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Guillermo Cabrera
Dr. Erin McLaughlin
Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric 13300
30 October 2016
Social Media and The Invitation For Narcissism
Social media has developed tremendously and in a rapid manner the past decade. At first
instance social media was created for the sole purpose of communicating around the globe in a
much easier way. Now we see that social media provides us with most of our needs and wants.
Facebook is the most popular social media nowadays with more than 1.79 billion users (Truss 1).
Currently it is used for diverse motives that go way beyond the simple mean of communicating.
Facebook has a variety of options which a user can choose from when navigating through the
site. Chatting with someone else is probably one of the 1000 things one could possibly do or use
Facebook for. For example one can set up an event invitation to certain people as part of a
promotion of an event or just an invitation to someones house; one can create interest groups
between mutual friends or non mutual friends; and there is even an option to create and promote
a professional website for a certain athlete, brand or basically anything one can think of. At the
same time human or users behavior can be reflected by one's use of Facebook. Through user's
activity in Facebook, one can transmit ideas, thoughts or opinions to other people that are one's
friend in Facebook. Facebooks peak of users range the ages 18-29 (teens and young adults) were
around 82% of the American population between those ages use Facebook more than any other
ranges of age (Truss 2).

Narcissism, Social Relationships, Facebook & Potential Happiness

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One behavior that the teen and young adult society is really familiarized with is the
narcissistic behavior. Who is not tired of seeing people posting pictures of itself just for the sole
purpose of showing off? Narcissism is defined psychologically as, extreme selfishness, with a
grandiose view of one's own talents and a craving for admiration, as characterizing a personality
type (Bushman Par. 1). Facebook has become a great gateway for narcissists and people trying
to show off their body or some type of accomplishment not just for themselves but so they can be
the center of discussion in the web. Facebook, to a great extent, invites a narcissistic behavior
through its variety of self-promoting options it offers a user that range between posting posts,
commenting, liking websites and especially posting pictures. There is clear evidence to show
that, and I will provide a deep analysis on the relationship between narcissism and Facebook in
our young adult society.
Key to how social medias like Facebook can boost one's narcissistic behavior is the idea
behind how narcissism works. In that sense professors Buffardi and Campbell state, Central to
most theoretical models of narcissism in social-personality psychology is the use of social
relationships in part to regulate self-esteem, self-concept positivity, or narcissistic esteem (3).
Social relationships are the key aspect that developed the idea of narcissism. Ones excessive
interest in themselves and appearance would not work if there were no one to whom devote this
self-promotion. So one could state that narcissism goes in hand in some way with the act of
creating relationships but in the short term were maintaining those relationships is not really a
goal for them. That is, narcissists are good at initiating relationships and using these relationships
to look popular in the short term, which I will discuss further on. Narcissists look to increase this
narcissistic esteem via social relationships due to the ease they have to being dispositional
impulsive (Buffardi & Campbell 3). Dispositional impulsive in the sense that a narcissistic

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person will always seek for new relationships were he or she can have the ability or opportunity
for self-enhancement or self-promotion. The act of bragging off or showing off is directly
connected to a narcissistic behavior where one will only participate in this activity if there is a
chance for them to being praised in any way (words, moves, faces, rewards) (Buffardi &
Campbell 3). Given that narcissism is associated with personal and social interaction, Facebook
serves as the perfect means to engage in constant interactions especially because of the fact that
one does not have to be with another person to be able to know practically everything about that
other individual. In fact the various attributes that Facebook promotes are ideal for achieving
these narcissistic goals as one has the ability to choose what he or she wants to show the public
(Panel, Nardis & Konrath 3). On the other hand too, the result of increased Facebook use,
particularly interactions with photos and Facebook messaging, increases individuals likelihood
of engaging in social comparisons (including negative upward comparisons) and developing
negative self-construals. These tendencies often serve to decrease a users overall satisfaction
with his or her life, which is a point to take in consideration when thinking about narcissism and
an overall increase in Facebook usage in relation with happiness (Vigil and Wu 10).
While Facebook serves as the perfect gateway for narcissist, it also evokes a narcissistic
behavior by everyone. That said any times people unconsciously fall under the huge variety of
features Facebook has to offer, and as everyone does it is can be really easily to self-engage in a
narcissist behavior without noticing it. That is also why Facebook reaches high numbers of
narcissism behavior by its users that many times engage in narcissist behavior without having
knowledge of that. It is an important factor to take in consideration as well since the reasons
talked about in the following paragraphs are reflected in known narcissists, but also in people
that do not have any interest in involving in narcissistic behavior, but that Facebook in some way

