Book Review — iGen by Jean Twenge
Psychologist and SDSU professor Jean Twenge offers her thoughts and research evaluating how “iGens” (Zoomers) can be mentored by older generations
Embracing intergenerational literacy means being open to learning (and challenging our assumptions) about all generations. This has been the purpose driving my “Jigsaw Gens” series. After authoring one on my own generation, I thought it was only appropriate for me to delve into the cohort born immediately after mine: the Zoomers (aka “Gen Z”).
In this spirit, I read and reviewed Jean Twenge’s 2017 book iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy — and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood. Twenge, a psychologist and SDSU (San Diego State University) professor, takes a lot of valuable information about Generation Z and intersperses it with flimsy conclusions drawn from her previous work.
The scope of Twenge’s reductionism — juxtaposing authentic testimonials and raw data alongside of her own ageist bigotry — hit me so hard I felt compelled to write an expanded critique of it:
