I think this shows that journalists are going more and more for clickbait value rather than reliable info that they understand and know how to convey to the reader. That's not really news, but always nice to throw shade on people who do it :D
I read the original FT article and love this analysis. I also would wager that today people are more likely to mark themselves as ‘easily distracted’ ‘careless ’ or
‘unlikely to follow through with plans’ because the external context has changed. Our daily lives are more saturated with information than ever before and the ‘always on’ culture creates greater demands on our time
Yes - good point. Younger generations might also feel more comfortable expressing themselves if things are not as 'ok', rather than saying 'everything is great'.
Thank you! I detest surveys and I certainly learned something today: I am not alone. It has always seemed to me that surveys control the data that surveys shouldn’t control if it wants to present true data. (Hey, look at Trump’s surveys-yikes!) on the other hand, knowledge is power and the more empowered we can become is essential in today’s world just to comprehend what really IS relevant and what to trash. Thanks again. Keep educating me!
Thanks for covering this graph. It drives me insane every time I see it being used to support one agenda or another.
One issue I see with comparing personality traits across generations (and building on your first point) is how each generation interprets the questions themselves. If we believe overall personalities could change, might we expect a difference in interpretation for questions as well? It makes the results murkier.
A very good demonstration of how to lie with statistics, Nominal News.
However, I do find the headline fascinating, and can't stop myself from commenting on the subject :-)
I think people's personalities can't really change? I think the consensus in psychology is that people's personalities do not change much after they have been established (early adulthood). Hence seeing a change in people's personalities throughout their lifetime is unlikely, other things being equal. (There are cases where personalities change after major health events, eg strokes, dementia etc.)
Behaviours, however, are influenced by external factors, and not just personality. Culture and environment are changing very rapidly, creating a lot of new expectations. Additional expectations drive new behaviours (e.g. regular exercise), which take time and energy. We live in new environments (mega cities), and typically spend more time commuting, which also takes time and can lead to exhaustion. We have plenty of content flying around and are getting addicted to it, if only to be able to be part of the conversation and belong to our groups and communities. Additionally, a person's circumstances changes during their lifetime (work, children, etc), impacting their ability to complete projects etc. Finally there is easeness, or convenience. A person in medieval age might need to tend after their crops regularly to ensure a good harvest; whereas a person today might plan to make lasagna for dinner, but end up ordering takeaway instead due to poor planning, social media interruptions, live streams, going down the rabbit hole in response to someones tweet, etc, so goodbye lasagna. We aren't so constrained by environment as we once were, because the cost of changing our mind or not following through is not so very high, so the need to be conscientious is not as primary as it once was.
If I compare myself with how I was before the internet and smartphones, I would certainly rate myself as less likely to follow through and complete projects than I was before. But I am also busier now, and older, so get tired more easily. Behaviours do change, through life circumstances and through environment. I don't know, I see it :-)
PS isn't a personality test a survey, essentially? In other words, if personality tests define personality types, and they are essentially surveys, subject to all the limitations of surveys, aren't personalities objectively "unknowable"?
I think this shows that journalists are going more and more for clickbait value rather than reliable info that they understand and know how to convey to the reader. That's not really news, but always nice to throw shade on people who do it :D
Nothing makes one look old like saying, "Kids these days. They're lazy and don't show respect."
I read the original FT article and love this analysis. I also would wager that today people are more likely to mark themselves as ‘easily distracted’ ‘careless ’ or
‘unlikely to follow through with plans’ because the external context has changed. Our daily lives are more saturated with information than ever before and the ‘always on’ culture creates greater demands on our time
Yes - good point. Younger generations might also feel more comfortable expressing themselves if things are not as 'ok', rather than saying 'everything is great'.
Thank you! I detest surveys and I certainly learned something today: I am not alone. It has always seemed to me that surveys control the data that surveys shouldn’t control if it wants to present true data. (Hey, look at Trump’s surveys-yikes!) on the other hand, knowledge is power and the more empowered we can become is essential in today’s world just to comprehend what really IS relevant and what to trash. Thanks again. Keep educating me!
Thanks for covering this graph. It drives me insane every time I see it being used to support one agenda or another.
One issue I see with comparing personality traits across generations (and building on your first point) is how each generation interprets the questions themselves. If we believe overall personalities could change, might we expect a difference in interpretation for questions as well? It makes the results murkier.
A very good demonstration of how to lie with statistics, Nominal News.
However, I do find the headline fascinating, and can't stop myself from commenting on the subject :-)
I think people's personalities can't really change? I think the consensus in psychology is that people's personalities do not change much after they have been established (early adulthood). Hence seeing a change in people's personalities throughout their lifetime is unlikely, other things being equal. (There are cases where personalities change after major health events, eg strokes, dementia etc.)
Behaviours, however, are influenced by external factors, and not just personality. Culture and environment are changing very rapidly, creating a lot of new expectations. Additional expectations drive new behaviours (e.g. regular exercise), which take time and energy. We live in new environments (mega cities), and typically spend more time commuting, which also takes time and can lead to exhaustion. We have plenty of content flying around and are getting addicted to it, if only to be able to be part of the conversation and belong to our groups and communities. Additionally, a person's circumstances changes during their lifetime (work, children, etc), impacting their ability to complete projects etc. Finally there is easeness, or convenience. A person in medieval age might need to tend after their crops regularly to ensure a good harvest; whereas a person today might plan to make lasagna for dinner, but end up ordering takeaway instead due to poor planning, social media interruptions, live streams, going down the rabbit hole in response to someones tweet, etc, so goodbye lasagna. We aren't so constrained by environment as we once were, because the cost of changing our mind or not following through is not so very high, so the need to be conscientious is not as primary as it once was.
If I compare myself with how I was before the internet and smartphones, I would certainly rate myself as less likely to follow through and complete projects than I was before. But I am also busier now, and older, so get tired more easily. Behaviours do change, through life circumstances and through environment. I don't know, I see it :-)
PS isn't a personality test a survey, essentially? In other words, if personality tests define personality types, and they are essentially surveys, subject to all the limitations of surveys, aren't personalities objectively "unknowable"?