Abstract
Narcissism is defined as the self-centered actions, and inflated self-worth conducts that individuals express. This paper answers the question of whether the narcissism epidemic prevails among young adults. There exists growing evidence on the increasing behavioral expressions of narcissism. Such evidence will be used appropriately to show that, indeed, narcissism has reached epidemic proportions. Further, the paper will reveal my opinion on whether the narcissism epidemic is prevalent among youths.
Introduction
Narcissism refers to the tendency of people to have an inflated ego and a higher feeling of self-worth in relation to other people. Narcissism is on the rise among young adults who are expressing the behavior through increased materialism. More youths are growing up with an inflated ego that has now become a narcissism epidemic. This paper confirms that narcissism has become an epidemic among contemporary adults.
Controversy Relating to Narcissism
Is the narcissism epidemic prevalent among the present-day young adults? This question has attracted support and dissidence among researchers in equal measure. In this controversial topic, on one side of the divide are individuals who claim that narcissist behaviors have increased and that are getting out of hand to epidemic proportions. The other side comprises people who believe that any behaviors are a natural response to the changing world and trends in lifestyles and that they should not be viewed as narcissist tendencies.
Those who support the argument that narcissism has risen to epidemic proportions among young adults point out to many behavioral changes in society. Such behaviors were not as widespread as they appear today. Ryan and Xenos’ (2011) study considers attention to seeking the most widespread behavior that the youths are expressing.
This behavior has been aggravated by the advent of social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, among others where the young adults are posting bigger-than-life updates to create an impression of superior life when they compared themselves to the others in the social circles. Further, since the internet is becoming a highly influential factor, many behaviors that people demonstrate online are being reflected in their offline personalities, thus increasing narcissist behaviors.
Another study by Holtzman, Vazire, and Mehl (2010) confirms that more young people are buying big houses and cars on credit that they cannot service. This observation is a growing concern when it comes to the motives behind such major financial decisions that can negatively affect the lives of young adults in the end. From the above evidence, narcissism is truly becoming an epidemic among young adults.
Not everyone believes that narcissism has reached epidemic levels (Guest, 2013). For instance, some researchers such as Holtzman et al. (2010) assert that what people view as narcissism is misconstrued and that it may not be the case at all. Holtzman et al. (2010) say that humanity is living in a changing world where technology has significantly increased people’s visibility more than any other time (Mitchell, Jones, Turner, Shattuck, & Wolak, 2015).
In this case, social media platforms allow individuals to share the happenings in their lives to a greater audience than what was possible in the previous generations when social media platforms were not accessible. Further, the study concludes that narcissism is increasing because it has become more visible such that it can reflect what has always been there in society. The study associates the increment with technology that is evident through the internet.
My Position
Sufficient evidence confirms that more and more young adults are keen on showing a flashy rich life. This manifestation is everywhere for anyone to see. Each day, in the news, in reality, TV shows, and/or in the social media, the political class, and ordinary citizens are increasingly expressing their desire for materialism and ‘rich-good life-outlook’ to the members of the society.
Celebrity updates are always emphasizing the material things that show covetousness and affluence, such as new cars, holiday destinations, and designer materials. Such updates focus less on issues of personality, morality, and behavior. With the advent of technology and the internet, access to such information is as easy as a click away. Many young people are becoming more and more aligned with believing that a flashy life is good and that it is the only acceptable lifestyle (Guest, 2013).
According to Feldman (2014), one of the major narcissist behaviors that young adults are expressing is the strong desire to remain young, to look beautiful or handsome, and the extent to which they are going to eliminate imperfections in their bodies. In the previous generations, medical procedures such as plastic surgery and cosmetic surgeries majorly focused on youths who had serious body injuries that disfigured their faces (Twenge, Miller & Campbell, 2014).
However, today, as young as 20-year-old people have made plastic and cosmetic surgery a common and walk in the medical procedure in their search for making a perfect life and body image. Other extreme behaviors include the hiring of fake paparazzi to follow an individual who is attempting to demonstrate counterfeit fame (Twenge & Campbell, 2009). In addition, young people are posting violent videos that feature them in fights or beating their friends and viewing such behavior as exciting.
However, whether such conduct becomes a trend is a major issue of discussion in this paper. From a tender age, young people are increasingly brought in an environment that promotes entitlement. Parents who are an important part of a child from the start are increasingly pampering their children into entitlement egoistic behavior (Twenge et al., 2014).
Children are being raised, believing that they are young princesses and princes. This situation breeds extreme egos and narcissistic behaviors, which are marked by high intolerance for criticism or opposing opinions.
Increasing research shows that narcissist behavior has reached epidemic levels. Psychologists Twnege and Campbell (2009) carried one of the researches in where they studied 37,000 students. They concluded that narcissist behaviors had risen drastically over the years. According to the study, narcissist behaviors have risen as quickly as the obesity cases since the 1980s (Twenge & Campbell, 2009). This situation is a cause for alarm.
