in the cultural contexts of what bred and shaped this new generation. Nothing happens in a vacuum! I would have liked a more complex show more context setup.
Finally, this book is already a bit dated. Her projections about Gen Z moving libertarian/Republican didn't reallllllly pan out, as evidenced by the 2018 election (although the youth vote was relatively low). And the Parkland kids probably defy a lot of her findings. I'll be interested to see Twenge revisit this research in ten years or so. show less
Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America's Future by Jean M. Twenge
(13) This took me forever to read ... but, was worth the slog for the most part. Being part of academia with the constant revolving door of young professionals is quite a challenge. Things that seem utterly ridiculous to me are important to them. And things that are essential to my ethos (ummm . . . like showing up for work) are kind of optional and not that important. A colleague of mine recommended and I did enjoy. But the graphs ... oh, the graphs. Painful.
This book detailed the show more different generations. The Silents - this was the generation that just missed fighting in WW2. The Baby Boomers - we all know them. For me -- my parents. Though I realize my parents are practically Silents now that I have seen it broken down. The Millenials - how I long for them now after feeling much antipathy at one point. They get it now.
And Gen Z -- God, help us. Social media has warped them beyond recognition...
Found myself bringing information from this book into conversation with friends and colleagues. But the Achilles heel was all the almost nonsensical graphs. I ended up ignoring them after awhile as all was recapitulated in words, but it became soo repetitive and almost hard to follow. What.. wait -- it actually seems that everyone just falls in line as they age and there are actually few generational difference - We are all subject to the same forces -- it just depends on how old we are when those forces hit us. And the author's point is -- the force is technology, NOT world events. I can agree with that -- especially for poor Gen Z and not knowing how to ignore the internet.
Enjoyable; repetitive. Some truths were so laid bare. Oh, wait -- I thought I was the only one who prided myself on growing up fast without supervision and having a thick skin and a strong work ethic. Oh ... it turns out; it's my whole generation's identity. Gen X, here. Enjoyable, but recommend in small amounts. You can pick it up and put it down quite easily. show less
This book detailed the show more different generations. The Silents - this was the generation that just missed fighting in WW2. The Baby Boomers - we all know them. For me -- my parents. Though I realize my parents are practically Silents now that I have seen it broken down. The Millenials - how I long for them now after feeling much antipathy at one point. They get it now.
And Gen Z -- God, help us. Social media has warped them beyond recognition...
Found myself bringing information from this book into conversation with friends and colleagues. But the Achilles heel was all the almost nonsensical graphs. I ended up ignoring them after awhile as all was recapitulated in words, but it became soo repetitive and almost hard to follow. What.. wait -- it actually seems that everyone just falls in line as they age and there are actually few generational difference - We are all subject to the same forces -- it just depends on how old we are when those forces hit us. And the author's point is -- the force is technology, NOT world events. I can agree with that -- especially for poor Gen Z and not knowing how to ignore the internet.
Enjoyable; repetitive. Some truths were so laid bare. Oh, wait -- I thought I was the only one who prided myself on growing up fast without supervision and having a thick skin and a strong work ethic. Oh ... it turns out; it's my whole generation's identity. Gen X, here. Enjoyable, but recommend in small amounts. You can pick it up and put it down quite easily. show less
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 9
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 2,012
- Popularity
- #12,793
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 59
- ISBNs
- 51
- Languages
- 5
