Social Media Narcissism And Self-Esteem

Next time you are out in public, notice how many people are immersed in their cellular devices. I bet you will see a lot, and most likely these people are on their social media accounts. According to Brooke Lusk, the database and media manager for the Prevention Researcher, social media can be defined as, “an aspect of the internet which allows individuals and groups to create and publish online content, share the content, and interact about it.” These days, people are very involved with the internet and social media. Some think this is a benefit while others think this is a detriment for many reasons. Social media allows people to stay connected and explore new things, but there are many negative aspects that can affect self esteem, cause

Throughout the past decade, numerous reports and tests have been conducted to see whether or not there has been a link between social media and low self-esteem. With the majority of adults and almost all millennials, social media has been on the rise. To some people, it's about sharing memories and connecting with families, but to others, it has turned into an addiction. After multiple hours a day mental changes might occur. A loss of self-esteem has been closely related to the fact of having an avid social life in a digital world.

Social media has become deeply embedded as a part of today’s American culture and lifestyles, changing the way people interact and communicate with one another. Americans use social media every day; to not only communicate, but to express themselves. These online media sites and blogs serve as entertainment for its users and give them a sense of a social life if they do not already have one. Some users become so obsessed with their online lives that they lose the ability to successfully communicate with people in real life. Their craving for the use of social media becomes an addiction to where they can spend countless hours on their social sites. Facebook, a popular social media cite, has been proven to cause Facebook Depression, a sickness in which a person is emotionally depressed and in self denial. Studies have shown that sites such as Facebook, are a direct link to an individual’s physical and emotional well being.

Millenials enjoy having a good self image, but more importantly, being accepted by society. These people use Facebook, and other social media sites, to look important and gain self-esteem by getting as many likes as possible on a photo. These photos posted could create an unrealistic portrait of that person, argues Soraya Mehdizadeh, but could this also be a way for people to express their identity, counters Alex Lambert? Soraya Mehdizadeh and Alex Lambert argue their reasons for why or why not social media may be narcissistic. It is a controversial subject because it can be hard to tell if this so called narcissism is a social norm now or if it is simply narcissism in itself. It is under psychological discussion because some psychologists argue it could be a disorder due to the fact that some people may be obsessed with social media and promoting a positive self image, so others think highly of them. Throughout the articles, the pros and cons of social media are weighted, and it seems that social media facilitates narcissisms because millenial’s are so prone to using it and older people only use it to keep connections with friends.

Can the excessive use of social media, specifically Facebook, be seen as a form of narcissism? Editors Edwin E. Gantt and Brent Slife of Brigham Young University present two opposing opinions to explore this topic in their presentation, “Is Excessive Use of Social Media a Form of Narcissism?”. Could the oversharing, “duck face”, and look at me virtual world be a way to reach out to each other or just a shallow attempt at self-validation? Each article expresses the author’s views, and research on the subject.

This article focuses on the social media addiction and narcissistic personality behaviors that can come with it. The first article states that ambivalence about one’s partner can cause an engagement in online infidelity related behaviors “Relationship ambivalence may develop...relationship conflicts or transgressions in the relationship” (McDaniel 89). When one is in a relationship with a narcissist, studies show that the ambivalence is high, and when one has these contradictory thoughts, infidelity related behaviors over the internet are more likely to happen as stated by Andreassen and her associates, “...social media may represent a gratifying medium for individuals with elevated narcissistic traits…” (Andreassen 288). To relate, the first article discusses that higher use of social media results in lower partner love time which can lead to lower marital satisfaction. The addictions of social media can also make marital satisfaction low because the time spent on the internet rather than one’s partner can cause romantical issues “...addictive social

Social networking gives narcissists another medium to be narcissistic. The rise of social networking gives people a source of entitlement. People can be described as having more than just an addiction but unhealthy attachment to spending time on social networks. The pull towards using social media is because of instant gratification caused by jolts of energy. Over time social networking can compulsively help socially anxious individuals with their mood. However, it will not have long term benefits, but

