Ypulse Interview: William Strauss
Posted by anastasia on 04-09-2007
William Strauss and his research partner Neil Howe are generational gurus who have written several books about "Millennials." Their latest tome is Millennials Go to College, 2nd Edition. I interviewed William Strauss via email about the book and the rise of the "helicopter parent." We will be giving away three copies of this book to the first three commenters who share an anecdote about "helicopter parenting" of Millennials or who write a thoughtful comment arguing that this is a mischaracterization…Update: The books are now spoken for. Thanks everyone!
Ypulse: What is the biggest difference between Millennials going to college and when Gen Xers (my generation) went to college?
William Strauss: There are many differences. Students are more driven to go to college, selective colleges and major state universities are harder to get into, and tuition (and student debt levels) are higher. Of all the differences, though, the one colleges notice most is the surge in parental involvement, alias the rise of the “helicopter parent.”
YP: How involved are parents of Millennials in their kids college life? Is there a downside to this level of parental involvement?
WS: The helicopter parent is most definitely an issue now. This reflects a positive trend, as today’s college-age sons and daughters get along with their parents better than those of 20 or (especially) 40 years ago. This is technology-aided, with frequent cellphone and email contact home now part of the collegiate experience. One downside can arise when well-meaning parents make it harder for their 18- and 19-year-olds to become independent adults capable of solving their own problems. The other downside is when parents intrude on college faculty or administrators, complaining about grades, dorm assignments, student services, or other aspects of campus life.
YP: How is the rising cost of college impacting Millennials choices? Are more young people going to state or community colleges vs. private schools to avoid joining "Generation Debt"? Are Millennials expected to pay for most of their own schooling? Working more when in college?
WS: The cost of college, and the debt it imposes, has emerged as a major problem for the Millennial Generation as a whole, driving a wedge between those from affluent families and those from the working class. Starting in the early 1980s, private colleges began what has become a nearly three-decade unbroken string of tuition increases greater than inflation. Meanwhile, non-loan grant programs have failed to keep pace. Student debt burdens for graduates are said to average around $20,000, but the full extent of student borrowing (including commercial credit and family home mortgages) tends to be much higher. These debts force many Millennials into career paths, or specific job choices, different from what they would have wanted, as they have to put money ahead of their ideals.
Millennials are showing interest in community colleges, especially those from which they can transfer after two years. They are working slightly more than Gen-X did, while in college, but not enough to compensate for the higher costs.
YP: How do you think social networking sites like Facebook, online applications and virtual tours and other technologies (buying books online, etc.) are all transforming this generation's college experience?
WS: Millennials spend a tremendous amount of time with digital-mobile technologies. In some ways, that’s what defines them as a generation, because very few people over age 25 (the age of the oldest Millennial) tend to use IMing, text messaging, or construct pages on sites like MySpace or Facebook, but it’s a widely common practice for those age 25 and under.
These technologies offer extraordinary opportunities, especially for Millennials in creative fields. The also come with pitfalls. A bizarre Facebook page can cost a student a coveted internship, if someone from the employer bothers to look, which many now do. The main disadvantage, though, is simply time management. Some Millennial collegians spend far more time sitting in their dorm rooms online, or texting friends during classes, than they should.
YP: Are Millennials moving back home after college? If so, why? And what does all this mean for employers of this generation after they graduate?
WS: In part because of how well they get along with their parents, but also often because it simply makes economic sense, Millennials are more likely to move back home after graduation, at least for a while, than Gen Xers did. In the Gen-X collegiate era, this was known as “boomeranging,” and was generally criticized. Now, it’s more accepted. Many of those who return home do not have jobs — or, if they have them, those jobs are not in their fields. Their time at home can help them gain a career foothold somewhere.
YP: Anything else you think Ypulse readers should know?
WS: When talking about Millennials, it’s quite important to get generational boundaries right. Those born in 1982 mark the opening wedge of the new generation, not the late-wave Gen Xers born in the 1970s.
In nearly every social indicator, Millennials are a generation of improving trends. Crime, sexual risk-taking, substance abuse, suicides — they all show marked declines over the past 15 years. Meanwhile, school achievement has improved. College admissions officials widely acknowledge that they have never seen so many able applicants, and each year’s entering class seems stronger than the one before.
Update: This comment was sent via email, but I will count it as comment number two! One more book is left…
From Ypulse reader Lauren:
While everyone notes the cost of college as a big difference between “then” and “now” I don’t see it correlated with the rise of parental involvement, not even as much as “intergenerational friendship” which is no doubt a strong, but I don’t believe determining factor.
When someone is spending $40k plus per year, you are going to get a very involved consumer. Unless the kids themselves are actually doing the spending, colleges are going to have to deal with mom and dad in a way that they never did before. The rise in tuition (demand-driven, given an inelastic supply) has brought a new level of “consumerism” to college campuses, as it should (just as CEO compensation has brought about renewed shareholder activism). Helicopter parenting may well be less of a social phenomenon and more of an economic one. I would be interested to see if “helicopter parenting” is as noticeable at public and/or more affordable colleges. I would bet that parental involvement on those campuses more closely resembles that of “our” day…
April 9th, 2007 at 8:19 am
While I personally am still going back and forth whether Helicopter Parenting is a mischaracterization (or more so as widespread as it's believed to be), I do have an anecdote of what would be labeled helicopter parenting that I recently heard.
A student at a well respected university told his parents, who were both physicians, that he had decided not to be pre-med and instead major in Studio Art and Philosophy and minor in Anthropology.
Well the student signed up for a Philosophy class and very much enjoyed the subject. Then he received his 12 page midterm paper back. He was given an A but at the end he saw a curious comment which read something along the lines of “And I must say, that with a mother like yours, I am impressed with your ability to so successfully apply yourself to your passions and go the route which you dream to be true. Also, I believe she is awaiting a call back from you. Don't ignore your mother. If I teach you nothing, know that if you make a mother angry, nothing and I mean NOTHING good can come of it.”
Apparently his mother had called the professor (without her son’s knowledge) to discuss “the direction of his future endeavors"
April 9th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
While I have not read the book I am familiar with the concept of 'helicopter parenting' from high school teacher friends. I wonder whether it would be more accurate to characterize Strauss as an 'American' generational guru? As a Canadian who teaches at a small college (not a university) I do not feel the pressure of 'helicopter parents.' Could it be that because our tuition is more controlled by the state that we do not experience the same effects?
On the other hand, Michael Ungar, another Canadian, has recently released a book called "Too Safe For Their Own Good" which argues that this generation, across border lines, has been over protected and therefore will never mature. We need risk to thrive and parents who protect their kids from everything, including hard nose profs like me, disadvantge their children in the long run. I can only fail a student, not fire or sue them. Better to get a dose of reality in my class than on their first job.