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The relationship between social media use and narcissism

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The relationship between social media use and narcissism has been a subject of research, since the first social media sites emerged. Research has shown that social media use can cause narcissism on the one hand, and narcissism on the other hand, and it can increase social media use with a potentially mutual effect between the two of them. Currently, the narcissistic culture is reproduced and narcissism is encouraged in social media. It has been observed that social media sites are an ideal environment to meet narcissistic needs, and narcissistic behaviors are rewarded. In addition, the narcissistic attitudes and behaviors in real life are also reflected in the behaviors on social media and their narcissistic levels increase further.
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doi: 10.5606/dsufnjt.2020.014
Demiroglu Science University Florence Nightingale Journal of Transplantation 2020;5(1-2):32-38
The relationship between social media use and narcissism
Mihriban Akkoz1, Oytun Erbaş1,2
1Institute of Experimental Medicine, Gebze-Kocaeli, Turkey
2Department of Physiology, Medical Faculty of Demiroğlu Bilim University, Istanbul, Turkey
Correspondence: Mihriban Akkoz . Deneysel Tıp Enstitüsü, 41470 Gebze-Koca eli, Türkiye.
e-mail: mihribanakkoz@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The relationship between social media use and narcissism has been a subject of research, since the first social media sites emerged. Research has
shown that social media use can cause narcissism on the one hand, and narcissism on the other hand, and it can increase social media use with a
potentially mutual effec t between the two of them. Currently, the narcissistic culture is reproduced and narcissism is encouraged in social media. It
has been observed that social media sites are an ideal environment to meet narcissistic needs, and narcissistic behaviors are rewarded. In addition,
the narcissistic attitudes and behaviors in real life are also reflected in the behaviors on social media and their narcissistic levels increase further.
Keywords: Addictio n, behavior, narcissism, so cial media use.
NARCISSISM
The origin of the term narcissism is evolved
from the story of Narcissus in Greek mythology.
The most known and detailed version of the
story, which has various versions, was written
by Ovid, the Roman poet. Young and handsome
Narcissus arrogantly rejected many admirers of
him. Goddess Nemesis (the goddess of retribution
and revenge), responds to the prayer of one of
his lovers that Narcissus humiliated and rejected,
punishes Narcissus with unrequited love. Narcissus
sees his reflection in the pond that he went
to drink water, falls in love with the image he
sees. He cannot take his eyes off from his own
reflection even for a moment and remains without
eating and drinking, and he dies on the shore of
the lake due to his passion for himself.[1]
In the psychology literature, the term narcissism
was first referred in relation to the mythological
story mentioned in 1898 by the English sexologist
Havelock Ellis who used the term "Narcissus-like"
for autoerotic (sexual pleasure from his own body)
behavior, which he believed to be observed mostly
in women, and defined this term as "the tendency
to absorb sexual feelings in self-adoration and
often disappear completely".[2]
Narcissism was a concept that has been
researched in many subfields of psychology
and studied in various dimensions. Until now,
narcissism has been divided into subtypes as
primary, secondary, grandiose, and vulnerable.
Sigmund Freud discusses narcissism under
two types and defines primary narcissism as a
normal maturation phase of healthy psychosexual
development (oral, anal, phallic, latent, genital)
in his article "On Narcissism: An Introduction"
published in 1914. This stage is a stage in which
the child is completely egocentric, insensitive to
the feelings and thoughts of others, and directs
his libidinal (life) energy to himself or herself.
Secondary narcissism was explained as the libidinal
energy being withdrawn from external objects and
directed toward the ego due to the deviations
experienced in this process, while the child is
expected to separate the libidinal energy from
himself or herself and direct it to other objects.[3]
Grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism
Cite this article as:
Akkoz M, Erbaş O. The relationship between s ocial media us e and narcissism. D J Tx Sci 2020;5(1-2):32-38.
33
The relationship between social media use and narcissism
have opposite characteristics in many respects.
Grandiose narcissists are defined as individuals
who are extroverted, egocentric, arrogant, desire
to attract attention, insensitive to the needs of
others, exaggerated self-esteem and low anxiety
levels. Vulnerable narcissists, on the other hand,
are defined as individuals who are introverted,
sensitive, have a high level of anxiety, sensitive to
criticism, and extremely modest.[4-6]
The concept of narcissism, with different
classifications in the literature, is mainly studied
from two perspectives. These are the distinctions
between normal narcissism and pathological
narcissism. Every individual has needs to be liked,
approved, cared for, appreciated, and loved.