The study asserts that social networking platforms such as Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, Pinterest, and Foursquare, among others, have only expanded the reach of the young people and, consequently, faster growth of narcissism to reach epidemic levels (Feldman, 2014). The research found that more women are scoring higher on traits, which are naturally masculine. This finding indicates the rising egos and aggressive actions, and hence the rising narcissist behaviors among the female gender.
A study by Holtzman et al. (2010) titled, Sounds like a Narcissist: Behavioral Manifestations of Narcissism in Everyday Life, the researchers investigate how narcissism is manifested in everyday life. According to the research, the scope of narcissism behavior is increasing as time moves by.
However, one of the most defining aspects of narcissists is their increasing extraverted conduct and less agreeable performance in relation to non-narcissists. Further, there are high levels of sexual language usage among narcissists and high tendencies for controlling self-esteem issues. The research supports the observation of the increasing tendencies of young adults to feel more valuable relative to others and their disregard of others as expressed through their highly intolerable self-centered behaviors.
From an early age, young people are growing up with a feeling that being the alpha, the controlling individual, or the one who is above the rest can give happiness. This feeling reveals their desire to ensure that they achieve such a flawed image at all costs. This move has led to extreme behavior manifestations of everyday life.
Sexual language usage correlates with the increasing depiction of sexual content on the media, which has acted to make such behavior ‘normal.’ It is not surprising to hear young people cursing or expressing highly sexualized opinions to feel contented. This tendency is slowly drifting towards narcissist behavior as the new ‘normal.’
One of the most used platforms in today’s socially networked world is Facebook. Many researches that investigate the expression of narcissist behavior on the social network have focused on Facebook, which is the world’s largest social network site. Research by Ryan and Xenos (2011) titled, Who uses Facebook? An into the relationship between the Big Five, shyness, narcissism, loneliness, and Facebook usage, the authors investigate the impact of the site on sociality.
The study examines the personality influences of Facebook users on non-users. The study finds that active users of Facebook are highly extraverted as compared to non-users. Further, the users are increasingly drifting towards the expression of affluence and non-tolerance for others and hence, higher narcissist behaviors.
The findings of the research support my position that indeed narcissism is on the rise and that social media sites have the next frontier through which young adults will express their narcissist behaviors. Through social media, people can afford to be extroverts without leaving the comfort of their homes or private spaces. Such a situation is slowly aggravating their intolerance for others.
However, not everyone agrees with the opinion that the above researchers have provided in support of the increased narcissism. Indeed, to other commentators such as Holtzman et al. (2010), the researchers are largely misleading since they have used the wrong approaches to studying narcissist behaviors and/or have misinterpreted the findings to indicate narcissism wrongly. Indeed, the feeling of entitlement and aggressive behaviors has been in existence for as long as civilization has been in place.
The developed social classes have fueled narcissism. On the other hand, the advent of social media does not influence behaviors. Instead, such behavior is just like a mirror that reflects the prevailing behaviors of society. In this case, social media has brought to the front and to the public knowledge issues that characterize young people. Overall, my position is that narcissism is on the rise and that young adults are expressing it in many ways, which include flashy lifestyles, extroversion, and highly egoistic behaviors that portray individuals who have high feelings of entitlement and self-worth.
Conclusion
Narcissism is indeed an epidemic as more and more young adults express highly self-centered behaviors in the quest for supporting their highly egocentric behaviors. The narcissist behaviors include the desire and ability to do whatever it is possible to show affluent lifestyles and the general intolerance for other people due to self-centeredness. The social media platforms have acted to aggravate the situation to epidemic proportions.
Reference List
Feldman, R. (2014). Life Span Development: A Topical Approach. Amherst, MA: Prentice Hall.
Guest, A. (2013). Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Lifespan Development. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Holtzman, N., Vazire, S., & Mehl, M. (2010). Sounds like a narcissist: Behavioral manifestations of narcissism in everyday life. Journal of Research in Personality, 44(4), 478-484.
Mitchell, J., Jones, M., Turner, A., Shattuck, A., & Wolak, J. (2015). The Role of Technology in Peer Harassment: Does It Amplify Harm for Youth?. American Psychological Association, 1(1), 1-12.
Ryan, T., & Xenos, S. (2011). Who uses Facebook? An investigation into the relationship between the Big Five, shyness, narcissism, loneliness, and Facebook usage. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(5), 1658-1664.
Twenge, J., & Campbell, W. (2009). The narcissism epidemic: Living in the age of entitlement. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
Twenge, J., Miller, J., & Campbell, W. (2014). The narcissism epidemic: Commentary on Modernity and narcissistic personality disorder. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research and Treatment, 5(2), 227-229.