Mayra Porras
Ron Christiansen
English 2010
Narcissism The Modern Confidence
Selfies, updates, comments, “likes” and “dislikes”our new social media world.
Has social media made people narcissistic? or have we always been narcissistic but
now have a instant audience? For a while now I have pondered about peoples self
centered egos what they call self esteem and their need for approval from others on
Facebook, myspace, twitter etc. The need to document every movement that we make
and post for likes is now our new therapist. Although I thought that social media caused
narcissism, I know believe that it is not the cause but it is an encouraging source.
Where it does give it a spot light for those that need that self esteem boost and or
audience. I do believe that it does change peoples self esteem in a good and in a bad
way. This kind of problem I believe effects our future generations giving them false
confidence that is only their with others approval and attention.
In order to discuss this topic we must first define what narcissism is and how it
effects people. Psychologist Dr. Jim taylor defines narcissism as “A personality
characteristic associated with self-absorption, egocentrism, an overestimation of one's
own importance and abilities, a sense of entitlement, and a disregard for others”(par 6).
His take on this personality disorder is that media, like reality shows and the reality stars
are what factor into the rise of narcissism in this generation he doesn't believe it is the
cause, but it is an encouragement and is now normalized because of it. I do believe that
we are already narcissistic in a way, and social media is a microphone. And teaching
people how to mimic the behavior. It has also shined a light of glamour, disguising
social media users in what they think is confidence.
Narcissism isn't only bad for the narcissist, but also with the relationships they
have with others. It can be very troubling to have a relationship with one, because of
how emotionally draining what they put you through is. The trouble lies in the
relationships they make they put down or manipulate others. W. Keith Campbell, Ph.D.
is a nationally recognized expert on narcissism, society and generational change. In his
book “Psychological Inquiry” he states “Is narcissism bad? not really. In fact, it seems
pretty good on the surface, but when it comes to failure it can cause anger and
aggression towards others”(214). When narcissists lash out, I feel that this can result to
lower self esteem in others giving the narcissist more false confidence.
Social media has a big part in all of this while it may not be the main cause, it is a
great encouraging source for the behavior. Jean Twenge is a psychology professor at
San Diego State University that believes social media is a factor in narcissism and also
effecting people with their own self worth. “Narcissism clearly leads to more social
media use, social media use leads to positive self-views, and people who need a selfesteem boost turn to social media”(par 5). I very much agree with Twenge because I
have even gone through it my self. It is an addicting way of boosting ones self and
unconsciously we are looking for that approval.
Having stated that social media is an encourager of narcissism. We now flip the
coin and look at the other side. While I do believe that there is a connection between
social media and narcissism. Blogger and one of the founders of Helpstaff.me. Justin
Lathrop Argues that narcissism is not a new thing people have always been narcissist it
has been been traced back to the biblical ages. He does make a great point by saying
“Maybe social media didn't make us more self-centered or narcissistic, maybe it just
revealed the way we already were. Maybe we’ve been this way all along”(par 1). He
continues by discussing that when people use it the right way social media should be a
way of socializing and suggest a way to fix the problem with different ways to use social
media in the correct way. “What if, instead of trying to get people to ‘like’ us, we just
started ‘liking’ them?”(par11). I agree with what he says, also I believe that we can
change the way that these new generations are visualizing them selves social media
might be used for self esteem boosting but we can change that.
When I talk about social media and its contribution of narcissism. I don't think
social media it’s self is narcissistic be have to go more in depth then that. “What did they
say now?” Radio podcast Brian, Courtney and Barnabas, touch base on this topic on
one of their daily shows. They discuss that what What makes social media narcissistic,
is the users. If you don't have a real reason to post or write things then to help or
encourage people then it doesn't have a purpose. Unlike users that do not have a
purpose and post about their problems and things only about them. They continue with
what narcissistic people post “This is probably the most narcissistic thing about any
social media. Is the fact that people only think about what their thinking, when they post
it. Their never thinking about how is this going to be received.” There for to me how
people use social media is what makes it a narcissistic booster. however this will not
change because people feel the need to have an audience thats what give narcissistic
people the spot light.
I now know that social media does not cause narcissism, But does it encourage
it? In the article “Do Facebook and other social media encourages Narcissism?” By Ray
B. Williams leadership trainer for executives and writer for Salon.com. Shows us
different studies that have been conducted in universities around the U.S. that show that
while social media maybe has not caused narcissism, has however encouraged the
behavior. in one of the studies that williams introduced is from keith campbell that states
“Narcissists are using Facebook the same way they use their other relationships - for
self-promotion with an emphasis on quantity over quality”(par11). This is proof that
social media does have a factor and it is molding minds in some sort of way.
We can re-invent social media and use it for what it is made for. To connect with
others, stay in touch with family, meet new people or try to help people. It does not have
to be narcissistic, we do not have to post selfies every day and talk just about ourselves.
lets help instead and keep our emotional problems off. Lets remember social media self
boosters do not last and may be causing you more distress then you think.
Work Cited
“Is Narcissism Really So Bad?” W. Keith Campbell. Psychological Inquiry. Print.
October 29, 2013.
“Is Social Media Making Us Narcissistic?” Justin Lathrop. The Blog. July 24, 2013. Web.
October 29, 2013.
“Are the Media Creating a Generation of Narcissists?” Dr. Jim Taylor. Huffington
Post.Web. October 24, 2012. November 6, 2013.
“It’s a Narcissism Enabler.” Jean Twenge. New York Times. September 24, 2013. Web
October. 29, 2013
“Do Facebook and Other Social Media Encourages Narcissism?” Ray B. Williams.
Psychology Today. June 13, 2013. Web. October 29, 2013.
“Is social media Narcissistic?” Barnabas, Courtney, Brian. Moody Radio. Podcast.
March 19, 2013. November 4, 2013.