Demise of Guys Psychologist Philip Zimbardo Shares

Demise of Guys

Psychologist Philip Zimbardo shares some startling statistics about boys: they are 30% more likely than girls to drop out of school, they are outperformed academically by girls at every level from kindergarten to graduate school, they are less likely to earn a B.A., and more likely to be in Special Education or labeled as having Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). By the time he is twenty-one years of age, the average boy has spent 10,000 hours playing video games. Boys' brains, claims Zimbardo, have been digitally rewired so they are more engaged in the "asynchronous Internet world" than in classrooms and social relationships.

As Zimbardo stated at the end of his talk, it is not his job to provide solutions, only to sound the alarm. He paints the Millenial generation with too broad a brush. There are certainly boys who are scholars, athletes, musicians and thoughtful human beings who grow up to be good boyfriends, husbands and dads. Nevertheless, Zimbardo raises some legitimate concerns about a segment of the young male population and it is wise to heed the warning signs.

The Millenials, sometimes called Generation Y, were raised with a plethora of choices, from television stations to breakfast cereal. This abundance "has wired Gen Y to view life as a series of infinite choices with immediate results" (Allen, 2005, p. 54). Parents, educators, employers and society at large are often frustrated with the attitudes of the young, who may have different values and different motivators than previous generations. Understanding today's boys is essential in shaping rules, programs and services that will help them become the men everyone wants them to be.

There is no easy solution for reaching the segment of the male population against which Zimbardo warns. Action is required from the three most important constituencies in a boy's life: family, school and community.

In the home, it is important for parents to set limits and be aware of what their boys are doing. Boys who have personal responsibilities in homes with structure and good role models are much less likely to get into trouble. Unfortunately, many of today's boys are growing up in single-parent households where supervision is lacking because the custodial parent is busy with a job -- and perhaps even a second job. Today's parents are often criticized for trying too hard to be friends with their kids and failing to establish rules and boundaries.

School personnel often feel they are expected to provide the kind of care, supervision, and moral instruction that was once the purview of the family. Children often come to school more needy than in generations past, yet teachers find themselves too pressed for time to meet academic needs to address issues such as self-esteem and social skills.

The problem of struggling boys is often compounded by socioeconomic factors. Not all families have the means to provide their boys with summers at camp, music lessons, or participation in sports programs. All of these cost money; families, school districts, and whole communities might not be able to afford them and make them available to everyone. Poor boys, whether they live in rural or urban environments, often have many fewer options that even their middle-class peers and are thus more at risk for academic and social failures.