是什么讓千禧一代變成了焦慮的完美主義者
Sy Mukherjee
2018-01-10
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從啤酒、量販超市、假期到正兒八經(jīng)的談戀愛，千禧一代幾乎“殺死”了一切。現(xiàn)在千禧一代又強(qiáng)迫癥似地向另一樁事物開刀了，他們的目標(biāo)是：殺死一切不完美。 美國(guó)心理學(xué)會(huì)的研究人員發(fā)表的一項(xiàng)最新研究顯示，過去30年間，社會(huì)正在越來(lái)越追求完美主義，其中最主要的推手就是千禧一代（千禧一代也是占美國(guó)人口比重最大的人群，一般指85后到00初的一代人，不過至于具體從哪一年到哪一年出生的人才算“千禧一代”，即便在美國(guó)也是有爭(zhēng)論的。）完美主義，是指人在內(nèi)部和外部驅(qū)動(dòng)下，努力滿足某些社會(huì)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的行為，一般表現(xiàn)為對(duì)自我施加過多壓力和期望。 對(duì)于千禧一代來(lái)說，完美主義的盛行似乎是件好事，至少表明千禧一代并不像人們普遍認(rèn)為的那樣懶散墮落。不過在研究人員托馬斯·庫(kù)蘭和安德魯·希爾看來(lái)，完美主義在千禧一代中盛行的某些原因，對(duì)他們的心理健康和總體產(chǎn)出并非完全有益。比如近年來(lái)西方國(guó)家所謂“新自由主義精英教育”的興起，以及社交媒體、經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退等帶來(lái)的壓力，再加上專制苛求的父母，這些催生完美主義的因素都讓年輕一代焦慮不堪、疲憊不堪。 這份研究指出：“以新自由主義精英教育的視角看，那些考上頂級(jí)名校的人，或者在就業(yè)時(shí)找到了好工作的人，自然會(huì)得到財(cái)富和社會(huì)地位的回報(bào)。而對(duì)于沒有接受過良好教育或是事業(yè)發(fā)展得不太好的人，他們理由享受不到幸福的生活，且說明了他們自身能力不足（比如技能、智力、努力等方面不如別人）。由于個(gè)人無(wú)法避免被學(xué)校和職場(chǎng)的篩選、淘汰、排名，因而新自由主義精英教育極為重視個(gè)人的努力、奮斗和成就，并把它看作現(xiàn)代生活的重心。” 《財(cái)富》500強(qiáng)的CEO們經(jīng)常會(huì)說，除了錢以外，“千禧一代”想從工作中獲得的東西還有很多，比如他們非常渴求成就感。但現(xiàn)代人對(duì)成功的衡量標(biāo)準(zhǔn)已經(jīng)是多方面的，除了必須要過上富足的生活，社交媒體還給我們洗腦了很多所謂上層人的生活方式，在這種無(wú)孔不入的壓力下，對(duì)完美的渴求，只會(huì)耗干不堪重負(fù)的千禧一代人最后一點(diǎn)精力。 該研究的評(píng)估結(jié)果也算不上積極。“這一時(shí)期，美國(guó)、加拿大、英國(guó)的文化已經(jīng)變得更趨于利己、物質(zhì)和逆反。與上一代人相比，當(dāng)代年輕人面臨的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)壓力更大，有著更加不切實(shí)際的預(yù)期，他們的父母也比上一代人的父母更焦慮、更有控制欲”。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)） 譯者：樸成奎 |
Millennials have killed everything from beer to department stores to vacations to romantic relationships to, well, just about everything, according to one of the nation’s most ardent (and, among us millennials, widely mocked) memes. Add one more to the sprawling victim list: Imperfection. That’s right—a new study by American Psychological Association (APA) researchers suggests that society has been increasingly pursuing perfectionism over the last three decades, driven by the millennial generation (the largest generation in the United States, generally thought of as people born between mid-1980s to the early 2000s, though there’s some debate on the exact start and end points). Perfectionism is defined as intense personal and external drives to thrive under certain societal metrics, potentially by placing far too much pressure and excessive expectations on one’s self. The trend may sound positive and like a strong rebuttal to the perception of millennials as entitled, lazy youngsters who thrive on participation trophies. But some of the root causes for this change, researchers Thomas Curran and Andrew Hill note, may not be all that positive for mental health and overall productivity. They point the finger toward the rise of “neoliberal meritocracy” in Western nations, as well as pressures from social media, harsh economic conditions faced by millennials compared to previous generations, and overbearing, demanding parents which can all breed anxiety and burnout. “According to neoliberal meritocracy, those who reach the top schools and colleges, or gain entry to occupations offering the most profitable employment, receive their due rewards of wealth and social status. For those who do not reach such educational and professional heights, the doctrine of meritocracy dictates they are less deserving and their poor achievement reflects their inadequate personal abilities (e.g., skills, intelligence, and efforts; Hayes, 2012),” write the study authors. “[B]ecause individuals cannot avoid being sorted, sifted, and ranked by schools, universities, and the workplace, neoliberal meritocracy places a strong need to strive, perform, and achieve at the center of modern life.” Fortune 500 CEOs have regularly stated that millennials demand more out of their work than just money; they crave fulfillment. But the multi-faceted nature of modern day success, the necessities of earning a good living—and the constant social media publicizing thereof—may actually wind up having a draining effect on millennials. The study’s overall assessment isn’t exactly a positive one. “American, Canadian, and British cultures have become more individualistic, materialistic, and socially antagonistic over this period, with young people now facing more competitive environments, more unrealistic expectations, and more anxious and controlling parents than generations before,” write Curran and Hill. |
