Has social media caused narcissism to increase in society?

[hugoalfven]

Has social media caused narcissism to increase in society?

Edited May 13, 2022 by hugoalfven

[zurew]

42 minutes ago, hugoalfven said:

Has social media caused narcissism to increase in society?

I think a lot of arguments could be made , why social media is polarizing. Its not just polarizing politically, but polarizing in terms of self-confidence or self esteem.

Just look at the use of filters. Those people who don't use filters will get less tracking and likes on their posts so basically everyone is almost forced to do so. Those who are narcissistic will use it because they like the validation, and those who are lacking self esteem will use it, because they feel like they look like shit, so then "i might as well try to look more prettier to fit in ". So those who had a lot of self esteem will get even more, because of the validaiton, and those who didn't have enough self esteem will feel even more shittier, because they think other people are much more prettier compared to them.

Also look at how most algorithms are working. For example on facebook, you get a lot more traction on your posts and on your advertisements, if you start to talk shit about other people or companies, because facebook is optimized for time on site. Because of that optimization the AI figured out that if someone is posting shit talking ,it will get a lot traction, because people tend to get triggered, and tend to talk about those.

So the AI knows that it should recommend those kind of posts that will trigger the most people.

 

Nowadays, most social media is revolving around self-validation. The more validation people can get, the more addictive that site will become.

So at the end of the day, we are generating more narcissistic people.

Edited May 13, 2022 by zurew

[ZzzleepingBear]

It certainly has provided a fertile growing ground for it. It can be good to keep in mind that there also are a wide variety of people in all ages who are more or less likely to fall prey for different algorithm patterns. I think that different internet trends are probably more likely to grow a steady follower base and make a more impactful influence on the younger generations, and generations to come.

[BlueOak]

Figureheads do. Anything which over emphasizes identity. That capacity was obviously always there, this is a funnel for it.

Now. It is better than having just celebrity figureheads. So I wouldn't want to see it removed. Attention would then just go back to what the TV provides. In future incarnations of social media, i'd like to see teams working on projects, or community groups with a healthy dose of personal identity, within those groups.

This is something I used to try to organize in life, I almost had a desperate need to see it realised when I was younger. Society wasn't ready to give up their egos enough to see something like that realised often, even in many spiritual groups. Part of the problem as Acharya Prashant might phrase it, people value the body (I will say image/identity) over consciousness, and so celebrate their image/identity expressions of consciousness rather than their consciousness itself.

I want to say that's beautiful but also builds a fragile place that people need to then defend, or continually keep up with effort/energy to keep alive. By focusing on their immediate image or identity they don't get to appreciate what four, or twenty, or a hundred people working together can feel like. Not when they are forced to for money but when they want to come together. I almost get heartache or nostalgia when I remember sports teams and what felt like, several people part of something and working together. Individuals are not ignored but celebrated as part of the team effort.

Additionally of course focusing on individual, image-identity, when someone is censored it feels like they are censoring part of the identity, which that person has held to be supremely important, as opposed to a transitory experience of consciousness, or a group purpose.

*Also want to note when you alienate your image/identity as bad or wrong, you end up in a terrible place as well. So avoiding that is wise.

Edited May 14, 2022 by BlueOak

[Arcangelo]

YES.

[something_else]

Kind of, the idea of an influencer is very narcissistic and it’s what a surprisingly large number of kids aspire to now

But I actually don’t think that’s a bad thing. Aspiring to be someone who provides value to others isn’t bad, but a lot of influencers really just want cold hard cash

And they’re often willing to convert your self esteem into said cold hard cash

[hugoalfven]

Wish I could go back to the 1990s, the mentality among people was very different then. This social media culture me, me, me generation is like waking up to a nightmare every day.

[hoodrow trillson]

I used to say yes but now I'm beginning to believe that the viewer making the judgment call observing them (aka you, me, etc) are the actual narcissists. You can realize this by meeting that person and they turn out super cool.  The whole time you're just making concepts in your mind about how other people are 'like this' or 'like that' and then falling back on the comfort of 'not me though, I'm definitely not a narcissist!'  The classic narcissist mistake!! 

[ZzzleepingBear]

14 hours ago, hoodrow trillson said:

I used to say yes but now I'm beginning to believe that the viewer making the judgment call observing them (aka you, me, etc) are the actual narcissists. You can realize this by meeting that person and they turn out super cool.  The whole time you're just making concepts in your mind about how other people are 'like this' or 'like that' and then falling back on the comfort of 'not me though, I'm definitely not a narcissist!'  The classic narcissist mistake!! 

A true narcissit are probably super cool aslong as you are ready to agree with everything or the atleast the majority of things they say. So yes, it's all in your mind, if you don't mind being taken advantage of.

With that said, everyone will find themselves on some scale of selfishness without the need to be labeled as a narcissit. But if you like to imagine that the word narcissist is all in your head with no merit to the word, then I hope for your own sake that you don't run into and befriend to many of them if you value your mental health.