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drags them into this behavior so much seen in the many users that take part of Facebook in daily
basis.
Facebook has become the greatest social network in all history. Its monthly users already
round the 1.79 billion. Its popularity has increased tremendously over the past 10 years and
continues to do so. At the same time Facebook is updating and introducing new features all the
time. The features introduced have the ability to mirror behaviors, in which the main one is
narcissism. Ryan Tracci and Sophia Xenos, professors in RMIT University in Melbourne,
Australia have stated that, this trend is attributable to the fact that Facebook encourages users to
engage in self-promoting and superficial behaviors, such as posting photos and writing status
updates (2). We as daily users encounter tons of images and posts in our daily basis and perhaps
many of us actually are the ones posting things. Facebook's daily use is different for each person,
and one's Facebook activity also varies from user to user. Buffardi and Campbell, both professors
at the University of Georgia, found in their research that, narcissistic personalities had higher
levels of social activity in the online community and more self-promoting content. Strangers who
viewed the Web pages of these users judged the page owners to be more narcissistic (1). These
self-promoting features available in Facebook are more commonly perceived in users with a high
level of Facebook activity because of the simple fact that they are one, more exposed to these
types of features and behaviors from other users that can in an indirect way lead them to
pursuing same activities; and two that a high level of Facebook activity in some way will always
derive in a better use of the website and thus an increase on self-promotion through not one but
diverse features available. Users have better control over self-presentations and the high use of
Facebook will help them build strategic behaviors to carefully promote their self-image in the
best way (Panel, Nardis & Konrath 2). Additionally, the fact that the interface privileges

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notifications, a user is always notified when somebody likes or comments something one has
posted making it more important for one who seeks self-promotion, to have total control on
everything Facebook has to offer.

Reasons To Believe So
Facebook allows for the editing and creation of one's own image. That means that one
can edit and show or hide things from the public based on decisions each one makes on what to
share. The ability to edit photos and images also is available through Facebook that means that
many times what we see on the web is nothing similar to what we can observe in the real world.
One can edit its image to make one seem more attractive and good-looking. Due to the fact that
there is a positive correlation between narcissism and the amounts of Facebook use, narcissists
tend to have a better understanding of the features Facebook provides all users (Ryan & Xenos
8). With that said, as they have almost total control over self-presentations and the ability to
show and hide what they desire with extreme ease, Facebook presents to them the perfect venue
for a deployment of a strategically behavior and activity that allows narcissists to construct and
carefully maintain a well-seen self-image (Panel, Nardis & Konrath 2). Narcissists worry so
much about their self-image that Facebook works as not only a site where it can promote their
self-image, but a site that can help them manage their self-image which in the long run builds
confidence within narcissists users (Buffardi & Campbell 4). The ability to be able to hide or
show to the public what one desires makes narcissists more engaged in the site whereas one will
work day and night to promote one's self image that even though may not reflect the real life, it
can provide admiration or praise from the public that at the end is all of what narcissists are
looking for from as many people as they can.

