Alisaca, Ryan Vincent F.

PHIL 608 (Graduate Research)

The Problem: Millennials and Entitlement

A certain sense of religiosity is covertly implied when people from the older generations
compare their days with the manners and ways of doing of today’s younger generation. At times,
the comparison is unnecessary. Generations of people are explicably and inevitably different.
Formed in different social, historical, and political environment, each generation is expected to be
radically different from one another. In other words, society’s transition from one generation to
the next necessarily implies changes of some sort. And yet, society and the universe at large can
never be too stubborn when it comes to differences and change.
In reality, the universe functions according to fundamental laws that govern its nature. And
while, we can never apply that same manner of being to society and to groups of people, it is
nevertheless worth our while to consider some social norms as permanent and unchanging if we
truly want to create a stable and orderly society. And precisely, I believe, human laws, as an
analogy to natural laws, are created and enforced in order to keep that order and stability. These
laws, however, are not formed by the whims and caprices of a single person. Fundamental forces
that govern the universe are not laws that the universe creates for itself. The laws of the universe
are known from the nature of the universe. In short, the nature of the universe is its own law. In
the same manner (and I repeat that we cannot have strictly the same analogy for this matter), human
laws must have been derived from the nature of humans.
Tradition and practices may have been derived from an understanding of human nature.
While practices are themselves arbitrary to culture, they nevertheless offer us a glimpse of the
things that humans hold as sacred because they see these things as part of their nature. Thus, under
this understanding, it can be seen that laws and traditions are not only regulative and stabilizing,
but also social and truly human –i.e. it recognizes the value of each human person.
In terms of classification according to generation, people born in 1980 – 2004 are
commonly classified as Millennials. The problem with this generation which consists of today’s
youth is its growing sense of entitlement and narcissism. It seems that these young people seem to
see themselves as totally deserving of everything good from everyone. A post from Facebook
basically reaffirms this observation: A girl, most probably in the 9th or 10th grade, complains about
her class schedule saying that her classes run from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. For her, seven hours of
classes are too much and it is making her depressed and sick of the government’s system. She, at
that point in point, wants to stop going to school because everything is not good for her. We
understand the frustrations of the child. We understand that at times, we can really hate going to
school. However, if our younger generation is to keep this kind of attitude, how will they survive
college and the workplace?
The problem, of course, is not the girl but the sense of entitle each millennials share as a
certain common quality. This extreme sense of entitlement is dangerous as it will not only affect
our younger generation’s growth. It will have inevitable social and political ramifications.
Narcissism can destroy interpersonal relations, and entitlement can have ugly implications when
it comes to formulating laws such as when laws are formed in favor of certain types of people at
the expense of the common good.
Abstracts and Keywords
Narcissism and Entitlement in Millennials: The Mediating Influence of Community Service
Self Efficacy on Engagement by Keith R. Credo, Patricia A. Lanier, Curtis F. MatherneIII,
Susie S. Cox
Abstract:
There is a rapidly growing body of research on the more negative aspects of the expanding
millennial population. Alternatively, the current study explores possible benefits resulting from
millennial traits typically considered to be negative, specifically entitlement and narcissism. The
authors hypothesize that self-efficacy generated by the creation of service opportunities, may not
only improve engagement, but may also lessen the influence of negative millennial traits including
entitlement and narcissism. Hypotheses were explored using a sample of 239 millennials.
Following Preacher and Hayes’ (2008) method for mediation, we found that the model tested was
fully mediated. Results and discussion follow.
Keywords: Narcissism, Entitlement, Self-Efficacy, Millennials, Engagement

You Owe Me: Examining a Generation of Entitlement by Kate Rourke

Abstract:
Once upon a time, in a land called America, people truly believed in a capitalist system. Citizens
worked hard their entire lives to feed into their 401-K plans and expected that depending on how
the economy went, they may profit from their work. They did not depend on the American
government to take care of everything for them; in fact they had a great sense of personal
responsibility. Other countries, such as France and Britain, have experienced a high burden being
placed upon their governments over these decades, due to their citizens believing in a cradle to
grave system in which from the time they are born to their death they can rely on the government
to fund their welfare and upon retirement age, they will have everything they are “entitled” to
handed to them on a silver platter.
It appears now, that our country may be leaning more and more toward this mentality. With each
generation, we begin to see a growing entitlement mindset. If this trend continues, America too
will soon feel the same weight as those European countries have for generations, and our country
may go bankrupt. Why is the country turning to this mentality? How can it be prevented?
Keywords: Generation Y, Millennials, Privilege, Entitlement, Generations, Welfare
State, Welfare
On the Meaning and Measure of Narcissism by Ryan P. Brown, Karolyn Budzek, Michael
Tamborski
Abstract:
For three decades, social-personality research on overt narcissism has relied almost exclusively on
the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). However, the NPI suffers from a host of psychometric
and validity concerns that make composite NPI scores (summed across its subscales) difficult to
interpret. The present studies propose that narcissistic characteristics tend to fall under two general
clusters: grandiosity and entitlement. The studies show that measures of grandiosity and
entitlement interact to predict scores on the NPI, controlling for gender, self-esteem, and basic
personality (Study 1), but also that grandiosity and entitlement function independently with respect
to mental health (Study 2) and ethical misconduct (Study 3). Together, these results challenge the
view of overt narcissism as a unidimensional construct and underscore the importance of
distinguishing between grandiose and entitled aspects of the narcissistic self-concept.
Keywords: narcissism, grandiosity, entitlement, mental health, misconduct

Creating Hostility and Conflict: Effects of Entitlement and Self-Image Goals by Scott J.
Moeller, Jennifer Crocker, and Brad J. Bushman
Abstract:
People who feel entitled to admiration and respect from others do not make good
companions. This research shows one reason why. Entitled people adopt self-image goals (goals
that aim to construct and defend a positive self-image), which then lead to interpersonal conflict
and hostility. Studies 1A and 1B documented a unique relation between entitlement and self-image
goals. Study 2 extended these results by showing, via a longitudinal design, that entitlement
prospectively predicts chronic self-image goals. These chronic self-image goals then predict
chronic relationship conflict and hostility, all averaged over 10 weeks. Further, Study 2 revealed
that self-image goals mediate the effect of pretest entitlement on both weekly hostility and conflict.
These results suggest that by pursuing self-image goals, entitled people create conflict and hostility
in their relationships.
Keywords: narcissism, entitlement, goals, hostility, conflict, relationships, interpersonal
problems, self-defeating behavior

A New Political Generation: Millennials and the Post-2008 Wave of Protest by Ruth Milkman
Abstract:
Building on Karl Mannheim’s theory of generations, this address argues that U.S.
Millennials comprise a new political generation with lived experiences and worldviews that set
them apart from their elders. Not only are they the first generation of “digital natives,” but,
although they are more educated than any previous U.S. generation, they face a labor market in
which precarity is increasingly the norm. And despite proclamations to the contrary, they confront
persistent racial and gender disparities, discrimination against sexual minorities, and widening
class inequality—all of which they understand in the framework of “intersectionality.” This
address analyzes the four largest social movements spearheaded by college-educated Millennials:
the young undocumented immigrant “Dreamers,” the 2011 Occupy Wall Street uprising, the
campus movement protesting sexual assault, and the Black Lives Matter movement. All four
reflect the distinctive historical experience of the Millennial generation, but they vary along two
cross-cutting dimensions: (1) the social characteristics of activists and leaders, and (2) the
dominant modes of organization and strategic repertoires.
Keywords: social movements, youth, Millennials, generations