80% Of Youth Think They Are Truly Important, Up From 12% Fifty Years Ago

During an article we were trying not to read on Tia Tequila in the NY Times that explored why a short bi-sexual woman with no apparent talent has such a following on MTV, we noticed a stat that reinforces the idea that the Millenials are the ‘entitled generation’ – even if it’s just them who think so:

When Jake Halpern set out to write “Fame Junkies” his book about what is now a universal obsession with celebrity, he was surprised to uncover studies demonstrating that 31 percent of American teenagers had the honest expectation that they would one day be famous and that 80 percent thought of themselves as truly important. (The figure from the same study conducted in the 1950s was 12 percent.)

…Who says any longer that one must be able to sing or dance or emote in order to attract an audience or, anyway, a batch of new friends in the ether? Who says that only winners win? As reality TV, with its durable affection for flame-outs, car wrecks and actual losers, has made abundantly clear, even after the tribal council has voted you off their tropical island, you’re still welcome in our homes.

…“Obviously people have been having delusions of grandeur since the beginning of time, but the chances of becoming well known were much slimmer” even five years ago than they are today, Mr. Halpern said. “There are an incredibly large number of venues for becoming known. Talent is not a prerequisite.”

She’s Famous (and So Can You) – New York Times