For my final post I would like to look at narcissism. I posted a few weeks ago on how social media networking tools like Twitter and biographical websites encourage certain levels of narcissistic behaviour. In culture beyond the realms of the web it is rare to see people walking down the streets in their bikinis or saying deeply profound quotes in front of a large group of people .
Facebook has all the necessary tools to allow people to show themselves off exactly as they want to be see which for the most part can allow for a little -or a lot- of indulgence in themselves. The profile picture; the status update; the wall function with multi-media attachment options; the wide variety of groups to indulge in similar interests and much more.
There are 5 ways to tell from someones Facebook page if they are a narcissist according to Rosemary Danielis who writes on the topic
1. They have an astoundingly high number of Facebook friends and wallposts. Just like in real life narcissists focus on quantity of friends over quality and have many superficial friendships.
2. Their profile photo is posed, glamorous and otherwise artificial. A narcissist will use a glamorous, posed and otherwise artificial picture of themselves while people with a more healthy sense of self are content with an honest snapshot of what they really look like.
3. They have opened profiles on more than one self-promotion site like Facebook, YouTube and MySpace. A narcissist never gets tired of speaking or writing about themselves.
4. They were born after the 1980's. Dr. Susan Giurleo, a child and family psychologist, believes
strongly that parenting plays a strong role when it comes to narcissism. "Parents tend to see their children as fragile and unable to manage for themselves," says Giurleo. Since the 1980's there has been a wave of overly empathic parenting. "Instead of teaching children and teens to figure things out, accept consequences for their actions, and feel any real pain, parents rush in to rescue, solve and eliminate all struggle for their kids."
5. They tend to use their site to put other people down. Narcissists need to have power over others. They tend to be manipulative, using people for their own advantage.
This insightful information may be useful the next time you check your Facebook. If you excessively show signs of the above it may indicate your narcissistic side and in a society where you wouldn't be caught dead "showing off" or being vain then you may want to reign yourself in.