[zurew]

8 minutes ago, ZzzleepingBear said:

But if you like to imagine that the word narcissist is all in your head with no merit to the word, then I hope for your own sake that you don't run into and befriend to many of them if you value your mental health.

Yeah this is really true.

I find it way too reductive to say that "all judgements just in your head" implying that its  just subjective so it has no real substance on reality. There are a set of characteristics that we can agree on that is really destructive, unproductive and unhealthy in a society.

The mind is constantly making judgements on reality and on its own self. The mind is a good tool for survival, and its necessary for survival. Survival is not bad, using judgements to survive is not bad either.

We can use the mind consciously and unconsciously.

Making a judgement call, that a person based on certain characteristic traits can ruin your life, could save your mental health and could save you from a lot of trouble.

[ZzzleepingBear]

2 hours ago, zurew said:

Yeah this is really true.

I find it way too reductive to say that "all judgements just in your head" implying that its  just subjective so it has no real substance on reality. There are a set of characteristics that we can agree on that is really destructive, unproductive and unhealthy in a society.

The mind is constantly making judgements on reality and on its own self. The mind is a good tool for survival, and its necessary for survival. Survival is not bad, using judgements to survive is not bad either.

We can use the mind consciously and unconsciously.

Making a judgement call, that a person based on certain characteristic traits can ruin your life, could save your mental health and could save you from a lot of trouble.

Totally agree.

Developing discernment over blind trust is recommended. Just the ability to question a narcissist, is more empowering and provide a more healty way to communicate, instead of becoming a doormat to a narcissist.

 

To @hoodrow trillson defence, I can only guess that what you really meant, is maybe that not everybody is needed to be labeled a narcissist for showing some superficial narcissistic behaviour. If someone has a bad habbit of throwing around the lable narcissist for any little selfish behaviour they notice. Then yes, you might want to question your own judgemental thoughts a bit if that is the case.

[zurew]

 

[hugoalfven]

@BenG

 

 

[hugoalfven]

 

Edited May 28, 2022 by hugoalfven
https://youtu.be/yJ9oEi3Yyg0

[VioletFlame]

YES.

[hugoalfven]

[Razard86]

The answer is yes. There is overwhelming evidence to this, all it did was increase celebrity culture. Celebrity Culture= Celebration of Individuals as better than others. 

Narcissism is the belief of superiority of the individual self as better than others. Its a belief of hierarchy as being equivalent to value and self-worth.

[jake473]

It's not actually possible to increase the total narcissism in society. All that's possible is to raise the collective consciousness or leave it to others. Social media has helped raise consciousness enormously. So, no - just because you see more of something doesn't mean anything has been added. 

On 5/14/2022 at 4:03 AM, hugoalfven said:

Wish I could go back to the 1990s, the mentality among people was very different then. This social media culture me, me, me generation is like waking up to a nightmare every day.

You can only have this thought because your consciousness has been raised by contrast and conflict. If you were in the 90s and the last 20 years hadn't happened, you'd be utterly incapable of understanding the person you are now if you met them. The you that you're grateful to be is a product of the higher consciousness of these times.

Gen Z will have the highest consciousness until the next generation.

[hugoalfven]

@jake473

On 2022-09-11 at 7:08 PM, jake473 said:

It's not actually possible to increase the total narcissism in society. All that's possible is to raise the collective consciousness or leave it to others. Social media has helped raise consciousness enormously. So, no - just because you see more of something doesn't mean anything has been added. 

You can only have this thought because your consciousness has been raised by contrast and conflict. If you were in the 90s and the last 20 years hadn't happened, you'd be utterly incapable of understanding the person you are now if you met them. The you that you're grateful to be is a product of the higher consciousness of these times.

Gen Z will have the highest consciousness until the next generation.

Social media have created a narcissistic epidemic in society. Just look at these influencers that display a superficial narcissistic self centered lifestyle and behaviors that impact millions of the younger people today "monkey see monkey do" in that way narcissism have skyrocket in society. This was not actually possible in the 90s/early 2000s due to technological limitations of course there were assholes and shitty things happening in those days but I remember people were more genuine and humble than today  and nowadays most people have put on fake persona and copy what they see narcissistic people behaves on social media. 

Edited December 6, 2022 by hugoalfven

[lisindel]

There is some evidence that social media use may be associated with increased narcissism, but it is important to note that the relationship between social media use and narcissism is complex and may be influenced by a variety of factors.

People who score higher on measures of narcissism tend to have more social media friends and spend more time on social media platforms. However, it is not clear whether social media use causes people to become more narcissistic, or whether people who are already more narcissistic are simply more drawn to using social media.

Additionally, there are many other factors that can contribute to narcissism, including genetics, family environment, and life experiences. It is likely that the relationship between social media use and narcissism is influenced by these other factors as well.