Narcissists and Facebook

Older narcissists gravitate toward Facebook. “It’s about curating your own image, how you are seen, and also checking on how others respond to this image. Middle-aged adults usually have already formed their social selves, and they use social media to gain approval from those who are already in their social circles,” said co-lead researcher Elliot Panek.

University of Georgia study: “Narcissists are using Facebook the same way they use their other relationships — for self-promotion with an emphasis on quantity over quality.” (September, 2008)

York University study: “Individuals higher in narcissism and lower in self-esteem spent more time on the site and filled their pages with more self-promotional content.” Psychology student and researcher Soraya Mehdizadeh said, “They’re updating their status every five minutes and the photos they post are very carefully construed… The question is, are these really accurate representations of the individual or are they merely a projection of who the individual wants to be?” (September, 2010)

Western Illinois University study: “Grandiose exhibitionism correlated with self-promotion and entitlement/exploitativeness correlated with anti-social behaviors on Facebook.” Researchers found those who scored higher on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory changed their profile photo and posted status updates more often. They also displayed “several anti-social behaviors, including seeking social support more than providing it, getting angry when others do not comment on status updates and retaliating against negative comments.” (March, 2012)

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/06/17/social-media-narcissism-twitter-facebook-studies

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