Narcissism in Social Media

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Social Media sites are making narcissists dreams come true! Narcissism is the term known for “an exceptional interest in or admiration for oneself, especially their physical appearance. It is a consuming self-absorption or self-love which is a type of egotism. Narcissists are continually assessing their appearance, desires, feelings, and abilities” (The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy). I will show several studies that are now showing documentation of a rise of narcissism amongst millennials; the generation born in the 1980’s and 1990’s, otherwise known as “Generation Me.” They tend to spend hours on social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook, which encourage self-promotion and as a result of this new found connection are ultimately changing our social networks at home and in public, resulting in users to focus on themselves and become unrealistic in their own accomplishments and distort connections with the real people, and circumstances in their lives.
Some would say that self-promotion on public websites has more to do with building a strong self-esteem; Self-esteem is described as “confidence in our ability to think, confidence in our ability to cope with the basic challenges of life, and confidence in our right to be successful and happy” (Branden). People with appropriate levels of self-esteem are assured in their right to feel worthy, enjoy the fruits of their efforts, and assert their needs and wants (Branden). He goes on to say “self-esteem is an essential human need that is vital for survival and normal, moreover healthy development arises automatically from within based upon a person's beliefs and consciousness. Finally self-esteem occurs in conjunction with a person's thoughts, beha...

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...ne, and automobile separated people disconnecting them from their fellow man.

Works Cited

Conger, Cristen. "Don't Blame Facebook for the Narcissism Epidemic." Beta News. Discovery Communications, 04 Aug 2011. Web. 23 Nov 2013.
Dingfelder, Sadie. "Reflecting on Narcissism." American Psychological Association. 42.2 (February): 64. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.
Firestone, Lisa. "Is Social Media to Blame for the Rise in Narcissism?." Psych Alive. Psych Alive, 01 Jan 2009. Web. 23 Nov 2013.
"Narcissism." The American Heritage. New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. 22 Nov. 2013.
Tandy, Katie. "Is Social Media Making Us Narcissists?.” Social Media. Business 2 Community, 25 Oct 2013. Web. 23 Nov 2013.
Twenge, Jean M.. The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement. 1st. New York, New York: Atria Paperback, 2009. eBook.

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