Recent studies have shown that narcissism is a plague among the world and social media could be a reason why. Lisa Firestone is the author of, “Is social media to blame for the rise in narcissism?” She states, “We are living in an increasingly narcissistic society.” She goes on to say that technology is the reason to blame for that. There

There is a high probability you are 1 of the 211.39 million of Americans who are social network users (Statista). This number is the highest it’s been and on the rise for years to come. It’s considerably difficult for you to not have a social network platform. There is hardly a person who does not have a Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account. Social Media is typically used for communication and entertainment, from direct messaging, uploading photos and videos, reading articles about various topics and playing video games. Today’s generation of Americans check their accounts periodically throughout the day trying to read messages from their “friends” or look at the new photo they uploaded. Most without hesitation

Social media is used widely by many across the nation, it is very prevalent in the lives of today’s college student and young adults to connect with friends attending different institutions or even friends sitting just across the room. In a generation where technology is so heavily relied on and even addicting to some, we have seen an increase of addictive behaviors. Does the overuse of technology contribute to the rising alcohol and drug addictions as well as mental health issues? In this paper I will discuss addiction and it’s prevalence in the U.S.  I will also discuss the use of social media in both teens and adults and the effects it has on the use of alcohol and drugs.

The study conducted by Panek, Nardis and Konrath in 2013 found a relationship between GN and time spent on, and posting on Facebook and Twitter. What they did not look into was whether a similar relationship existed in those with vulnerable narcissistic qualities and hence our study attempts to address that. There were two aims to this study: the first, to determine whether those individuals high in trait narcissism (both grandiose and vulnerable) posted more on Facebook than those low in trait narcissism. The second was to determine whether those high in trait narcissism (both grandiose and vulnerable) spent more time on Facebook than those low in trait narcissism. As a result of having two aims, there were two hypotheses. It was hypothesised that grandiose narcissism would be positively related to the number of general posts and time spent on Facebook. It was also hypothesised that vulnerable narcissism would be positively related to the number of general posts and time spent on

The article I chose for this critique was “Narcissism and Social Networking Web Sites” written by Laura E. Buffardi and W. Keith Campbell from the University of Georgia. This article is based on an experiment that was taken place to prove whether others could perceive a narcissistic individual as a narcissist through observing their social media sites. This experiment was a correlational type of study. The experimenters’ goal was to analyze whether there was any correlation or connection between the web page owner being a narcissist and the type of content they had on their profile.

Throughout the years, numerous of researches are conducted to see the connections between social media (namely, Facebook) and narcissism. University of Michigan conducted a research to find the relationship between social media and narcissism. For the first part of the study, the researchers recruited approximately around 486 college undergraduate students with the median age of 19. Meanwhile, 93 adults, mostly white females, with an age mean of 35 years old, were asked by the researchers to complete an online survey for the second part of the study. Participants have to answer questions about their social media use and a personality assessment to measure their level of narcissism (Swanbrow, 2013). Based on the results obtained, Facebook users that scores higher on the personality test tend to have more friends, tag themselves more often in photos posted and update their status more often (Firestone, 2012,

Social networking has risen in popularity throughout the last twenty years and in effect narcissistic behavior has increased within society(particularly America's society) since the 1980's(Jayson 1). Studies show that the greater an individual is inclined to narcissistic behavior; there is a resulting increase in their online social networking activity(Mehdizadeh 357). Social networking sites or “SNSs” are defined as: “A web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system”(Boyd, Ellison 1).

The most genuine complication of social media is addiction. A reporter on Salem health characterized that text messaging is no longer the biggest teenage obsession, and enormous phone bills from lengthy phone calls are no longer the biggest doubts for parents. These teenage addictions still remain, but in our generation and in analogy to the Facebook mania, it’s quite insignificant. Facebook addiction is advised to be a disorder driven by a craving. Not being able to access Facebook creates anxiety among fanatics. It is one of the most prominent social networking sites and has over one billion users without exception. People detach themselves from family and friends. Further symptoms of Facebook addiction have been related with needy sleep patterns. Researchers have also attempted to evaluate certain personality traits to the obsession. Being in touch with friends and family might clarify the logic why people are unreasonably obsessed.