These narcissistic personality traits-like needs are
present in every individual somewhat. Normal
narcissism is having sufficient amounts of these
features and having positive effects on the mental
health of the individual. The inflated perspective
that the individual is special and superior from
others is pathological. Pathological narcissism is
defined as extreme self-admiration, the need to
be approved and appreciated constantly, apathy
to others, and lack of empathy.[7-9] The diagnostic
criteria for narcissistic personality disorder to
differentiate normal narcissism from pathological
narcissism are defined in the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
Egotism, disregard for others, egocentrism, and
low empathy are traits associated with all subtypes
of narcissism.[10]
Recently, the neural basis of narcissism has
also been the subject of studies. In a study, the
focus was the neurological process of motor
resonance, the activation of corresponding motor
representations in the brain during the observation
of both performance and actions. The same
neural motor zones are activated, when someone
exhibits and observes the same behavior. This
tendency can be demonstrated behaviorally in
the automatic mimicry task where a series of
cues point participants to raise their index finger
or middle finger. However, each index is placed
over the video of a hand raising the index
finger or middle finger. Thus, in a particular
experiment, when participants observe one hand
while raising the middle finger, they can see 1,
which is the numerical sign that indicates raising
the index finger (Figure 1). Typically, following
an incompatible action hinders the ability to
perform the flagged response. As a result of this
study, narcissists were relatively unaffected by
social stimuli and exhibited a significantly low
interference effect. In other words, narcissists
resonate less with the actions of others. These
findings indicate a neural mechanism which can
support and even contribute to the general lack
of empathy of narcissists and their ability to
understand others.[11]
Index
Index
Observed movement
Cued response
Middle
Middle
Figure 1. Experimental conditions.[11]
D J Tx Sci
34
In a neuroimaging experiment conducted
on the example of non-clinical narcissists, the
patients were divided into high-narcissism and
low-narcissism subgroups and given the task of
empathizing with pictures of emotional faces.
At the end of the study, the patients in the high-
narcissism group showed significantly reduced
deactivation during empathy, particularly in the
right anterior insula (RAI) (Figure 2). The RAI
is an important brain structure in experiencing
and predicting emotions,[12 -16] plays a role in self-
representation,[1 7,18 ] and is typically associated
with empathy with others.[19]
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social network sites are virtual communities
where users can create individual public profiles,
interact with their real-life friends and meet other
individuals based on their common interests.
Social media use has become an increasingly
popular leisure activity in many countries around
the world in the last few years.[20] Currently,
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and
WhatsApp are the most used social media
applications. In the Digital in 2020 report
prepared by We Are Social and Hootsuite, it is
stated that more than 4.5 billion individuals use
the internet worldwide and 3.8 billion of them
are active social media users. This number has
increased by 9.2% compared to the previous
yea r.[21]
Individuals use social media for two main
reasons: (i) connecting with others and
(ii) managing the impression they make on
others.[22] Social media takes advantage of
pre-existing social impulses.[23] individuals
are directed to connect with others, manage
their reputations, and gain significant adaptive
advantages of doing so.[24] Finding ways to fulfill
our need to belong to a social group can be just
as important as fulfilling our basic biological
needs, such as food and sexual intercourse,
that are essential for our survival.[25] Strong
social connections increase psychological well-
being and protect individuals from feelings
of loneliness and depression.[26] Social media
provides a platform for individuals to satisfy this
basic social drive (Figure 3).[24]
Social media offers a platform where modern
individuals can meet their basic social needs
with five basic behaviors. These behaviors are
mainly based on three areas: social cognition
(e.g. mentalizing), self-referential cognition, and
social reward process.[24] The nervous systems
underlying these cognitive processes are shown
(Figure 4).
SOCIAL MEDIA AND NARCISSISM
Social media is a basic environment for
narcissism, and the growth of social media has
been potentially associated with the cultural
growth of narcissism. In literature, social media
Figure 2. Significant changes in signals of empathy and non-empathy between high- and low-narcissism
subjects.[12]
35
The relationship between social media use and narcissism
is associated with narcissism, but it is not known
in which direction the causal arrows are. On the
one hand, narcissism can cause social media
use, and thus narcissism can increase social
media usage; On the other hand, social media
use can cause narcissism, and increased use of
social media can increase narcissism or have a
reciprocal, two-way effect (Figure 5). In addition,
as a third factor, cultural individualism can cause
both.[27 ] Lowen[28] outlines that narcissism defines
both a psychological and a cultural situation.
Thus, Twenge and Campbell[29] attribute the rise
of narcissism to the focus on self-admiration that
dominates culture. In addition, they state that the
narcissistic culture is reproduced on social media
and narcissism is encouraged through social
sharing platforms.
