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Sex, Drugs, Cash? College Kids Would Rather Have a Self-Esteem Boost
Filed under: In The News, Teen Culture
Studies show kids would rather be praised than have sex. Credit: Getty Images
Forget about sex, booze, Red Bull or cash. College kids are happiest when they're getting good old-fashioned ego boosts.
Two new studies conducted by researchers at The Ohio State University claim an increase in self-esteem, such as receiving good grades or a smattering of compliments, trumps feasting on favorite foods, having lots of money and hitting keg parties for college students, LiveScience reports.
"College students love sex, they love to eat and any place there is free food, they are there," Brad Bushman, lead author of the studies and an Ohio State professor of communication and psychology, tells LiveScience. "And, yet, they love self-esteem more."
When the results were broken down by gender, it turns out boys value feeling good about themselves most, but female students say a self-esteem boost, such as earning a good grade, rank neck-and-neck with money and friends, according to an Ohio State press release.
In the studies published online in the Journal of Personality, researchers asked college students how much they wanted and liked various pleasant activities, such as eating their favorite food or seeing a best friend, according to the release. They were asked to rate how much they liked and wanted to perform each activity on a scale of one (not at all) to five (extremely).
Overwhelmingly, researchers found students care more about increasing self-esteem than about any of the other listed activities, Bushman says in the release.
"It is somewhat surprising how this desire to feel worthy and valuable trumps almost any other pleasant activity you can imagine," he says.
There is nothing wrong with a healthy sense of self-esteem, Bushman adds, but he says the study results suggest many young people may be too focused on pumping up their own egos.
"The concern is that obsession with self-esteem is not healthy," he says in the press release. "American society seems to believe that self-esteem is the cure-all for every social ill, from bad grades to teen pregnancies to violence. But there has been no evidence that boosting self-esteem actually helps with these problems."
Study co-author Jennifer Crocker says in the release that the problem isn't with having high self-esteem; it's how much people are driven to boost it.
"When people highly value self-esteem, they may avoid doing things such as acknowledging a wrong they did," she says. "Admitting you were wrong may be uncomfortable for self-esteem at the moment, but ultimately it could lead to better learning, relationships, growth and even future self-esteem."
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 2)
1-12-2011 @ 2:08PM
dflynndoman said...I would disagree with regards to where the researcher's took their data from- many years ago when I was in a tough engineering school, where the guy to girl ratio was something like 7 to 1, you could ask any guy, and he would prefer some female companionship to cash or a "self-esteem" boost- we all knew when we graduated we were going to have good paying jobs doing stuff we loved- so what was left was female companionship. I would suspect things haven't changed much at my old university.
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1-12-2011 @ 4:29PM
Toby said...Self-Esteem issues aren't typically a "guy thing". Especially not for guys who had "real parents", are educated, and who have taken on the responsibility of trying to make themselves the best person they can be. This article would be more fiiting if it were labeled : for women (or men acting like them) - by other women...
1-12-2011 @ 2:16PM
peapers said...Self-esteem is boosted by challenges and accomplishment. Boosts are a temporary solution to a permanent problem. Having someone pat you on the back is a nice moment, but it will not cover the depth and scope of your lifetime. Building character over time through overcoming the trials and tribulations of life will make you happy. Like my father always use to say, "The strongest steel is forged in fire".
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 2:33PM
kittylit said...Self-esteem is something you EARN by trying new things, failing, learning, trying again and finally succeeding. Your parents,teachers and friends can't "give" it to you.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 3:19PM
Lynn said...Exactly!! Thank you.
1-12-2011 @ 6:20PM
Andrea said...You echo my thoughts exactly. The problem today is that kids' egos are pumped up for doing little to nothing. At some point, even they recognize adults have scammed them.
1-12-2011 @ 7:52PM
Marci said...You are so right.
1-12-2011 @ 2:38PM
Earl Bailey said..."The Man In The Glass"
When you get what you want in your struggle for self,
And the world makes you king for a day.
Just go to a mirror and look at yourself,
And see what THAT man has to say.
For it isn't your father, your mother, or wife,
Whose judgement upon you must pass.
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life,
Is the one staring back from the glass.
Some people might think you're a straight-shootin' chum,
And call you a wonderful guy.
