Your comment post should be at least 290 words this week due
Thursday by 11:59 pm (worth 70 points) and you will be responsible for
responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph
reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm (worth 30 points).
Is Social Media Making Us More Narcissistic?
By KATHERINE SCHULTEN
FEBRUARY 24, 2016
5:08 AM February 24, 2016 5:08 am
Are social media like Facebook turning us into
narcissists? The Times online feature
Room for Debate invites knowledgeable outside contributors to discuss questions
like this one as well as news events and other timely issues. Related
ArticleCredit Dado Ruvic/Reuters
.
Do you spend too much time trying to be attractive and
interesting to others? Are you just a little too in love with your own
Instagram feed?
An essay addressing those questions was chosen by two of our
Student Councilmembers this week. Angie Shen explains why she thinks it’s
important:
As the generation who grew up with social media, a
reflection on narcissism is of critical importance to teenagers. What are the
psychological and ethical implications of constant engagement with or obsession
over social media? How does it change our relationship with others and how we
see ourselves?
“Narcissism Is Increasing. So You’re Not So Special.”
begins:
My teenage son recently informed me that there is an
Internet quiz to test oneself for narcissism. His friend had just taken it.
“How did it turn out?” I asked. “He says he did great!” my son responded. “He
got the maximum score!”
When I was a child, no one outside the mental health
profession talked about narcissism; people were more concerned with inadequate
self-esteem, which at the time was believed to lurk behind nearly every
difficulty. Like so many excesses of the 1970s, the self-love cult spun out of
control and is now rampaging through our culture like Godzilla through Tokyo.
A 2010 study in the journal Social Psychological and
Personality Science found that the percentage of college students exhibiting
narcissistic personality traits, based on their scores on the Narcissistic
Personality Inventory, a widely used diagnostic test, has increased by more
than half since the early 1980s, to 30 percent. In their book “Narcissism
Epidemic,” the psychology professors Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell show
that narcissism has increased as quickly as obesity has since the 1980s. Even
our egos are getting fat.
It has even infected our political debate. Donald Trump?
“Remarkably narcissistic,” the developmental psychologist Howard Gardner told
Vanity Fair magazine. I can’t say whether Mr. Trump is or isn’t a narcissist.
But I do dispute the assertion that if he is, it is somehow remarkable.
This is a costly problem. While full-blown narcissists often
report high levels of personal satisfaction, they create havoc and misery
around them. There is overwhelming evidence linking narcissism with lower
honesty and raised aggression. It’s notable for Valentine’s Day that
narcissists struggle to stay committed to romantic partners, in no small part
because they consider themselves superior.
The full-blown narcissist might reply, “So what?” But
narcissism isn’t an either-or characteristic. It’s more of a set of progressive
symptoms (like alcoholism) than an identifiable state (like diabetes). Millions
of Americans exhibit symptoms, but still have a conscience and a hunger for
moral improvement. At the very least, they really don’t want to be terrible
people.
Students: Read the entire article, then tell us …
— Do you recognize yourself or your friends or family in any
of the descriptions in this article? Are you sometimes too fixated on
collecting “likes” and thinking about how others see you?
— What’s the line between “healthy self-love” that “requires
being fully alive at this moment, as opposed to being virtually alive while
wondering what others think,” and unhealthy narcissism? How can you stay on the
healthy side of the line?
— Did you take the test? What did it tell you about
yourself?
Henry Xu, another Student Council member who recommended
this article, suggests these questions:
— What about Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and other social
media feeds makes them so hard to put down?
— Do you think this writer’s proposal of a “social media
fast” is a viable way to combat narcissism?
— For those who aren’t as attached to social media, do
challenges from an overinflated sense of self still arise? If so, from where?
— If everyone is becoming more narcissistic, does that make
narcissism necessarily a bad thing?
I myself and some other friends are worried about how many likes we’ll get on a picture. If we don’t get enough likes in a certain hour than that picture will get deleted. I don’t really care how people see me in a way. I’ll do whatever i want to a point, sometimes i will make a fool out of myself and other times i won’t because i don’t want certain people talking about it. Unhealthy narcissism isn’t the best to put yourself through. You shouldn’t let the internet or people tell you or make you feel a certain way. To stay healthy all you have to do is not worry about how people see you or how many people liked or retweeted your tweet. There’s way more things to worry about in life and that’s nothing important at all to worry about. I did not take the test so i have no idea how it was but I make it a little much when it comes to social media. People are just so noisy that need to see what everyone is doing that’s what makes it so hard to get away from it. Also people are so worry on how someone sees them so they’ll try anything to make sure they are liked. Yes i think it’s a way to combat narcissism because it needs to stop. I think people who aren’t as into social media deal with overinflated sense of self because some people still care how they are seen they just hide it and it makes it harder for themselves. If everyone is becoming it, i do not think it would be a bad things because if it was bad only a few people would do it and have better lives. But if people have great lives and are doing it then it isn’t such a bad thing.