The most important opportunities provided
by social media to its users can be counted as
presenting oneself, buildi ng and maintaining one's
own ideal identities, and voluntary disclosure of
private information.[3 0,31] Social media platforms
Figure 4. Brain networks allegedly involved in the use of social media. Extensive brain imaging research into social
cognition, conducted with offline paradigms, has revealed several major brain networks that could be involved in social
media use. (i) The mentalizing network (brain regions in blue): dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), temporoparietal
junction (TPJ), anterior temporal lobe (ATL), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus (PCC);
(ii) the self-referential cognition network (brain regions in red): medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and PCC; and (iii) the
reward network (brain regions in green): ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), ventral striatum (VS), and ventral
tegmental area (VTA).[24]
Figure 3. Five Key Social Media Behaviors. Social media users can: (1) broadcast information;
(2) receive feedback on this information; (3) observe the broadcasts of others; (4) provide
feedback on the broadcasts of others; and (5) compared themselves with others.[24]
D J Tx Sci
36
Figure 5. Reasonable causal pathways linking narcissism
and social media. Way A is narcissism that affects
social media. Way B represents social media influencing
narcissism. Together, pathways A and B represent a
two-way effect.[27]
Path B
Path A
Narcissism Social media
are a unique and ideal environment for meeting
narcissistic demands and studies indicate that
narcissistic individuals use social media sites
compulsively.[32] Individuals have had the
opportunity to express themselves through
social media, to announce their achievements
to wide populations and to be recognized by
other individuals.[33] In addition, social media
rewards narcissistic needs, such as getting too
much appreciation and having great number
of friends.[29] Excessive photo sharing, frequent
situation updates, and the number of friends are
related to narcissistic tendencies.[34] Individuals
with high scores on the narcissism scale share
more photos on social media platforms.[35]
In addition, individuals with high narcissistic
tendencies tend to remove posts that do not
reach the desired number of likes.[36] Narcissistic
individuals focus on short-term relationships to
achieve more popular, successful and higher
status rather than interpersonal intimacy,
intimate, and longer-term relationships.[30] In
this regard, social media allows individuals to
establish a large number of, but superficial
relationships. Therefore, it is reasonable for
narcissists to have more friends on social
media.[37]
Studies reveal that narcissistic behaviors
increase the use of social media. Indeed, it
has been observed that individuals exhibiting
narcissistic behaviors control their Facebook
accounts frequently and spend more time
compared to non-narcissistic ones.[38] Those with
narcissistic attitudes and behaviors in real life
are reflected in their behaviors on social media,
tend to use Facebook more frequently, frequently
update their status to show themselves more, and
their narcissistic levels increase even more with
their posts being appreciated.[38,39] In a study with
a total of 945 participants as 790 Facebook users
and 155 non-Facebook users, various personality
traits and differences in mental health among
these groups were examined. The results showed
that Facebook users score higher on narcissism,
self-confidence, and extroversion than non-
Facebook users.[40]
Individuals use social media to
self-importance, to gather attention,
appreciation, and status. In a study, individuals
uploaded attractive photos and shared the
most interesting information about themselves
to achieve these achievements.[29] The relation
between the narcissism and selfie-taking
behavior is also intriguing. In a study conducted
to examine this relationship, the authors found
that those with high levels of narcissism paid
more attention to the comments and likes of
others on social media and followed others’
selfies more.[41] Another study showed that
sharing a selfie was associated with narcissism
only in male participants and not in female
participants.[42] In another study, the link
between the selfie-posting and three aspects of
narcissism (leadership/authority, magnificent
exhibitionism, authority/exploitation) was
investigated.[43] According to the results, a positive
significant relationship was found between the
frequency of sharing selfies and leadership/
authority and magnificent exhibitionism, as
well as authority/exploitation.[44,45]
In conclusion, as active social media users
increased, so did the interest in social media
websites and narcissim. Although most people use
social media to connect with others, research has
shown that social media use and narcissism are
related. I hope that the evidence of narcissism will
be investigated more in these rapidly developing
platforms.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author declared no conflicts of interest with
respect to the authorship and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the
research and/or authorship of this article.
37
The relationship between social media use and narcissism
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... Another study investigated the relationship between selfie posting and three aspects of narcissism (leadership / authority, magnificent exhibitionism, authority / exploitation). According to the obtained results, a positive significant relationship was found between the frequency of sharing selfies and leadership / authority, magnificent exhibitionism, as well as authority / exploitation [12]. ...
... U drugoj studiji istraživana je veza između objavljivanja selfija i tri aspekta narcisizma (vođstvo / autoritet, preterano eksponiranje, autoritet / izrabljivanje). Prema dobijenim rezultatima, utvrđena je pozitivna značajna veza između učestalosti deljenja selfija i vođstva / autoriteta, preteranog eksponiranja, kao i autoriteta / izrabljivanja [12]. The study aimed to determine how much narcissistic personality disorder influences the use of social media networks, as well as to identify the purposes (academic, socialization, entertainment, information, compulsive use) for which people with narcissistic personality disorder most often use social networks. ...
