By Pastor Tee, Pastor of Outreach

Native born American adolescents embrace hyperindividualism at a young age that often leads to loneliness.

Ten years ago, I was a high school teacher at a private Christian school. Over 90% of the students were African American while the other 10% where 1st generation and 2nd generation immigrants.

Here is is a good chart to understand generational immigrants: (First generation= the immigrants; Second generation= children of immigrants; Third generation= grandchildren of immigrants.)

In one of my classes, I asked the students two questions: What do you want to do as an adult? How will you do it? Since I was teaching multiple cohorts, I was able to ask at least 70% of the student body.

The majority of the African American students mentioned working in fields involving the arts (music, film, fashion, etc.) and communications. A small minority mentioned STEM fields. All of them also talked about entrepreneurship. But 100% of them answered the second question the same way: They would do it by themselves.

All of the students with immigrant backgrounds mentioned STEM fields. All spoke about entrepreneurship. Also, all of them answered the second question the same way: They would do it with the help of their families.

The myth of the rugged individualist is strong in American culture. It has been used to market a variety of products, services and ideals. So, people who grow up in the USA are sold this cultural model as an example of American success. However, many immigrant families bring their conservative cultural virtues of family and work to the USA while embracing the freedoms it provides. So, usually their children have already experienced the benefit of intergenerational family care and the importance of working on behalf of their family.

Native born American youth lean towards hyperindividualism for a variety of reasons. This ideal is promoted throughout grade school and is connected with wealth and influence. Native borns are given more personal freedom by their parents. One evidence of this is their abundant leisure time and possession of expensive smartphones. But unfortunately, they are not provided with multiple ways to engage in skillbuilding. This leaves them vulnerable to hyperindividualistic personalities, messages, environments and consumer desires that aren’t healthy for them. Jean Twenge’s book, iGen, states that “teens are spending less time on homework, paid work, volunteering and extracurriculars combined.” Yet, their leisure time has increased. The end result in later adolescence, in many cases, is disappointment and isolation. Why? Because anyone who has ever gotten anywhere worthwhile in life…did not get there by being idle and isolating themselves. Native born American teens often find this out after life has become all too real. Extreme disappointment and isolation can often lead to mental health challenges especially among youth growing up from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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