Narcissism - The Western Epidemic

[Brandobaris]

Thanks to the rise of the iPhone, smart phones in general, and social media the Western World is now under the grip of this new epidemic. While it did get us the Fappening(heh), the long term social and cultural implications from the upcoming Millenials(MEMEME Generation) is concerning. Especially in the modern world, a 2 working parent, or 1 working divorced/single parent is more and more common, leaving social media and the internet to raise children.

What do?

 

[Beaniebon]

Thanks to the rise of the iPhone, smart phones in general, and social media the Western World is now under the grip of this new epidemic.

I always think it's funny that millennials are considered vain for social media and all the selfies we take but 300+ years ago people paid artists an arm and a leg and sat for hours on end to have their portrait painted. Past generations will always complain about future generations. Every single generation has been "generation me".

leaving social media and the internet to raise children

Big cultural phenomenas have an impact on people, particularly children? You don't say!

Back in the day people complained about parents letting tv raise kids, so this was even a mainstream compliant back in the 60s/70s/80s. The internet is just the new big bad. And not long before that kids were either raised by nannies before being sent of to boarding school if they were rick or were shipped off to work at like 10 if they were poor, so were the parents really raising these kids back then?

 

[Bassomatic]

You really killed it, thank you. Yes it's just got faster, everything has and tech out paced social living/interaction. Now forgive minor powerleveling but kinda a funny story about this.

A woman painted my grand father when he was born. Why? Infant mortality was a thing still. Everyone who was middle class did this because it's pretty possible a middle class family would lose a kid out side of legal paper work it would be the only record he even existed.

The other thing I think we are making some awful mistakes but we also are making strides in understanding mental illness. So we can link things and see disorders more common who used to just be a drunkard, we now see a link from say sexual abuse as a child and drug use. We used to not give a fuck you were banged at 7 years old because look at you stupid drunk. Now we see you're a fall down drunk because the abuse. I won't sperg on this I just picked some easy examples.

While I have nothing but respect for the man look at George Washington. His men were freezing in the winter with no shoes he was designing sexier suits sipping imported wine. Farther back you have people from Rome writing books what to use to tan best!

We are comparing a population where less people could read to where even our poorest have a smart phone. I think we see Narcissism now as it's own disorder but it's lost how to deal with it because it's over blown.

I am writing this with a pile of gripes to younger people but they were brought up to feel being narcissist is a good trait and have tools to show it off ASAP.

 

[MagneticTowels]

people complained about parents letting tv raise kids

 

[Brandobaris]

So as soon as people come up with concerns over Social Media, Narcissism and the like, they are simply those people who said TV in the 50's would turn your kids into murderers? Come on, at least try to start from a middle ground here.

 

[Picklepower]

Narcicistic people are probably happier then average people though. Also old people that complain about millenials are annoying motherfuckers if they had current technology in their teens they would be the same way.

 

[polonium]

Narcicistic people are probably happier then average people though. Also old people that complain about millenials are annoying motherfuckers if they had current technology in their teens they would be the same way.

It's not just technology and social media, which I agree probably only reveal something latent in all teens and young adults. We have special guidelines on how to deal with millennials at work, because people given asspats and participation trophies all their lives have no idea how to deal with reality.

 

[xXRonPaul_42020Xx]

>Narcissism epidemic started with millennials
lol no

 

[Pepsi-Cola]

Thanks to the rise of the iPhone, smart phones in general, and social media the Western World is now under the grip of this new epidemic. While it did get us the Fappening(heh), the long term social and cultural implications from the upcoming Millenials(MEMEME Generation) is concerning. Especially in the modern world, a 2 working parent, or 1 working divorced/single parent is more and more common, leaving social media and the internet to raise children.

What do?

View attachment 131099

Aren't you the guy who like, obsessively stalks Lindsy Ellis?

 

[Brandobaris]

Aren't you the guy who like, obsessively stalks Lindsy Ellis?

Yeah sure, what you got, nudes, clothes, some of her old underwear for sale? As I said before, send me a PM for Lindsay Paraphernalia, jeez

 

[Tragi-Chan]

Narcicistic people are probably happier then average people though.

I would disagree on this. True narcissists actually spend a lot of their time being miserable. The thing is that they have this grossly inflated self-image as compared to other people. They believe the world revolves around them. They are smarter, better-looking, more creative, more skilled, wiser, more likeable, more attractive. Their problems are worse than yours and their triumphs are greater. And they act in accordance with this. Everything is beneath them.

The problem is that this is a delusion - the world doesn't see them as being inherently better than anyone else. As a result, they're constantly being slammed by reality. They lose friends because either they're rude and inconsiderate, or they can't deal with even well-meaning criticism and overreact. They lose jobs because they consider work beneath them and their colleagues to be idiots. They can't form meaningful relationships because they can't see anyone else as an equal. Their creative endeavours fail because, again, they can't take criticism and refuse to improve. And in general, a world that they think should be in awe of them is not. Therefore, they feel like they live in a world of enemies.

Also old people that complain about millenials are annoying motherfuckers if they had current technology in their teens they would be the same way.

Absolutely. People in their teens and early 20s have always been attention-seekers. This is why there are so few goths, punks etc over the age of 25.

 

[AnOminous]

Narcicistic people are probably happier then average people though.

No they aren't. Narcissists are as deeply unhappy as it is possible to be. I've never met a happy narcissist.

