From the WACAC Share, Learn, Connect Files: Understanding the iGeneration

As a devout member of the Western Association of College Admission Counselors (WACAC), I make the effort to attend at least one counseling conference somewhere in California each and every year, namely so I can keep up with the ever-changing world of college admission. As I have said before in the CKQ, if you stop learning, you start dying. I also try to see a different California college campus each time I attend one of these events. This past March, I visited the University of Pacific in Stockton as part of the WACAC Share, Learn, and Connect (SLC) program. This article represents what I learned (and some of my own takes) during an interesting opening session presentation by counselors Kelly Boylan and Sarah Ruano, both hailing from St. Francis Catholic High School in San Francisco.

The presentation, titled, “Pulling Back the Veil on the iGeneration: Tech Savvy, Yet Lonely & Unprepared”, was a real eye-opener for me and something I felt compelled to share with my fellow counselors from around the state who could not see the presentation themselves, as well as the families who currently host this population of children in their homes.

The presentation materials are a summation of a publication by Dr. Jean Twenge, who has written more than 140 scientific articles and books over a lifetime of doctoral-level research. Dr. Twenge’s examination of a series of longitudinal research on teenagers and their behaviors took a significant turn in 2011-12, the same year the majority of Americans started to own smartphones.

While there are obvious differences between generations (Gen X, Gen Y, Millenials, etc.) the iGeneration differs most in how they spend their time compared to all other age cohorts.

Before proceeding, I should probably better identify what the iGeneration represents. “iGenners” are identified as being born between 1995 and 2012. They are the first generation to be born into a time of near universal access to the Internet, and two out of every three teenagers own an iPhone (2015). According to the authors findings, there is little difference between cell phone use of rich, average income, and poor teens, as the average overall iGenner checks their cell phone 80 times a day!

The teens that are described by the presenters juggle a myriad of important values: athletics, academics, and a social life. This population has a greater dependency on parents than previous generations and has less interest in driving or gaining independence from parents. Many of these students have their heads in their phones and honestly believe they are multi-tasking, when that is rarely true, and an addiction of sorts to social media frequently shows them, in real-time, how they are left out of social gatherings, travel, etc., as those are the frequently shared items on social media outlets that are closely monitored by this generation. These are generally students who frequently worry that anything less than a perfect record will prevent them from attending the college of their dreams and because of the ‘perfect’ nature of Instagram and Facebook, this student thinks his/her peers are having a much easier time of high school, but the truth is they all seem to struggle about the same.

This student is less likely to be a ‘latch-key kid’, despite the fact that there are many more working mothers in this generation than ever before; the student is less likely to have sex (and the birth rate for this time period has dropped significantly); fewer teens are working, ostensibly because they have more extra-curricular/after-school programming to attend to; fewer students receive an allowance and simply rely on parent hand-outs rather than in previous generations; fewer drink alcohol in high school, but usually bridge the drinking gap when starting college, sometimes to excess; and fewer students in this age group fight with their parents than in generations prior to them.

According to the study, the iGen works less, spends less overall time on homework, go out less, drink less and have sex less…so what are they doing more? The obvious answer is in their hands all the time…their phone.

According to Dr. Twenge’s research, the average high school senior is currently spending over two hours a day texting, two hours a day on the Internet, 90 minutes a day in a gaming mode, and watches approximately two hours of TV per day. If you add that up, it amounts to a staggering 7.5 hours of a teen’s waking day! Nearly all high school seniors use the Internet causally and at least one social media account daily. Nearly 1/10th of the same population play video games as much as 40 hours per week – the equivalent of a full-time job!

These same teens are far less likely to read books or magazines, and the reading and writing deficits that come with less academic reading and writing (and more texting) are evident in things like SAT scores, which showed a slight drop off over the last decade (in terms of English ability, despite the rise of the test prep industry).

So, students are spending more time communicating online – mainly with their friends. How does this translate to their physical communication these students have with the same population? It’s basically inverse. There has been a significant drop in face-to-face communication with friends over the past decade, as that style of communication has been replaced by texting and social media posting. Students are experiencing more leisure time alone, usually in an online activity on their phone. The biggest problem found in the research with this type of activity is a direct correlation between ‘screen’ time and unhappiness. The more of the first activity led to a higher reporting of the second. Students frequently reported ‘being left out’ or reported ‘wishing they had better friends’. Heavy social media exposure also showed a pattern of increased depression, versus students who participated in sports or religious activities. All of this has manifested itself in rapidly increasing teen suicide rates.

