social media and narcissism

[Red Memories]

When I was studying psychology, they noted a link since the internet and social media began being heavily used, a rise in narcissitic tendencies.

1. Do you feel social media usage and narcissism are correlated? Or do you feel they've always been narcissitic and just have a better medium to express it or seek attention?

2. Do you think there is a way to stop this issue?

3. Do you feel frequent selfies are correlated with this behavior?

4. If you feel they are correlated, what about social media do you think feeds that behavior?

5. Do you think rampant use of social media in young stages can impede the development of empathy?

 

[Mole]

When I was studying psychology, they noted a link since the internet and social media began being heavily used, a rise in narcissitic tendencies.

1. Do you feel social media usage and narcissism are correlated? Or do you feel they've always been narcissitic and just have a better medium to express it or seek attention?

2. Do you think there is a way to stop this issue?

3. Do you feel frequent selfies are correlated with this behavior?

4. If you feel they are correlated, what about social media do you think feeds that behavior?

5. Do you think rampant use of social media in young stages can impede the development of empathy?

On the surface narcissism looks like self love, but deeper down it is self hatred in disguise.

Social media offers us a temporary relief from the emotional pain of our self hatred, and like nicotine, it is addictive, without curing our pain.

Interestingly, Narcissus did not recognise his own reflection in the pond, just as we don't recognise our own reflection in our social media.

Like the strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, on social media we present the bright shinning face of Dr Jekyll, while post by post we are becoming uglier and uglier like Mr Hyde - but we don't recognise ourselves, just like Narcissus. And in our sleep, like Dr Jekyll, we are turning into Mr Hyde.

 

[Red Memories]

On the surface narcissism looks like self love, but deeper down it is self hatred in disguise.

Social media offers us a temporary relief from the emotional pain of our self hatred, and like nicotine, it is addictive, without curing our pain.

Interestingly, Narcissus did not recognise his own reflection in the pond, just as we don't recognise our own reflection in our social media.

Like the strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, on social media we present the bright shinning face of Dr Jekyll, while post by post we are becoming uglier and uglier like Mr Hyde - but we don't recognise ourselves, just like Narcissus. And in our sleep, like Dr Jekyll, we are turning into Mr Hyde.

You do have the root of narcissism correct here actually. Their self-hatred is intense enough they create a false self and need others to perpetuate this false image they create to obtain popularity. It is true it offers temporary relief. Do you feel they would find other mediums if they did not have this? Does social media attract these types of people moreso than others?

Your statement implies you suggest the more you post the "uglier" you become. Do you feel social media then can cause normal people to be infected by this problem?

 

[Mole]

You do have the root of narcissism correct here actually. Their self-hatred is intense enough they create a false self and need others to perpetuate this false image they create to obtain popularity. It is true it offers temporary relief. Do you feel they would find other mediums if they did not have this? Does social media attract these types of people moreso than others?

Your statement implies you suggest the more you post the "uglier" you become. Do you feel social media then can cause normal people to be infected by this problem?

Sure, constant use of social media produces dopamine hits in our brain, and if our dopamine is depleted by self hatred, or substance abuse, or by physical or psychological abuse, the dopamine hits on social media give us a wonderful sense of relief. And this is addictive.

The interesting thing about social media is it based on images, and all images lie, even the bible warns us of graven images. And so, social media makes the ugly look good. Social media tells beautiful lies. And we all want to be told beautiful lies.

 

[anticlimatic]

When I was studying psychology, they noted a link since the internet and social media began being heavily used, a rise in narcissitic tendencies.

1. Do you feel social media usage and narcissism are correlated? Or do you feel they've always been narcissitic and just have a better medium to express it or seek attention?

2. Do you think there is a way to stop this issue?

3. Do you feel frequent selfies are correlated with this behavior?

4. If you feel they are correlated, what about social media do you think feeds that behavior?

5. Do you think rampant use of social media in young stages can impede the development of empathy?

I think there's a correlation of sorts. Social Media is fertile soil from which narcissistic traits can be reinforced and grow, but the seeds precede it. There is a greater problem of poor self esteem, and an unresolved philosophical debate on how to address it. Telling people to have good self esteem, giving them participation awards, etc, has been tried and it doesn't work. I'm not aware of any other ideas except good old fashioned Darwinian 'sink or swim,' but people are too overprotective- too concerned with holding on to control- because nobody likes the idea of their kid feeling discouraged, or hurt, even if it's for a good cause. Reminds me of the fate of Henry the 8th's son a bit. So why are parents today such helicopter control freaks? Maybe because they feel otherwise helpless in a confusing and unreliable world, and so need to cling to it where they can. It's a sticky mess, this humanity business.

