Social Media: Isolation, Self-importance and Narcissism - Essay Example

Social Media: Isolation, Self-importance and Narcissism One of the best things that have happened to the human race is the development of the internet. It has enabled people to form what is known as a global village, whereby people from different geographical locations can socialize. The internet was predominantly developed as a medium for sharing information (Chamorro-Prezmuzic paragraph 3). It is worth to note that the embrace of the internet led to the emergence of the social media that includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Yik Yak. Instead of uniting people from all parts of the world (the primary goal of social media), there has been massive alienation of individuals from the community by these agents of technology. Each day, most users of social media develop a sense of self-importance and narcissism (Stein paragraph 2). There is an immense level of absolute selfishness being exhibited by consumers of social media. The following shows how Social Media alienates us from the society and is a brooding ground of self-importance and narcissism. Social media has also brought about narcissism. Without any surprise, narcissism level has been revealed to be rising in each new decade (Chamorro-Prezmuzic paragraph 5). The increase in real sense appears to pre-date the social media. Concurrently, a worrying reduction in altruism and the levels of empathy have been realized with the advent of Twitter and Facebook (Chamorro-Prezmuzic paragraph 5). It is clear that human beings are closer than before, but in real essence depict a lack of or little interest in the others. The only interest people portray to others today has a negative connotation and is often to find out what they think of others. The sad implication that emanates from this is that being closer to fellow human beings renders people anti-social. According to Sigmund Freud, this is called the Hedgehog Dilemma. That is to say, people are similar to hedgehogs during winter (Chamorro-Prezmuzic paragraph 5). They have the urge of getting closer to one another so as to cope with the extreme coldness. However, they are not capable of being very close without their spines hurting one another. It is noteworthy that a majority of consumers of social media are ideally not narcissistic. However, the social media is meant for narcissists (Chamorro-Prezmuzic paragraph 4). It is believed that the increased level of narcissism increases the level of use of social media. According to scientific studies, status updates, selfies, followers, and friends are directly related to narcissism and self-importance (Stein paragraph 6). That is to say, there is a tendency of accepting invites even from strangers provided that they are attractive. The primary justification for these relationships is that most narcissistic individuals tend always to use the social media as an avenue of depicting the desirable, albeit exaggerated and unrealistic images of themselves. Consequently, they accumulate what are virtual friends and then broadcast their life issues to an audience. For sure, it is not a crime to seek the opinion of others about us. Ideally, a healthy identity is believed to be anchored on focusing on what other people think of us (Chamorro-Prezmuzic paragraph 7). Besides, the desire to be appreciated is the epitome of psychological growth and civilization. When taken beyond thresholds, these desires evolve to a relentless search for status. Thus, other people are undermined (Stein paragraph 4). Besides, it impairs the ability to establish and maintain steady and happy relationships and careers. There is also a connection between social media and relationships at present. The Recent researches reveal that the social media and the modern technologies of communication have a significant effect on the face-to-face relationships (Chamorro-Prezmuzic 5). The social circles are also affected. An individual is more acquainted with his or her Facebook friends or Twitter followers, who are mostly unseen, than peers like classmates or workmates. The obsession with Smart-phones and the social media that is exhibited is alarming. It seems that people have sacrificed their open face-to-face conversations for just the mere connection (Carr paragraph 6). For example, in the United States, it is not strange to see a father and a daughter sitting without talking for a long time but both are smiling and are engrossed on their phones. The impact of social media on the social lives is powerful. Social media also affects the way of thinking. There is a negative cognitive effect of the use of social media that alienates human beings from the daily routine (Carr paragraph 3). Some users confirm that they no longer think the way they used to due to prolonged usage of social media and the internet. The concentration on reading a text becomes a problem to such individuals (Carr paragraph 3). People lose their ability to comprehend long articles. Stories from such people may not provide an accurate picture of the impact of social media and the internet on cognition. The implication could explain the alienation of people from the real society and migration to the imaginary global forum. Social media also has an effect on self-realization. The greatest problem with self-importance and narcissism is mounting enormous pressure on individuals to meet unfeasible objectives or goals (Stein paragraph 3). Most users of social media, especially the younger generation, appear to idolize celebrities in the global forum. They intend to be like them and achieve their accomplishments without working hard. The real implication is that they are lowering their aspirations. Ultimately, the online depiction of narcissism might be just above the self-presentational strategy that compensates a low, weak and fragile self-esteem. They orchestrate a distortion of reality, hence, consolidating narcissistic delusions. The social media must be used moderately to save the community and the society from ruins. Social media has created a moody society with little relations. Instead, people think more of themselves and their looks. Social media is best used when it is turned into more like a therapeutic tool that serves the public and the society. Work Cited Carr, Nicholas. Is Google making us stupid?. Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, 1 Jul. 2008. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. Chamorro-Prezmuzic, Tomas. Sharing the (self) love: the rise of the selfie and digital narcissism. The Guardian, 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. Stein, Joel. Millennials: The me me me generation. New York Times, 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. Read More