In today's world mailboxes are being replaced with inboxes, watching the "tube" has turned into watching YouTube, and becoming an adult isn't required until at least the late 20s. Welcome to the life of Generation Me.

People ages 15 to 25 are characterized by two general traits: immersion in the latest technologies, and reluctance to grow up and accept responsibility.

New technology has allowed this generation to showcase their lives on the internet through the use of video cameras, digital cameras, and personal Web sites. Some believe this has resulted in a more narcissist generation.

"Our generation, if someone pulls out a camera, everyone jumps into the picture because they want to make sure they're remembered; they want to be seen," said Dani Johnson, a sophomore from Sandy majoring in home and family living.

Many from this age group are enamored by social networks like MySpace and Facebook, where they can document every detail of their lives for others to see.

"Everyone's favorite line is, 'Facebook it and tag me,'" Johnson said.

Getting one's name and face out there seems almost required these days if you want to feel like you belong.

"I think that in order to not be left out you have to be a little self-centered because everyone else is," Johnson said. "Put yourself out there or be forgotten."

A study called the Narcissistic Personality Inventory examined the responses of over 16,000 college students between 1982 and 2006 to such statements as "If I ruled the world, it would be a better place," "I think I am a special person" and "I can live my life any way I want to."

In 1982, the positive reaction to the statements was less than 30 percent. Today it's more than two-thirds.

Larry Nelson, a professor in the School of Family Life, said that if technology is helping people explore their identity and relationships, it is a "very healthy and useful tool for going through this time period." But if it's taking up time that can be used for better things, it can lead them "to a false sense of where they can go in their life."

Not only is electronic technology sometimes blamed for a more self-centered generation, but this age group is becoming entirely dependent upon it.

Johnson said she lives by her gadgets. She wakes up to her cell phone alarm clock in the morning, can't go a day without texting and a little Facebook, and goes to sleep listening to her iPod.

With all the time spent surfing the internet, chatting online and texting on cell phones, Nelson said there is the potential for electronic communication to hinder relationships and social skills. For those who rely on this kind of communication, it can hurt them in the future in the work place setting or even with family relationships.

"We've become an impersonal generation," Johnson said.

The other trait attributed to Generation Me is that of delayed adulthood.

Nelson is a forerunner in studying this characteristic, and said this generation can also be called "emerging adulthood, because people in that stage of life don't consider themselves adults yet."

Nelson has coined two terms to describe the people in this age group: the flourishers and the flounderers.

"Flourishers want to have fun but they have an eye for the future," Nelson said. "In other words, they have fun while preparing for the future. They use this time period well."

Flourishers are getting an education, are self-improving and becoming self-reliant, while still having fun.

However, the flounderer seems to be a more popular and appealing lifestyle that young people flock to.

"The flounderer is living solely in the moment," Nelson said. "It's all fun and enjoying the now and worrying about the future when it arrives. In other words, they have fun instead of preparing for the future."

Johnson admits that she falls into this category.

"I would love to be independent, but because I know I don't have to be yet, I have found reasons not to," Johnson said. "In all honesty, if I didn't have a supporting parent, I wouldn't be able to have as much fun."

David Grant, a senior from Dallas, Texas and a student of Professor Nelson, said parents are to blame for their children's lack of responsibility.

"You're supposed to be an adult and you want to be an adult but parents won't allow it," Grant said.

He said parents today don't give their children much responsibility and are always bailing them out of their problems.

Because Grant is not married, he feels his parents don't take him as seriously as his married brothers and sisters. He said his parents' perception of him hasn't changed since he was a teenager.

"I view myself as an adult," Grant said. "The problem is there are times when my parents don't treat me like that. They don't trust my decisions."

However, studies have shown that a parent's influence in their college children's lives can have positive results.

Dr. Laura Walker, professor of family science at BYU, recently conducted a study on the benefits of parents still "parenting" their older children. According to Y News, Walker found that "parents' knowledge or awareness of what's going on in their child's life at college is associated with fewer risky behaviors."

Her article on the subject, "The Role of Perceived Parental Knowledge on Emerging Adults' Risk Behaviors," states that some of the risks include drugs, alcohol and sexual behavior. All three of these risks were lowered with parental involvement.

Walker and Nelson agree that delaying adulthood can be beneficial because parents are allowed to help the child transition into it, according to Y News.

Nelson said that even though some are not willing to admit it, most young people realize the next stage of their lives will involve a career, marriage, parenting and contributing to society. He said in order to succeed in these things, one must be prepared with "a work ethic and interpersonal social skills and ambition or drive." Anything that hinders that, whether it's electronic technology or the refusal to grow up, can be problematic.

"Be purposeful in your exploration and have fun," Nelson said. "I have nothing against this period being a really fun time period ... so it should be a time to explore and have some fun, but with a purpose."

Copyright Brigham Young University 16 Apr 2008