I think the biggest thing social media impedes is individuality, although it can be used for it via artistic expression if wielded correctly. For the most part though it just involves easy pandering for the sake of thumb shaped endorphins- a race to fit in and acquire validation, and the more time you spend acquiring validation on your phones and computers, the less time you're going to earn it in healthier ways in the real world. So it snowballs. Definitely think it's more about insecurity than narcissism, but narcissistic traits fit right in.

 

[Jaguar]

I'd like to nuke social media. Period. Then you'll find out who is the real deal when it comes to being resourceful. And fuck selfies. The name alone makes me want to buy a gun and shoot the word.

 

[Tilt]

When I was studying psychology, they noted a link since the internet and social media began being heavily used, a rise in narcissitic tendencies.

1. Do you feel social media usage and narcissism are correlated? Or do you feel they've always been narcissitic and just have a better medium to express it or seek attention?

2. Do you think there is a way to stop this issue?

3. Do you feel frequent selfies are correlated with this behavior?

4. If you feel they are correlated, what about social media do you think feeds that behavior?

5. Do you think rampant use of social media in young stages can impede the development of empathy?

Great question [MENTION=33903]Red Memories[/MENTION]!
Social media is a fake facade. People can shape whatever image they see fit. It's mostly a vehicle for people who already have narcissistic tendencies to shine through. The culture encourages it but people are people.

10 Popular Tourist Attractions On Instagram Versus In Reality

 

[Maou]

1. Do you feel social media usage and narcissism are correlated? Or do you feel they've always been narcissitic and just have a better medium to express it or seek attention?

I believe it encourages narcissistic behavior, and makes people more bold due to lack of real life consequences.

2. Do you think there is a way to stop this issue?

It is bad no doubt, but I think people should have the right to do what they want.

3. Do you feel frequent selfies are correlated with this behavior?

yes

4. If you feel they are correlated, what about social media do you think feeds that behavior?

Competition against the highlights of other people's lives, and taking out all the negative feedback creates inflated self worth and inflated ego.

5. Do you think rampant use of social media in young stages can impede the development of empathy?

Oh yes, I have seen this happen first hand with young people these days.

 

[Mole]

The President expresses his narcissism through the social media of tweets.

 

[Caribelle]

Do you feel social media usage and narcissism are correlated? Or do you feel they've always been narcissitic and just have a better medium to express it or seek attention?

Yes, I think people are becoming more self-absorbed and that the popularity of digital images and social media has a lot to do with it. We have the capacity to take more images of ourselves in all aspects of our lives, broadcast these images, and get more instant validation from everyone (friend, strangers etc) than ever before. That's addictive and self-reinforcing. The 'high' we get drives us to be even more focused on 'the self' and our image, which we continue to curate for even more likes and validation.

2. Do you think there is a way to stop this issue?

No, I think the horse is out of the barn, unfortunately. Maybe education can help, and limiting children's phone use from a young age until their identities are more developed. But in my view, this is a 'sign of the times'. The Bible said that in the last days 'men will become lovers of themselves, boastful, proud...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God". And to me this is definitely happening, which is interesting...because ages ago, with limited technology, no one knew or could've predicted that social media would be the thing that would bring about these attitudes....but the words of the Bible are being played out in a way that is consistent with 'our times'.


3. Do you feel frequent selfies are correlated with this behavior?

Yes, we've turned the mirror on ourselves and are able to 'see' ourselves the way people see us, and curate our image the way ' we want to be seen'. I think people who take more selfies may be more narcissistic than others...at least that's how I feel when I open someone's Facebook account and see just photos of themselves. Or it could be that they're very insecure and needing validation, too.

4. If you feel they are correlated, what about social media do you think feeds that behavior?

See Number 1.

5. Do you think rampant use of social media in young stages can impede the development of empathy?

Somewhat. I think if you have a good family structure it can help you develop good empathy regardless, but I think young social media users might have the tendency to be more self-involved than other children, which can conflict with being really genuinely concerned about others.

 

[theablekingedgar]

people look into this shit too deeply.
I don't see why it matters.
These traits have always existed and have at best been amplified by social media.

 

[Mole]

people look into this shit too deeply. I don't see why it matters. These traits have always existed and have at best been amplified by social media.

Only recently we have moved from a society based on duty to a society based on narcissism. Elizabeth II, who heads Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Britain, does her duty, while the President is a vulgar narcissist.

 

[Morpeko]

When I was studying psychology, they noted a link since the internet and social media began being heavily used, a rise in narcissitic tendencies.

1. Do you feel social media usage and narcissism are correlated? Or do you feel they've always been narcissitic and just have a better medium to express it or seek attention?