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The ability to reach many people at the same time and the ability to have many people
see ones posts, pictures or digital activity is profoundly encouraged in an indirect way by
Facebook. Narcissistic behavior is associated negatively with seeking out or creating long-term
relationships that have qualities of closeness, empathy, or emotional warmth (Buffardi &
Campbell 3). Narcissists prefer short-term relationships to long-term relationships just because of
the simple fact that they prefer quantity to quality. Short-term relationships often mean that they
can form more relationships compared to strong relationships but at the end that is what they
want. Since narcissism is associated with using relationships as an opportunity or forum for selfenhancement, the more relationships one can get to form, the more opportunities one has to selfpromote itself, at least that is narcissists mentality (Buffardi & Campbell 3). Facebook
consequently is the perfect medium for creating short-term relationships and even forming
relationships from nowhere. With a simple click on ones profile and on the button add friend
one instantaneously is able to have the chance to grow their friends spectrum. What that allows is
the creation of superficial friendships. Narcissists tend to have the habit of wanting to grow
their friend spectrum and have good abilities when engaging in new relationships as already
mentioned, and Facebook allows that in a very easy way were we can get to see individuals with
thousands of friends that they many times barely know (Buffardi & Campbell 4). Moreover what
is most interesting and desirable for narcissists about Facebook is the fact that they do not
necessarily have to connect with another person directly to be able to promote their self-image
(Panel, Nardis & Konrath 2). Just by posting a picture for example, all of one's friends have the
ability to see that post in Facebook homes link. That is why narcissists value so much quantity
over quality, the more friends one has in Facebook, the greater the quantity of people who will be
able to see one's picture or post. No direct communication is needed between people for one to

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be able to engage in a self-enhancement or self-promoting behavior and that is why Facebook
serves as the perfect gateway for narcissists to reach high numbers of people.
Facebook achieves a greater result for narcissists compared to direct communication
when desiring gratitude, admiration or praise. Social media in general does not only allow one to
communicate with practically every person in the planet, but it also allows one to be
communicated and available all throughout the whole day if one desires. With the development
of technology and the accessibility of Facebook in practically all smartphones and cellphones,
being engaged in social activity is possible whenever one desires. With that said, narcissists need
not wait until others are available to engage in self-aggrandizement, but can instead curate,
manage, and promote an online self throughout the day (Panel, Nardis & Konrath 2). With a
simple click on the share or post button one can easily share anything they want with the
certainty that their Facebook users will be able to see their post or picture if not immediately, in
some time of the day when they connect to the web. Facebook, as mentioned, can be an ideal
tool for self-promotion as users can frequently post status updates, comments or photos of
themselves and reasonably expect timely and frequent positive feedback (Panel, Nardis &
Konrath 2). One can expect likes, comments or even shares within minutes after posting
something. In fact Facebook has developed a new feature this year that allows users to not only
like pictures, but to have the ability to select an emoji, a small digital image or icon used to
express an idea or emotion, that corresponds to what one thinks or feels about a specific photo,
post or basically whatever. The new emojis include, love wow face, sad face, angry
face, crying face and even an emoji with a laughing face. What better feature than that for
narcissists that not only now have the ability to receive instant gratification through likes, but

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also through these variety of new emotion emojis that will have a greater effect of narcissist's
goal of seeking self-enhancement due to its specificity.
Although the reasons I have explained show how Facebook directly invites narcissism,
some people may argue that all reasons are not necessarily valid and accurate. That is because
one can easily modify and decide what one wants to see. That means that if one does not want to
see posts or pictures from a specific person or friend, one can manage their website so no posts
are shown. That works against narcissists since people that think of one as a narcissist, have the
opportunity to eliminate posts or block posts of someone who they believe is narcissist. As
psychologist Catalina Toma describes from a study she conducted, The more narcissistic the
posters, the less social attention they received from Facebook. Facebook friends recognized these
individuals and distanced themselves from them by ignoring them or eliminating them (Toma,
par. 5). With that said, the act of portraying a narcissistic behavior in the web can also play
against narcissists sole purpose.
Even though some people may argue that the ability to manage what one can see in the
web can work against narcissists, the counter argument has an important limitation. As narcissists
tend to have a greater understanding of how Facebook works (due to their high frequency of
Facebook usage), they know how to strategically target their Facebook friends in a way that can
yield a positive result in terms of admiration or praise (Buffardi & Campbell 10). This strategy
goes beyond simply choosing whom they want to be friends with and who not. In terms of this
topic, Catalina Toma argues that, research to date has focused on narcissists' interactions with
strangers. As discussed, in these zero-acquaintance contexts, narcissists fare quite well,
exhibiting a great deal of charm. Research on narcissists' long-term interactions is scarcer. Our
study shows that, over time, narcissists' charm wears thin and the undesirable aspects of their

