Dr. Tracy Alloway’s study explored narcissism among Facebook users ages 18 and 50. The discovered some Facebook features that correlate with selfishness (profile update frequency/profile pictures) and some with greater empathy (chatting).
According to Alloway, “Every narcissist needs a reflecting pool. Just as Narcissus gazed into the pool to admire his beauty, social networking sites, like Facebook, have become our modern-day pool.”
The study’s conclusion found overall that social media like Facebook is primarily a tool for staying connected than for self-promotion.
There are lots of caveats to the study, but I think we need to be reminded of both the dark and bright sides of the tools we adopt or use without consideration. I suppose I will ask myself now with every Facebook action: empath or narcissist?
University of North Florida. “New social media study investigates relationships among Facebook use, narcissism and empathy.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 July 2014. .
Permalink //
I’m not a fan of these “either-or” findings (like so many of those surveys that seem to be a staple of Facebook). Personally, tools like Facebook , Twitter and Instagram offer ways to connect in a variety of ways. I love that so many of my social media friends are actually people I haven’t met in person…but they certainly contribute to my thinking, keep me motivated…and we have fun! Which does that make me? 😉
Permalink //
Research is often an either-or business, isn’t it? Researchers keep reality as simple as they can get away with. I have a lot of mixed feelings about most of the social media tools out there, too. What weight does a ‘like’ or a ‘plus’ have? Sometimes I am grateful for the slight nod of the keyboard that they represent, but more lately I am beginning to feel they are almost an insult, a fake reciprocation, the least common denominator of social exchange. I oftentimes read a post and then recommend it to others with a little bit of ‘curation’ thrown in as well as a suggestion to reciprocate. I don’t mean like it or plus it or retweet it. I mean engage and pay forward and honor the care of that person’s writing. I should do it more.
How does this fit the Facebook research in this article? I think it makes me consider what I am doing in digital spaces. Do I just want someone to ‘look at me, look at me”? Am I just being public about something that could best be totally private? Am I feeling as well as thinking as I reciprocate? Am I seeking discourse or discord? So, the research has potential use. Is it flawed? From inception to end, riddled with mistakes. Is it valuable? Priceless, because it gives you another place to stand and an opportunity to find your own blindspots. As for whether you are a narcissist or an empath, that is for you to decide, but the research considered more ‘widely’ gives you a perch to begin to figure that out for yourself. [Note: the researchers are not making value judgments about either word. It is the connotations in the words that do that. And perhaps we should also begin to think about whether it is better to be a narcissist in one space and time and an empath in another.]
Permalink //
I totally agree about adding to the dialogue of a post beyond just a click. (but – I do sometimes use the +1 tool as way to curate things that interest me, which is a different discussion). I think we have a responsibility whenever possible to add something substantive to the online discussion, if we have anything substantive to add!