ReplyDeletei agree with you Alyssa. Everyone wants to get so many likes on a picture and if they don't then they will delete it. Also people always worry what people think about them. I myself always care what people think about me but i shouldnt. i should worry about what i think of myself no one else.
Delete
ReplyDeleteThis article is a very interesting topic to think and talk about because this generation has been all about social media. I wouldn't consider myself as a narcissist because not my whole life is based on my social medias that I do have.My family and I do spend some time on our own social medias but know when to give it a break. I personally am not interested in how many likes i get on the things i post. Healthy self-love is important in many ways thinking about what others think isn't important the best way to have love self for yourself comes from you. No, I haven't took the test but it does seem something I would like to look into for the future. The thing is so many people lives relay on Facebook,Snapchat and all of those things which is hard to put them down. The writer says “Social Media fast” is a viable way to combat narcissism which is not false at all I agree. No I don't think for those who don't go on social media this impacts them at all in many ways they probably have a better life style as the one who do. This article is a a way of saying social media has taken over this generation.In some ways people use it for some good reason to see old family member and all. Not all social media is bad but there a certain point where you realize what to post and what you should. This is my opinion on the article we all have different opinions because it part of life. This article is just giving information of some things that happening during spending time on social media.
ReplyDeleteYes, I hate it when i do not get enough likes on my picture cause i think well people are going to make fun of me. Because i posted this. My friends always ask me “do you think i look cute in this? Or do you think i should post this cause i do not want to feel like an idiot.” To stay on the healthy line you should not care what people think about you. But think about it everyone is going to say something about someone when they post something on instagram or facebook or even twitter. I honestly think for me it is so hard to put my phone down when i am on snapchat or instagram or facebook. Social media has taken over our lives. Teens rely on social media everyday. The first thing i do in the morning when i wake up i check my snapchat and instagram and facebook and twitter. I feel like if i do not check them im going to miss out on something that my friend posted or someone got into a fight in school and that everyone is going to be talking and i will not know what is going on cause i did not check my social media that morning. This article is true and it is not narcissism, they are just telling the truth. Like yeah teens actually use their phone but so do parents and they even text and drive, it is just not teens it is everyone. Yes and no cause old people who do not understand how to work a computer they do not know what goes on in the social media world they just watch the news and read the newspaper to find out what is going on in the world. This is just my opinion on this, i feel like we shouldn’t really care what other people think about us but we do.
I agree it is not just with the younger generation it is with everyone. Social media has taken over lives and has become a coping mechanism and a drug.
DeleteYes my friend do crave likes, they also think that other people's opinion matter. The difference between healthy self love is that you love the way you are and u care about others. You don't go around thinking everything is about you. Narcissistic is different between healthy self love because you think you are the only important thing, you find yourself overly obsessed with yourself. Not being able to love yourself the way you are . Don't crave to be like someone love yourself but not overly crazy. Yes i think it’s a way to combat narcissism because it needs to stop. I think people who aren’t as into social media deal with overinflated sense of self because some people still care how they are seen they just hide it and it makes it harder for themselves. If everyone is becoming it, i do not think it would be a bad things because if it was bad only a few people would do it and have better lives. But if people have great lives and are doing it then it isn’t such a bad thing. This is just my opinion on this, i feel like we shouldn’t really care what other people think about us but we do.Teens rely on social media everyday. The first thing i do in the morning when i wake up i check my snapchat and instagram and facebook and twitter. I feel like if i do not check them im going to miss out on something that my friend posted or someone got into a fight in school and that everyone is going to be talking and i will not know what is going on cause i did not check my social media that morning. This article is true and it is not narcissism, they are just telling the truth.
ReplyDeleteYes i totally agree with you there comes a different between narcissistic and healthy love. Many people use it for great things or what we miss out. But i like how you said the article is telling the truth because it is. This article said some things that do happen.
