Millennials aren’t as special as they think they are, according to a new study.

Those born between the years 1982 and 2000 are characterized as being more focused on material goals like fame, fortune and image rather than goals that help the broader community, like saving the environment. Concern for others decreased as did political and civic engagement compared to Gen X and the Baby Boomers (though Millennials prefer to talk more about politics than Gen X – they just don’t act).

And while volunteering is on the rise, it’s also increasingly required for high school graduation.

This is very much “Generation Me,” rather than “Generation We” concludes the study from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

On the plus side, Gen Y is a more extroverted, less racist, less sexist and overall less prejudiced generation – something the study attributes to increased individualism rather than an increased capability for empathy. And as the study notes, prejudice against those who are overweight is rising.

“Empathy and tolerance are not the same thing,” says study co-author Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University and author of “Generation Me”. With this generation, it tends towards: “I won’t be prejudiced but I won’t go out of my way to help you either,” she says.

The study relies on self-reported data obtained from high school seniors and first-year college students from two nationally representative surveys in the United States that have been conducted since 1975 and 1966 respectively. The data included in the study goes up to 2008 and 2009.

Torstar News