If you’re already a narcissist, social media might be making your condition worse. That’s what research published in The Open Psychology Journal found in a new study.
Scientists from Swansea University in the UK and Milan University in Italy studied the personalities and social media habits of 74 people between the ages of 18 and 34 for four months. Of those, they found that 60% usedFacebook, 25% used Instagram and 13 percent used both Snapchat and Twitter.
The individuals tallied up an average of three hours per day of social media use, not include anything work-related, but some people used social media as much as eight hours per day.
The participants who posted an “excessive” number of photos appeared to have a 25% increase in narcissistic traits over the four months, but those who posted words instead showed no increase.
What is narcissism?
Narcissism is a personality disorder that encompasses several traits, including having a need for admiration from other people while lacking empathy for others. According to the American Psychiatric Association, narcissists experience entitlement and self-importance, which sometimes leads them to take advantage of others.
Of course, not everyone who feel entitled has clinical narcissism. In order to qualify for a diagnosis of narcissism personality disorder (NPD), the person must show signs of persistent impairments. These including things like issues with interpersonal relationships, difficulty with goal-setting or making excessive attempts to attract attention.
Narcissism in the United States
Although it may seem like you run into narcissists more frequently, the truth is, narcissistic personality disorder isn’t very common.Sane.org reports that according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, only 0.5 to 1% of the population have been diagnosed with NPD. Of those, about 50 to 75% are men.
It’s interesting to note that many people with NPD are actually quite insecure from time to time, although they are more likely to state that their self-esteem is high in order to come across as confident and positive.
