The Many I’s in iGens

In her new, and surely blockbuster book, Jean Twenge has turned her own eyes on those born in 1995 (through 2012) because her own research shows that something dramatic happened with the arrival of the internet and iPhone to create a new generation: iGens.

Her book: iGens.

Twenge is well-known for her study GenerationMe, which she described to the chagrin of many in Generation Me, but her acid descriptions were often as ironic as they were accurate: she was one of them. This time she’s an observer.

I found her previous work helpful as a college professor; I suspect this one will be even more valuable for parents. And for youth pastors and children’s pastors.

Here are the Ten I’s in iGens:

Drawing from four large, nationally representative surveys of 11 million Americans since the 1960s, I’ve identified ten important trends shaping iGen’ers and, ultimately, all of us:

1. In No Hurry (the extension of childhood into adolescence)
2. Internet (how much time they are really spending on their phones—and what that has replaced),
3. In person no more (the decline in in-person social interaction),
4. Insecure (the sharp rise in mental health issues),
5. Irreligious (the decline in religion),
6. Insulated but not intrinsic (the interest in safety and the decline in civic involvement),
7. Income insecurity (new attitudes toward work),
8. Indefinite (new attitudes toward sex, relationships, and children),
9. Inclusive (acceptance, equality, and free speech debates), and
10. Independent (their political views).