... U svom radu, pomenute autorke navode da su do sada objavljena brojna istraživanja upravo na ovu temu. Akoz i Erbaš u svom istraživanju navode da upotreba društvenih mreža može uzrokovati narcisoidni poremećaj ličnosti [12], baš kao i obrnuto -osobe sa narcisoidnim poremećajem ličnosti mogu koristiti društvene mreže u različite svrhe. Slično je zabeleženo i u našem istraživanju, gde se navodi kako postoji nekoliko različitih Tabela 2. Svrha upotrebe društvenih mreža Based on the results of the study, a very weak correlation between narcissism and the informative purpose of using social networks was established, more precisely, the correlation coefficient was r = 0.28, with p = 0.033. ...
Article
Introduction/Aim: Narcissistic personality disorder has become more and more noticeable in modern times. For an increasing number of people, their Ego has become a springboard in society or an obstacle to their progress. The question is whether and to what extent narcissistic personality disorder is related to the use of social media networks. For young and older people alike, social media networks have become a part of everyday life. Social media networks are used in an attempt to show a reflection of everyday life that often represents a non-existent illusion. Therefore, social media networks present a false image, a fake splendor, in an attempt to show what is not there, so as to impress other people and induce them to think that the author of the content is somehow better or more important, i.e., more successful than them. This study attempts to link narcissistic personality disorder and the use of social media networks, in order to determine whether these two variables are related. Materials and methods: The basic research methods applied in this study are the method of analysis and synthesis, the method of induction and deduction, and the statistical and comparative methods. A total of 58 university students participated in the data collection process. The Narcissistic Personality Inventory and the Statements of Social Networking Usage Questionnaire (i.e., an inventory of social media presence and its purpose - academic, socialization, entertainment, information, compulsive use) were used in the study. Questions of a general nature (for collecting socio-demographic data) were also included. The study was conducted in Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, from January to June 2024. Results: A very low degree of correlation was found between narcissism and the academic purpose of using social media networks (r = 0.20). A moderately strong correlation was found between narcissism and socialization as the purpose of using social media networks (r = 0.663). A very weak correlation was found between narcissism and the informative purpose of using social media networks, more precisely, the correlation coefficient was (r = 0.28). Finally, a high level of correlation was found between narcissism and entertainment as the purpose of using social media networks - the degree of correlation between these two variables was r = 0.88. Conclusion: The research results indicate the existence of a significant relationship between narcissistic personality disorder and presence on social media networks.
... Self-centred individuals find social media as an ideal environment in which to feed their self-centrism bias and exaggerated sense of self-importance (Akkoz & Erbaş, 2020;Casale & Banchi, 2020). The proposed link between self-centeredness and social media use stems from the pleasure gained from receiving likes, comments, and retweets from social media posts. ...
... James et al. (2017) state that confusion still exists on whether ego-centrism-related variables drive social media use or vice versa. Akkoz and Erbaş (2020) further acknowledge that the direction of the causal flow between these variables and social media use has yet to be clearly determined. The present research addresses this gap in the literature, assessing the direction of causal flow between self-centeredness and SMU. ...
... Casale and Banchi (2020) reviewed the social media use literature related to egocentrism and found that 19 of the 21 studies reviewed were correlational. Akkoz and Erbaş (2020) conclude that the relationship between ego-centrism-related variables and social media use may be a two-way effect: Selfcenteredness may cause social media use, and it can also be argued that social media use may cause self-centeredness. James et al. (2017) concur, arguing that this field of research must move beyond correlational studies and incorporate experimental and other designs when studying the relationship between egocentrism-related variables and social media use. ...
Article
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La présente étude examine la relation entre l’égocentrisme et l’utilisation des médias sociaux et suggère que la peur de passer à côté de quelque chose (FOMO) est un mécanisme clé qui sous-tend cette relation. Trois études ont été menées pour tester ces relations, notamment une enquête (étude 1, n = 199 adultes américains) et deux expériences, dont une où l’égocentrisme est manipulé (étude 2, n = 241 adultes américains) et une autre où la peur de passer à coté de quelque chose est amorcée (étude 3, n = 102 adultes américains). Il semble que les individus égocentriques utilisent les médias sociaux davantage pour apaiser leur peur de passer à côté de quelque chose que pour renforcer leur vision égocentrique du monde. Les résultats de l’étude fournissent des preuves cohérentes qui pourraient réfuter les théories et les processus explicatifs antérieurs. Contrairement à la théorie de l’autoconstruction, qui suggère que les individus ayant une autoconstruction indépendante (plus égocentriques) seraient moins susceptibles d’être victimes de la peur de passer à côté de quelque chose, les présents résultats suggèrent le contraire. D’autres contributions à l’étude comprennent l’utilisation de deux modèles expérimentaux pour évaluer la direction du flux causal entre l’égocentrisme, la peur de passer à côté de quelque chose et l’utilisation des médias sociaux.
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