In an article from USA Today, college students were asked whether they thought that social media sites like Facebook and MySpace made them more narcissistic. A lot of them actually said yes, that it did.
I can see why many of them would say that. I have a MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and a blog so I’ve seen my share of obnoxious and irritating people on the internet. Does that mean that social media sites made them into shameless attention seekers? No. It just gave them more outlets in which to get attention.
There are two ways that narcissism is applied in a college student. One way is horribly annoying and will ultimately lead to a life of regrets and the other is a fast track to success. It’s all in the way of information and your image. Personality is the biggest part of it.
I honestly think that social media did not breed narcissism in this generation. It just enhanced it. The job market nowadays relies on technology so much that most if not all jobs need an online application to be filled out. Think about it. Resumes are the best way of self-promoting. You have to sell yourself on the resumes in order to stand out from the large pile of resumes that employers receive. Things like Facebook and especially LinkedIn are a way of networking and getting your foot in the door. Nowadays, it’s not what you know but who you know that gets you the job. It’s sad but true.
The annoying narcissism is rampant throughout the internet. If it isn’t girls and boys posting pictures that should never be shared to large groups on their Facebook page and other sites, then it’s abusive and derogatory comments on a forum or YouTube. People like that are attention seekers who want to stir comments and have the spotlight on them at all times. It doesn’t matter what kind of attention they’re getting. It’s attention. The problem with this form of narcissism is the fact that it’s habitual and part of their nature. They will continue this behavior even as they get older. It causes problems when they act stupid and then pay for the consequences.
One example is when Facebook users post pictures of themselves drinking and they are not 21. They act surprised when they busted but really, was it so surprising? Most employers do a search of the internet of potential employees. It could be as simple as googling their names but it works. Most of the time if that happens LinkedIn is the first result given but if you don’t have an account then Facebook is the next result. Even with privacy settings, people especially employers can see your profile picture. Before you post that picture of you living it up, drinking and smoking, think about who is likely to see it.