DeleteThis generation is all afixiated on social media. It's basically what our lives revolve around as of right now as time goes on. I admit I used to care and worry about the amount of likes i got or If it was a good enough picture. I always cared how people viewed me but I realize that is not a good thing to do what so ever. Well I mean you alo can't help the fact it's the way you grew up and it's the way your surroundings were. I know many people who are followers. I think healthy self love is more of how you view yourself in real Life then on a device. People now a days can be very hateful especially when it comes to social media we refer to as “haters”. We care about what we look like and what's in style right now because of the pictures posted. If you don't have that piece of clothing you weren’t considered cool enough. I thought that was just wrong, Just because of a device you could be popular online and i you weren't you were written rude comments. Well that's not all the time but it happens.In all honesty you shouldnt care what other people think other then your on perspective. Social medias like Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook are so hard to put down because so many people have got in the habit of using them. They got in the habit of wanting to be better caring about what's going on instead of realizing that it is hurting themselves. Don't get me wrong there will be some positive but also a lot of negative things. You really shouldn't let that determine who you are or that matter. Social Media fast is a good way to combat narcissism. Yes, people who don't affiliate themselves with social media as mush still have problems in themselves. In the outside world there are also struggles with bullying and popularity and asking other people how they look and just wanting their opinion when they don't need it. Just be you that's the best you can be. It will help you out a lot especially being proud of yourself and your self esteem.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying. Being yourself is the best thing you could possibly do when it comes to social media and just life in general. It's never good to be someone else and follow their lives completely because eventually if that person isn't in your life anymore where do you go from there? It's best to just be yourself and other people will have to accept you for you whether they like it or not.
DeleteThe constant stream of attention that downpours from social medias pours right into your egos,studies show. There comes a point in life where people have a non stop search for some sort of validation whether it be looks or what we are doing or how we say something. We can gain this validation now through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. The amount of likes and followers somehow are equivalent of our self worth? When we post a picture on instagram we hope for over 100 likes if not we most likely delete that even if we really did like that picture. If it isn't popular than it isnt worth keep despite any opinion of your own. WHat happens when that photo is over 100 likes? We think more of ourselves. We think our huge friendslist make use well-liked. The sad truth is we might have huge friend list but are really friendless. We are think we are so attractive or interesting than we might be in real life all because of social media .In reality this can make us narracist because we can belittle other people because of their standings in the digital world. This can cause bullying of all sorts all because human now a days are heavily addicted to attention and can easily get it at their fingertips. When someone is always listening to every status and update we make we think people care about what we have to say or think what we are saying is important.
ReplyDeletei agree with everything you are saying Dakota. everyone is so worried about social media and now they look to others. its sicking and it needs to be stop. its only going to get worse as the years go on.
DeleteYes, I recognize some of my friends worrying about what they look like and worried about collecting likes. It’ll be a family picture and they will say something along the lines of”I had to delete it because it only got 72 likes and all of my other pictures have 83.” I am never fixated on collecting likes on anything on social media. I post whatever I want to and whether or not I get 20 likes or 55 likes I keep it up. I rarely post on social media anyways I’m more of a watcher than a user when it comes to stuff like Instagram and Snapchat. I’m never worried about how people see me on social media. I have over 600 followers on my Instagram and each one of those people had to request to follow me. If they get accepted and they don’t like what they see and don’t wanna see it on their timeline then they can just press the unfollow button. The line between being virtually alive or “healthy self-love” is when someone has to change into completely different stuff and put makeup on so they can take one picture and when people don’t care what they look like and they feel as if they should be accepted whether they may wear makeup or look pretty. If you have to change the way you look to post on Instagram then you probably are not on the “healthy self-love” side of things. I think what makes all of these social media apps so hard to put down for people is that they can see what their role models are doing at that very moment. They can see what all of their friends in school are doing after school. They can meet new people and make new friends. There are so many things that can be accomplished with social media and it’s sad that people have to try and ruin something that is completely life altering compared to how our parents were raised.
ReplyDeletei agree with tony. i myself am not really a social media user. im more of a watcher if anything. Even if i post soemthing and it gets a few likes, im still gonna keep it up and not delete it. I think that social media is good and bad but it all depends on how you use it.
DeleteI dont think of myself as one of those people who care about the amount of like or dislikes i get in a social media picture. I know people like my friends for example who really care about that stuff. To me i dont think it matters because we shouldnt go based off other peoples opinion on how we look. Some ways that you can stay on the healthy side is to raise your self esteem and to just accept yourself for who you are. Their are other things in life that are more important to worry about then what people think of you. For example, family is the most important thing to me, i believe that only your family can judge you and not any other person. I think that people who arent into social media are actually better because they dont need to deal with the drama online and things like that.
ReplyDelete