Selfie Syndrome – How Social Media is Making Us Narcissistic (Video)

 What is Narcissism?
● Narcissistic personality disorder involves a preoccupation with self and how one is perceived by others. Narcissists pursue gratification from vanity and the admiration of their own physical and intellectual attributes.

Signs of narcissism:
○ Unilateral listening
■ Instead of listening in order to respond, narcissists listen in order to dismiss, negate, ignore, minimize or otherwise make someone else’s concerns irrelevant
○ Preoccupied with self
■ Narcissists act selfishly and, even if being generous, are generally only responsive to their own concerns
○ Being above the rules
■ Narcissists feel that they are above others and that the rules don’t apply to them
○ Inability to take criticism
■ While narcissists have an inflated idea of their own importance, they can be quickly deflated by negative criticism
○ Refusal to take responsibility
■ Narcissists have a tendency to blame others for things that go wrong
○ Quick to anger
■ Narcissists may become easily angered by critical comments or being ordered what to do

Negative Effects of Social media:
● According to research from California State University: Excessive use of social networking may be connected to psychiatric problems
○ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
○ Depression
○ Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
○ Narcissistic Personality Disorder
○ Hypochondriasis
○ Schizoaffective and Schizotypal Disorders
○ Body Dysmorphia
○ Voyeurism
○ Addiction

The Effects of Popular Platforms:

● Facebook- The Social Mirror
○ People who use Facebook the most tend to have more narcissistic or insecure personalities
○ Those with higher narcissism scores were frequently updating statuses, posting pictures of themselves and using quotes or mottos to glorify themselves
○ Based on a study of Facebook users ages 18-25 using the Narcissism Personality Inventory and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.
○ A 2012 survey of divorce lawyers showed that Facebook had been implicated in ⅓ of all divorce filings the previous year

● Twitter- The Social Megaphone
○ In a University of Michigan study of college undergraduates, it was found that those who scored higher in narcissism also posted more often on Twitter
○ Young people are using Twitter to broaden social circles and broadcast views. This usage leads people to over evaluate the importance of their opinions

Is narcissism an inevitable reaction to our social culture?