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character become apparent to friends, who choose to keep their distance. (par. 7) What that
means in one hand is that yes narcissists have trouble creating strong relationships, but it also
means that narcissists and their strategic behavior in the web relies specifically and
fundamentally on knowing who to target and when to target. One would for instance publish
posts and pictures to their new Facebook friends, but would not repeat that same action over and
over again to the same public because of fear to being alienated. Moreover narcissists tend to
stick with other narcissists since their personalities dont crash and none of them tend to threaten
each others ego (Gregoire, par. 10). So narcissists friends would probably not consider one as a
narcissist and would tend to not be alarmed by one's behavior. With that said At the end
narcissists are most of the time able to successfully fulfill their goals of self-promotion and selfenhancement since who else than them to know how Facebook works and all the features it
provides users with.
Facebook has become the most dominant social media in our current world. The numbers
that back up that claim are huge, millions of users are introducing themselves to the Facebook
world each year. Facebook however, invites a narcissistic behavior to its users as discussed due
to the tons of features it provides. What we need to be aware of, if is the prevalence of
narcissistic individuals on Facebook may lead to a rise in narcissistic behavior among users in
general, and if such behavior may begin to be viewed as acceptable (Ryan & Xenos 2). If that is
the case then Facebook would need to carefully edit and manage in a proper way the extent to
which each of its features affect in a positive way our society. Like Facebook, other social media
like Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram have similar approaches to self-promotion. Snapchat for
example allows people to be sketchy with the videos and images one sends since is will only be
viewed once. Instagram on the other hand offers wide options to edit images and then post them

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to the web, which is a basic tool, used for self-promotion and self-enhancement. It is possible
that Facebook was the main carrier of this approach that is seen in other social media as well.
Higher usage of Facebook has been found to affect negatively ones overall satisfaction. Each
person has to be aware of how narcissism develops through Facebook usage, since as Aaron
Stern states; narcissism can get to destroy human relationships and love, while these two aspects
are fundamental for our societies happiness (4). I am not in the ability to state if Facebook is
good or bad in our society so further research can be done to investigate the extent to which
Facebook acts as a positive media and is beneficial for our population.

Works Cited

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Buffardi, Laura E., and Keith Campbell. Narcissism and Social Networking Web Sites.
Narcissism and Social Networking Web Sites, 1 Oct. 2008,
psp.sagepub.com/content/34/10/1303.abstract.
Gregoire, Carolyn. This Is The Only Personality Type That Enjoys Being With Narcissists.
The Huffington Post, 14 Mar. 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dealing-with-anarcissist_us_56e6b177e4b065e2e3d66456.
Panek, Elliot T., Yioryos Nardis, and Sara Konrath. "Mirror or Megaphone?: How Relationships
between Narcissism and Social Networking Site Use Differ on Facebook and Twitter."
Science Direct. N.p., 4 May 2013. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.
Schaefer, Mark. "The six elements of human behavior that drive social media." Businesses Grow.
Schaefer Marketing Solutions, 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2012.
Stern, Aaron. The Narcissistic American. New York, NY, Ballantine Books, 1979.
Toma, Catalina. Is Facebook Really a Playground for Narcissists? Psychology Today, 29 Mar.
2015, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/virtual-you/201503/is-facebook-reallyplayground-narcissists.
Tracci, Ryan, and Sophia Xenos. Who Uses Facebook? An Investigation into the Relationship
between the Big Five, Shyness, Narcissism, Loneliness, and Facebook Usage. Science
Direct, 8 Mar. 2011
Truss, Mark. Facebook Users Worldwide 2016 . Statista,
www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-usersworldwide/.

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Vigil, Tammy R., and H. Denis Wu. "Facebook users' engagement and perceived life
satisfaction." Media and Communication 3.1 (2015): 5+. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
Williams, Ray. Do Facebook and Other Social Media Encourage Narcissism? Psychology
Today, Psychology Today, 13 June 2013, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wiredsuccess/201306/do-facebook-and-other-social-media-encourage-narcissism.