Jean Twenge

iGen

1. IDEA 1

   A smartphone generation is different

   Twenge, a psychologist, uses large national surveys to argue that Americans born after about 1995, whom she calls iGen, differ sharply from earlier generations. She links many of the changes to the spread of smartphones in their teenage years.

2. IDEA 2

   Teens are growing up more slowly

   Twenge reports that iGen teenagers were less likely than earlier generations to drive, date, work or go out without parents. In her account, adolescence was being extended. In her account, this reflects a wider shift in how families treat childhood.

3. IDEA 3

   Time with friends fell

   Twenge finds that teenagers spent less time with friends in person and more time online. She sees this as a major shift in social life. In her account, time spent on screens took over hours once spent meeting others.

All 8 ideas from iGen →