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum,
If you can't look him straight in the eye.
He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear up to the end.
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test,
If the guy in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass.
But you're final reward will be heartaches and tears,
If you've cheated the man in the glass!
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 2:48PM
leon said...What's with the poetry? You want a pat on the back? Ok you got one from me. Nice poem, now go away.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 2:59PM
drright said...In this day and age of no winners and participation trophies, we have given our children a sense of entitlement. No more do they strive for bigger and better things, as long as no child is left behind. Oor society has destroyed self esteem with these practices and that "good enough" mentality. Its all B.S. Let them see the winners win and want to try harder next year to be that guy/girl. stop dolling out praise for nominal achievements, make them earn it, and instill a sense of true accomplishmetn not this wishy washy garbage our society has become.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 9:22PM
Holly said...No winners, no losers, no grades lest some little darlings feelings are hurt. So now that they're in college, they all want to receive good grades or a smattering of compliments. Welcome to the real world, if you want a good grade, earn it and don't expect to get a hug from your teacher just because you turned in a paper. Also, no one cares if you were your high school's star football player or most popular cheerleader. The kid sitting next to you was too. A healthy sense of self-esteem comes from within not from external sources, things such as knowing you did your very best to get that C or helped another student struggling in a subject you're good at. Self-validators have real self esteem. Those who depend on ego boosters to feel good about themselves never will have true self-esteem.
1-12-2011 @ 3:11PM
JD said...Ever heard of having sex as a way of seeking approval from the opposite sex? Helloooooo? That sounds like a faux self esteem boost to me. This poll is flawed by not asking the right "intelligent" questions.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 3:50PM
MrBasebal1 said...That's right. Reward only the ones who climb to the top of the heap by stepping on everyone else. That will surely build self esteeem. There is nothing like children's leagues that have 8 year olds competing against 5 year olds that are a foot shorter and 40 lbs lighter. I hear it from the proud parents all the time: "Oh that kid is a stud!" Wrong. That kid is an 8 year old playing against 5 year olds.
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1-12-2011 @ 4:15PM
Donald R. Mack said...1-12-2011 @ 2:38PM
Earl Bailey said...
"The Man In The Glass"
Good post Earl. I was going to post something, but I liked your post better.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 4:51PM
Richard said...Which college did you go to and who did you talk with??? This is a joke....right?
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1-12-2011 @ 5:09PM
Tiffany said...This is such a crock of shit. I'm in college right now. Sure, receiving good grades or a compliment is always nice. Who doesn't like that? But when talking with friends, no one cares as much about that as other stuff. We would all rather have money, or sleep.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 5:13PM
kels said...i would like to say that as a college student nothing makes me happier than sex drugs and cash. getting good grades isnt hard. sorry if this offends anyone, but lets stop pretending here hahah
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1-12-2011 @ 5:30PM
Gary said...Art imitates life? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhlWddAXSRA
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1-12-2011 @ 6:13PM
warren garrison said...how the hell can anyone have any esteem when they have no respect for themselves, any morals, any character, any integrity??? We aren't talking anymore about the 2 or 3 girls in the school that would take on and hump the football team, or the 1 or 2 bully's that terrorized others, we are talking about a generation of godless individuals that have the freaking morals of a pit bull in heat. Using the computer on a daily basis to pull down music for my inter net stations, something I've done for years, linked with the sites friends and or acquaintances want to show me, I'm quite aware of sites that show college kids in dorms running up and down the halls as I said, like rabid dogs and the girls are by far the worse. Then you have the ones that give you a first hand view of the parties, the socials, the gatherings where women are hiring a stripper and yea we know that guys have messed around with a stripper at their bachelor parties, but damn, to see a large group of women and some dude running around, them giving him a BJ, some he's f'kn, all the room is encouraging it all which again convinces me that 98% of the women today are worthless as wives,mothers, or anything to do with communities and morality is involved.
Reply
1-12-2011 @ 6:33PM
Kathy said...Hmmmmm ---- double standards here? After seeing you men get away with it generation after generation, maybe we women decided to give it a try. After all, if you can't reform them, join them. And hey, you guys were right---it's fun!! Why are you complaining about us when you do it too?