The fear of missing out (FOMO) phenomena, because of social media’s ability to show pictures and video in near-real time of things a student IS NOT participating in, especially for girls, is quite prevalent. Nearly half of all teen girls report feelings of loneliness and exclusion.

Another contributing factor to phone overuse is sleep deprivation. Some families connect this to an increased homework load, but the statistics don’t show that as the primary cause - far from it. The cell phone usage is mostly to blame. The study reported that teens who spend three or more hours on social media a day tend to have significant difficulty getting a full night’s rest.

When we couple the ideas that iGenners don’t work as often as their predecessors, manage their own money less and drive less, along with the significant increase in social media and online exposure, we can draw a conclusion that the resilience of this generation is at a disadvantage to their older peers, namely because they rarely do things on their own.

There are some other peculiar things Dr. Twenge’s study revealed. An overwhelming majority (over 80% of incoming college students) reported a significant interest in attaining high-paying employment as a result of their college education, versus less than half that expressed a primary goal of gaining a meaningful philosophy of life. Similarly, around 2012, students showed a significant decline in an interest in their overall education, stating that they found school less interesting, enjoyable or meaningful, and preferring to focus on attaining a better job.

Another complex finding was that students have an increasing work ethic, yet are not interested in working hard, believing the best jobs require effort they generally are unwilling to put in. A growing number of teenagers also believe ‘success’ is out of reach and believe that women are discriminated upon when it comes to college admission and jobs – while recent data supports the opposite being true in the current trends.

This generation also appears to put less value in marriage, seeing work opportunities as more important than finding a long-term mate. iGenners are getting married less often, later in life, and having children later in life. Ostensibly, part of this value set can be contributed to the significant and growing costs of attending college.

Politically, this population tends to be polemic in their thinking and tend to feel disconnected, dissatisfied and distrust the government. iGenners seem to understand the importance of political action yet are less inclined to participate in the process. They are also less likely than prior generations to access news and information about the national political scene – possibly a side effect of the polemic nature of the current political spectrum.

Now that a picture of the iGeneration has been provided, let’s talk about the big problem lurking in the closet…the cell phone. Most iGenners are addicted to their phones, know it, but are unwilling to do anything about it. Learning the power of moderation seems to be the biggest issue. There’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of the ‘cool stuff’ phone access provides, but also knowing to live in the present and be present with friends and family is at least as important. And how does this translate to the opinions of college search and selection?

As I have shared with you on many occasions, college rankings are problematic at best, and this belief is supported in the presentation I witnessed as well. College selectivity (how hard it is to get in to a particular college) is not a good indicator of the most important values: student learning, job satisfaction, and well-being. Engagement in college is more important than where you attend (another tenant I have shared in past public speeches and episodes of the CKQ). Finding schools that offer student engagement, the way students fit in academically, socially, spiritually, etc. is the key to long-term success.

From the colleges’ perspective, they are inheriting a group that is less likely than ever before to understand how to take care of themselves on a daily basis (academically, socially, or financially). Most students will experience drinking and sex for the first time on campus, away from parental support systems. Girls, who use social media more than their male counterparts, are more likely to develop mental health issues while in school and college personnel are more than likely going to interact with the student’s parents, especially if the on-campus resources are not to the student’s liking.

Actions that are suggested for the colleges themselves are usually also good action items for many parents. As such, I will share them here:

· Advise students to put cell phones away when studying

· Advise students to not sleep with their phones

· Have realistic conversations about sex, college parties, drinking and personal safety.

· Have realistic conversations about social media usage and proper etiquette on such formats

· Encourage a Growth Mindset and grit! Both will be necessary for success in college.

· Encourage ‘in-person’ time and exercise (I can say with confidence that my high school athletes have better social lives, appear to lead balanced lives, and sleep well too!), and if needed, therapy and medication if problems persist.

Within the classroom, the iGeneration tends to be less confident and asks fewer questions in class. Good professors in smaller learning environments need to foster trust and reassurance to encourage class participation. These students tend to focus on the exams/grades almost exclusively, and not on the value of the overall learning. They also tend to have less experience with book reading and long articles, likely stemming from shorter attention span activities, probably derived from short video watching, texting, tweeting and the like. iGen students tend to be most successful when involved in classes that balance lecture and discussion, classes that cover less content but with greater depth, and when professors help students understand how to judge source material for validity.

In regurgitating this conference presentation, I know I have painted a picture that is more likely to create a sense of anxiety rather than provide a sense of ease, but if you read between the lines, you will find the solutions to your potential problems, hatch a plan for healthier living, and gain a better approach to how to go about finding the right colleges. As always, I stand ready to assist you and your family as you make your way toward to the high school finish line and to the next starting line for college...