 

[Wallace]

I would disagree on this. True narcissists actually spend a lot of their time being miserable. The thing is that they have this grossly inflated self-image as compared to other people. They believe the world revolves around them. They are smarter, better-looking, more creative, more skilled, wiser, more likeable, more attractive. Their problems are worse than yours and their triumphs are greater. And they act in accordance with this. Everything is beneath them.

The advantage that social media has is that it allows you to create a carefully curated false self that shows only your best face, and lets your form many shallow friendships without the downsides a narcissistic relationship. Twitter has been shown to correlate with increased levels of narcissism, but not Facebook.

 

[melty]

IMO boomers are the most narcissistic generation and have no right to talk shit. Throwing stones in a glass McMansion.
I actually have a lot of faith in my generation. The safe spaces thing is stupid for sure, and it's sad that employers feel the need to coddle, but overall I think people in my generation are pretty smart. I don't think they are more narcissistic, social media is just a great platform for people who already were narcissists.
Older people always complain that people are buried in their phones and not communicating, and sometimes that's true, but social media has also allowed for more communication in a lot of ways. I wouldn't have nearly as many friends if it weren't for facebook, where it's easy to invite people to events, see what your friends are doing, join groups based around a certain interest and go to events from that etc.
I think the larger issue is not narcissism, but echo chambers. The advantage to not having phones and being forced to chat with strangers on the bus is that you're more likely to meet people with different points of view. When you stick to your facebook friends group and delete people who express problematic opinions, you end up being surrounded by a lot of the same people with similar views... this problem is exacerbated by sites like Facebook and Google being more likely to show you opinions you are comfortable with based on what you've liked/searched for before. I believe this is greatly polarizing people and is probably the biggest problem with social media.

 

[TowinKarz]

I think the larger issue is not narcissism, but echo chambers. .

Bullseye - the problem with social media is you can tailor it to feed you only what you want to hear, so when you run up against people who don't agree with you, there's a knee-jerk viciousness that this other person is being a bully because you have no idea HOW to deal with disagreement.

 

[Too Many Crooks]

I do resent when people sneer upon the Millenial generation and make absurd, hypocritical generalizations about the latter. As @melty said, the Baby Boomers (& Gen X, I say) should shut up & mind their own flaws. Or better yet, try cooperation instead.

Most millennials (hopefully) do not have a hand in whatever SJW nonsense emerges from Tumblr, nor do they encourage it, or pay much attention to it. There are more important things than that.

@melty & @TowinKarz beat me to it explaining how social media & internet echo chambers brought narcissism to prominence in part, and that narcissism has been around as long as humans have. It's never been a problem exclusive to the 21st century.

 

[BurningPewter]

I don't think people are more narcissist but I do dislike how technology like facebook and camera phones has made it easier for "attention getters" to indulge themselves, I mean, when I go out anywhere, all I see is people posing for selfies.

 

[Wallace]

Based on this post, I did some more speculation on Kohut’s writings on narcissism and the sense of self. It suggests an explanation as to what we see a lot of here on KF. This is pure speculation, but bear with me.

Begin with someone whose sense of self-worth is threatened heavily by shame. Perhaps they are dealing with having some desires of behaviors which their peers describe as deviant, such as repressed homosexuality. (e.g., your average Tumblrina or furry) This lack of acceptance tends to cause a deficiency in their sense of self. Unable to cope with the trauma of everyday social interaction, the subject develops social phobia and feelings of worthlessness and shame.

The subject instead seeks solace by going online. Here, it is easy to find groups that will affirm even the most deviant of behaviors. However, the self-esteem that the subject receives is not genuine. Online interaction is not a suitable replacement for actual people. Instead, the subject creates a narcissistic false self, designed to protect themselves from their own hurtful past. The online peer group/hugbox is only too happy to welcome them in, since this false self is designed to appeal to them.

Threats to this false self still very much exist, both online and in real life. For example, a mean tweet that disparages the subject’s identity. The subject responds to this injury to their ego with narcissistic rage. The threat must be destroyed in order to maintain the false self and keep the inner bad feelings, which are still there, from being realized.

This may explain why so many people who live their lives so heavily online tend to chimp out. Threats to their ego are met with rage, and revenge must be enacted in order to regain a sense of control over their environment. It would also explain why there exists a correlation between lolcow-dom and being trans: repressed homosexuality manifesting as autogynephilia.

EDIT: While I don't believe that most lolcows are truly NPD, they do exhibit narcisstic-like symptoms, specifically the creation of a false self to gain social approval and conceal a wounded ego. The good news is that this means that treatment has a better chance of success.

With regards to the OP, I think what is different nowadays as opposed to previous generations is that: 1) It is easier than ever to find a source of narcissistic supply in the form of an Internet hugbox, and 2) The narcissistic voices are the ones most likely to rise to prominence online, which I explained here.Why is Twitter So Fucked Up?

 

[piripiri]

Not sure how many of you have watched "Century of Self" but it touches on a lot of these ideas and also how marketing has turned us into narcissists. Brilliant doc and I'd recommend every other doc by Adam Curtis too.

 

[The Giver]

I think there is something to the whole "unhealthy obsession with social media" thing. But, I think we can safely say that the following pretty much every generation of teenagers and young adults has been obsessed with themselves and what people think of them.

And honestly, this isn't unnatural. At that point in your life, you are still really defining yourself and figuring out, at a basic level, who you are. It kinda makes sense that you'd spend more time thinking about yourself than an older person who has that shit (more or less) figured out.