Narcissistic Personality Disorder - Research Paper Example

Social Media encourage Narcissism, leading society to a world with no personal interaction Introduction Narcissistic personality disorder, commonly referred to as NPD is a complex situation where a person bears intense and unstable emotions. The victim is highly preoccupied with power, prestige, vanity, and has no empathy. Narcissistic personality disorder is associated with what is known as egocentrism. Victims of such circumstances concentrate too much on their opinions and interests. Furthermore, people with NPD have no empathy; they do not appreciate feelings experienced by people around them. People in such a state see themselves as superior to the rest. However, there are several states upon which the social media shall be integrated into the encouragement of Narcissism; hence, lead to a world with no personal interactions. Social media networks are the most to blame for the narcissism that is being witnessed among people based on their endless encouragement of the self-reliance on user-generated content; hence, the promotion of selfish tendencies. Narcissistic personality disorder Narcissistic personality disorder has led to scholars such as Twenge, and Campbell do research on the causes of this situation. According to the two, Narcissism is brought about by four main methods; Media obsession with the celebrities, changes in education, child-rearing and last but not least lending of funds by the financial institutions. Twenge and Campbell have quite a large amount of data that show how narcissism has greatly influenced the younger generation in the wrong direction. Among the evidence collected by about fifty thousand college students in 2006, approximately ten percent of the Americans met narcissism personality disorder in their early 20s and about 15% in the same cohort had extreme narcissistic behaviors. May this was the reason why DSM-V proposed that personality disorder was normal (p. 274). In this regard, social media is the most platform to be largely blamed for the rise of narcissism in that through it, persons are only interested with self-consciousness and interactive life based on gratification of personal and not societal interests. Social media encourage narcissism through the destruction of the social networks initially encountered in homes. In recent past, few families spend time together talking since the larger portion of their time is overtaken by activities in the social media and technological advancements. This way, it can be argued that narcissistic personality disorder is a menace to the younger and older generations. About two-thirds of the college students are victims of the situation brought about by narcissism through social media bringing about a feeling of resentment and low self-esteem among the youths since, they tend to compare themselves with models presented in such social platforms. In 1950s, approximately 12% of the teenagers came up with a statement, “I am an important person.” In the 1980s, the proportion had risen up to 80%. The authors have been pinched with the situation, and this was the motive why they had to come up with the causes of the situation. They did the exemplary job of studying different familial and social facets of the epidemic. Among the core values of this book is the fact that the American culture only focuses on the attainment of self-admiration; thus, causing the departure from realism to grandiose fantasy. (Twenge and Campbell 4). The current social media usage has worsened narcissistic personality disorder and resulted in the declination of societal values among the youth and the adults. It is adequate to note that narcissism propelled by social media has resulted in the propelling of underlying negative feelings among the people. Nelson points out how the media encourage and overlooks this personality behavior through self-absorbed and individuals who seek attention. There is also a large a loss of direction, family warmth, child guidance, and parental love due to use of social media as most of the time, essential communications are delivered through the social media platforms (Higgs 125-132). Such individuals are fond of making themselves available on the media through various means. “The media seem to encourage narcissism as does the political system. How someone appears, is more important than the true ethics of kindness, co-operation, empathy and the greater good. The common, everyday narcissist is certainly enabled by mass media—to societys detriment. The use of internet has made the young ones emulate the celebrities.” (Nelson 51-56) Spending too much time on the internet listening to music, playing computer games and watching of the movies make the younger generation narcissistic. New technologies also play a very grant role in this situation. Among the technological advancement are Facebook, twitter, and Skype among other social networks have played a major part in making sure that narcissism continues to grow bigger and stronger. “In a reversal of the conventional pattern of learning, adults perforce must follow [the innovative youths], lest they are left behind like so many unevolved molluscs of a bygone era... Adults consolidate power, and the young follow the rules for a time, and then they don’t any more... it is only natural that the young are trailblazers, and especially so in moments of change” (Twenge and Campbell 102-106). Narcissistic personality disorder is greatly influenced by parents. The way the children are brought up matters a lot. According to the report, parents wanted their children to have unique names in the 2008. Such children are the breeds that are vulnerable to narcissism. According to Campbell, such names make the young ones behave and act like the celebrities who they were named after. According to Nelson, people admire and wish they were like the celebrities. She believes the media contribute much on these traits. “How many politicians, actors, actresses, wealthy people, ambitious people can answer yes to all or most of the above questions? The culmination validates the means in the thoughts of many. These traits are so common in our society that they have become normal.”