Fahatakarana sy famelan-keloka: Narcissists amin'ny media sosialy

Is social media the “territory” of narcissists? It seems so. In 2019, psychologists at the Novosibirsk Pedagogical University conducted a study, the results of which showed that the majority of active social media users do indeed have narcissistic traits. It turned out that those who spend online more than three hours a day and actively post content on their pages, such manifestations are more pronounced than the rest. And people with pronounced narcissistic traits behave more actively in social networks.

What is narcissism? First of all, in excessive narcissism and inflated self-esteem. Such people spend their energy on the struggle for recognition, but this desire for perfection is caused by by no means positive experiences: a person creates an impeccable external image, because he is infinitely ashamed of his real self.

You can recognize a narcissist by such signs as a thirst for praise and increased attention, obsession with one’s own person, immunity to criticism, and belief in one’s own grandiosity.

Narcissism itself is not a mental disorder. These traits are common to most people and are what give us healthy ambition to help us climb the corporate ladder. But the disorder can become pathological if these traits increase and begin to interfere with others.

Virtual “showcase”

Since one of the main functions of social networks is self-expression, for narcissistic personalities this is an excellent opportunity to maintain, and possibly develop, narcissistic traits. Based on idealized, but far from reality, ideas about oneself, in social networks everyone can easily create and show the world the best version of themselves.

Approval and encouragement

Ideally, our self-esteem should not depend on external approval, but the results of the study suggest that active users of social networks are more in need of admiration from others, and this is one of the manifestations of narcissism. The source of such a need, as a rule, is an internal self-doubt.

In addition, those who are active in social networks often exaggerate their own talents, abilities and achievements. They constantly expect that others will highly appreciate their work, despite the fact that the achievements are often objectively not so significant. They are characterized by a position of superiority and overambitiousness.

Ny media sosialy ve no omena tsiny?

Narcissistic personalities do not adequately assess their abilities and qualities, exaggerating their importance and giftedness, and active users of social networks not only post personal information about themselves, but also monitor the content of other users.

Most of us prefer to share idealized images of ourselves on social media, and therefore the constant observation of the successes and achievements of others causes envy, depreciation, belittling inherent in narcissists, and can also push them to further embellish their successes and abilities. Therefore, on the one hand, Internet sites are a favorite place for self-expression of such people, and on the other hand, virtual space can enhance their inherent negative features.