2. Do you think there is a way to stop this issue?

3. Do you feel frequent selfies are correlated with this behavior?

4. If you feel they are correlated, what about social media do you think feeds that behavior?

5. Do you think rampant use of social media in young stages can impede the development of empathy?

1.) I think that social media can fuel narcissistic tendencies in people who aren't necessarily narcissistic without it. Though I also agree that it acts as an easy medium for narcissists to seek attention and get the validation they so desire... I'm pretty self-absorbed online, and I've wondered how much less so I would be if I were born decades ago, personally.

2.) On a societal scale? No, it's too late. On an individual scale, I think it's very much possible if you are driven to stop relying so much on social media. Lessening usage (deleting and deactivating my accounts does work for me, albeit temporarily so far), focusing on other things and growing out of it. There are ways.

3.) Yes. And I'm guilty as charged.

4.) тень said it pretty well. Makes people compete with one another for the most outwardly successful or "happiest" life. Gives people an opportunity to showcase everything in their lives that they want to showcase, and get attention from it. These things can inflate ego.

5.) I don't know. I don't necessarily consider places like forums or discord as typical social media, but these platforms have allowed me to become closer to online friends, and actually developed my own empathy, which isn't naturally the highest to begin with. I can also see how it would hinder empathy development when used at an early age, though.

 

[SgtP3pper]

We live in the age of self promotion. It gets you money, friends, and sex. Not bad, just different. And narcissists will always be narcissists, and they may succeed most in those areas, like they always have. The internet just facilitates the behavior.

 

[Mind Maverick]

Regardless of whether it's the actual cause, it does both encourage and reward it. I have actually never heard of it being cited as the cause, though. All of my resources have cited it as a source of encouragement and reward, something that promotes narcissists to positions of power and popularity in society. Much like the digital age has resulted in artists going from starving artists (which used to discourage people from choosing this as a career) to having ample work and methods for advertising available to them, the narcissist has social media as a platform that enables them to see success by relying upon their narcissism. It can literally make their entire career.

Narcissists are more motivated than others to accrue likes (validation, praise), followers (attention), and so forth. You pretty much have to be a bit narcissistic to even make it in social media platforms these days. That means that even those who are not narcissistic are encouraged to engage in narcissistic activities.

In order to know whether social media platforms actually create narcissists, a specific age group would have to be studied, since narcissism is ONLY something that forms during developmental years. It would therefore require children still in their developmental years to be using social media platforms in the ways that encourage the narcissism.

I would be surprised if professionals were linking social media to narcissism as a cause, since that really isn't able to be determined by data on narcissistic presence on social media. It's more likely that someone passing on the information misinterpreted "correlation" as "causation" while they learned about the correlation.

 

[Indigo Rodent]

Sure, constant use of social media produces dopamine hits in our brain, and if our dopamine is depleted by self hatred, or substance abuse, or by physical or psychological abuse, the dopamine hits on social media give us a wonderful sense of relief. And this is addictive.

You guys are getting dopamine hits from social media?

 

[MaxMad244]

When I was studying psychology, they noted a link since the internet and social media began being heavily used, a rise in narcissitic tendencies.

1. Do you feel social media usage and narcissism are correlated? Or do you feel they've always been narcissitic and just have a better medium to express it or seek attention?

2. Do you think there is a way to stop this issue?

3. Do you feel frequent selfies are correlated with this behavior?

4. If you feel they are correlated, what about social media do you think feeds that behavior?

5. Do you think rampant use of social media in young stages can impede the development of empathy?

1. I do know this for a fact. They are correlated.
2. There is no way to stop it in a sense. It will have to be solved naturally. The narcissists will be selected out of the gene pool soon.
3. Not necessarily. There was a study done that said people who don't post selfies but take a lot of them are more narcissistic than people who do. I don't buy that for a minute. The study was clearly designed improperly. Selfies in themselves are useful. I can see that I have a balled spot so I know before my friends rip on me. I can see if an outfit looks like shit on me without bothering someone else.
4. I think the biggest thing are likes and friends. The more friends and likes someone has the more they are narcissistic by definition. It's not so much pictures of self that make a narcissist so much as how they want to be perceived by others.
5. yes.

 

[ceecee]

5. Do you think rampant use of social media in young stages can impede the development of empathy?

At any stage.

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TikTok users leave a note for their delivery drivers asking that they dance for the camera. Then, they put it online for the enjoyment of strangers.

www.vice.com

Absolutely dehumanizing.

 

[Michaeljack]

I have been in the social media industry for a few years now, and I have to admit that most of the people I've worked with are a bit selfish. However, it's exactly that right amount of narcissism that contributed to the success of their careers. I think it's a lot better to love yourself and always put yourself first instead of being insecure. My job allows me to help those influencers reach their full potential, which I constantly manage to do. Social media is more than posting your life; it's a way of living; it's a career. You can click on this site if you'd like to learn more about this.