(Nelson) She says that people watch and admire such personalities. Nelson gives an example of Snooki, who hosts the “Jersey shore Show,” and who recently told Barbara Walters that she thought she was fascinating. Such a statement above clearly brings out the thinking in the minds of the celebrities. Nelson also says that a politician who has had had quite a number of the extramarital affairs also thinks that he or she is way above any commoners. According to her, she opposes people from giving such a person a term in the office since they use their highly respected names in satisfying their personal needs that the need of other people. Narcissistic personality disorder is also brought about by changes in education. Twenge and Campbell say that school environment has a great impact on the behavior of a child or an individual. Since schools are open for any person who has the qualifications, there are people from all walks of life. There are celebrities and highly ranked people in the society. Their behaviors vary with those from a humble background. When the two mingle and become friends, they are likely to influence each other’s thinking and reasoning. The ones who see themselves being more fragile, more important and superior than the rest of the student are likely to influence the others. For instance, Campbell reports that his students “did not like the idea of being taught by someone who was smarter than they were” (p. 85) Narcissistic personality disorder can also be brought about by financial institutions. According to Twenge and Campbell, borrowing of money from such institutions gives people ego and pride. High self-esteem is brought about by the fact that an individual knows that they are rich, and money is not a problem to them. Money is brought out as a source of superiority, pride and acceptance. Recently, the role of financial institutions in lending people money so they can live far beyond their means as they pursue the dream of appearing wealthy (Twenge and Campbell 72-75). Both college students and children must be taken to learning institutions where there are value and less negative influence from the colleagues. Most of the college students have to be told all the effects of peer influence and the Importance of respecting others equally. Although financial position also counts a lot on the level of narcissism, this may be controlled too and prevented from being a stepping-stone encouraging such funny behaviors. No human is superior that the other. Each person is the same and narcissistic personality disorder is what one creates for themselves, their children, and the people around them. It never too late until it is too late. Narcissistic personality disorder has increased among college students. There is a high increase in narcissism among university students. According to Twenge et al., meta-analysis showed that, there was an increase in narcissism among college students. This was due to peer pressure influence among the students. Conclusion In conclusion, social media are found to have huge and dynamic effects on narcissism as evidenced by the numerous scenarios in which personal behaviors are changed because of the same. Narcissistic personality disorder is brought about by four major causes; Media obsession with the celebrities, changes in education, child rearing and the background. When one spends too much time watching movies, TV shows and listening to the celebrities, they are more likely to be influenced. Most of the celebrities like praising themselves thinking that they are more powerful, superior and influential than the rest of the people. While certain social media platforms and communication networks are beneficial to the society, largely, the usage of the social media has greatly contributed to the effect on people mental health. The technology in social media and its constant demands on human beings are largely responsible for the effects of narcissism and the undermining of people’s ability to attain a sense of self-worth. In essence, the worry of social media influencing narcissism is that people will often get involved in developing their personal image instead of interacting with other people, particularly, the family members. Instead, the generation of today, that has resulted from the use of social media is more interested in building personal realities at the expense of societal advancements (Narcissistic personality disorder, n.d.). Works Cited Crappell, Courtney. "Are Our Students Self-Absorbed Or Just Afraid?" Dealing With Narcissism (2013). Print. Retrieved from musicmattersblog.com/2013/06/ Higgs, Malcolm. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Leadership and Narcissism." Journal of Change Management (2009): n. pag. Print. Narcissistic personality disorder - National Library of Medicine - PubMed Health. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001930/ Narcissistic personality disorder: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000934.htm Nelson, Cheryl. "The Effect of the Media and the Political Process on the Acceptance of Narcissism in 2012." (2012). Print. Twenge, Jean M., and W. Keith Campbell. The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement. New York: Free, 2009. Print. Twenge, Jean M., Sara Konrath, Joshua D. Foster, W. Keith Campbell, and Brad J. Bushman. "Further Evidence of an Increase in Narcissism among College Students." Journal of Personality: 919-28. Print. Read More