Generation Z – everyday (living with an) auxiliary ego

Abstract

We know that there are significant differences between generations of our patients in certain aspects related to the differences in historical and socioeconomic circumstances of their development. New informational technologies – smartphones and mobile Internet – are taking the role of an ever-present auxiliary ego for the generations born in the twenty-first century. This development is influenced by the characteristics of these technologies and by changes in parenting patterns. Psychoanalytic literature tends to focus on only the negative influences of these factors on the development of personality, identity, and interpersonal relationships. Probably this reflects our own fears about the invasion of new technologies into our lives and limits our understanding of the possible positive potential of these technologies for the younger generations. We still need to gain a better understanding of what it brings to our analytic work, and our transference–countertransference relationships with adolescent patients.

Key words:

• adolescence
• auxiliary ego
• Generation Z
• new technologies
• parenting patterns

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Notes on contributors

Darius Leskauskas

Darius Leskauskas MD, PhD, is a professor in the psychiatry department and head of post-doctoral studies in psychotherapy at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LUHS). He has practiced for 20 years as a child and adolescent psychiatrist and psychoanalytic psychotherapist. He is also chairman of the Kaunas Society for the Studies in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, a training and supervising analyst, and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Psychoanalytic Societies (IFPS).