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Chad Nichols

Dr. M. Cooper 

English 302 (online)

12 October 2013

Social Networing! Not "or #he $ea%Minded&

Social 'edia is biitos these da*s+ and it has beco'e di,,iclt to ignore the Social

 Networing Site pheno'ena. So'e o, the ,astest%growing social 'edia on the internet+ 'ore

 people are plgging in e-er* da*. ccording to /achelor o, Science Sora*a Mehdiadeh!

t is esti'ated that M*Space.co' has o-er 20 'illion registered sers+ with a sign%

p rate o, o-er 230+000 sers per da*. E-en 'ore shocingl*+ "aceboo.co'

reported a staggering 33 increase in the n'ber o, acti-e "aceboo sers ,ro'

200 to 2004. #oda*+ the n'ber o, "aceboo sers is esti'ated at o-er 15

'illion worldwide. ( Mehdiadeh 35)

l'ost e-er*one these da*s is logged in to one o, the 'an* SNSs a-ailable+ be it "aceboo+

6oogle7+ nstagra'+ the -enerable M*Space+ or the character%li'iting #witter. 8owe-er+ it is

'* considered opinion that these Social Networing Sites are (despite their se,lness) har',l

to those o, ,ragile ps*che+ becase the* spport and e-en encorage sch negati-e traits as

narcissis' (althogh the* are otside the scope o, this wor+ there are signi,icant pri-ac* isses

attached to Social Networs as well). So what+ e9actl*+ is Narcissis'& ccording to

Dictionar*.co'+ narcissis' is de,ined as :inordinate ,ascination with onesel,; e9cessi-e sel,%

lo-e; -anit*< (Dictionar*.co'). will address the negati-e aspects o, this disorder in de ti'e.

#o begin '* std*+ tae "aceboo! each ser accont has the abilit* to create photo

alb's on its page+ and the ad'inistration encorages the ser to pload a ,ew pictres o,

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the'sel-es. #hese sel,%portraits (called :sel,ies< in co''on parlance) are :organied in alb's

that...show p on their pro,iles< (Selig'an =1>)+ and are ,reentl* posed+ staged+ or

'aniplated throgh sch progra's as photoshop to showcase (or create) nothing bt positi-e

aspects. Narcissistic sers will o,ten :,ish< ,or co'pli'ents throgh these pictres+ b*

e'plo*ing sel,%deprecating state'ents (:?' so gl*...$h* doesn?t an*one lo-e 'e&<) attached

to a photo o, the ser in ,lattering clothes and 'aep! this allows his or her online ,riends to

repl* with co'pli'ents and to disa-ow the narcissist?s sel,%deprecation. #his s*cophanc* in trn

,eeds the ser?s -anit* and rein,orces their narcissistic belie, that the* are prettier or 'ore b,,

than their peers.

narcissistic ser will also tr* to a'ass a trl* nrealistic n'ber o, so%called :,riends<

(people who ha-e ased @ or been ased @ to be ept apprised o, the ser?s acti-it*) the better to

:show o,,< their sperior alities (clearl*+ the* are the nicest+ 'ost lieable people since so

'an* others are interested in what the* are doing at an* gi-en 'o'ent+ right&)+ and with stats

pdates+ a ser can tell e-er* one o, their :,riends< what the* are doing or thining. #he

narcissistic ser ,eels co'pelled to in,or' "aceboo o, e-er* 'o-e he 'aes in a da*+ e-en

'inor things lie :ha-ing brea,ast< or :pa*ing the water bill.< "aceboo+ in trn+ will :ping<

all o, a ser?s ,riends when he or she pdates his or her stats+ thereb* in,or'ing the' whether

the* want to now or not. dd to this the :chec%in< ,nction+ with which a ser can brag abot

 being in an e9clsi-e locale withot ha-ing to t*pe a word (and these ,nctions so'eti'es ha-e

sch inaccrate 6AS s*ste's that one cold chec%in ,ro' otside the door and still be listed as

inside)+ and *o ha-e a ,or'la that 'aes a ser see' 'ore :cool< or :hip< than their peers.

s this is e9actl* what a narcissist wants+ *o can see how "aceboo spports the disorder.

ha-e sed the description :Narcississtic< and the word :Narcissis'< a lot in a short

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ti'e! s said abo-e+ Narcissis' is an e9tre'e -ersion o, -anit*. n ,ll+ the condition is called

 Narcissistic Aersonalit* Disorder (or NAD) and the na'e is deri-ed ,ro' the gree '*th o,

 Narcisss+ here related b* Encyclopædia Britannica Online!

 Narcisss+ in 6ree '*tholog*+ was the son o, the ri-er god Cephisss and the

n*'ph Biriope. 8e was distingished ,or his beat*. ccording to O-ids

 Metamorphoses+ /oo + Narcissss 'other was told b* the blind seer #iresias

that he wold ha-e a long li,e+ pro-ided he ne-er recognied hi'sel,. 8is

reection+ howe-er+ o, the lo-e o, the n*'ph Echo or (in an earlier -ersion) o, the

*ong 'an 'einias drew pon hi' the -engeance o, the gods. 8e ,ell in lo-e

with his own re,lection in the waters o, a spring and pined awa* (or illed

hi'sel,); the ,lower that bears his na'e sprang p where he died. #he 6ree

tra-eler and geographer Aasanias+ in Description of Greece+ /oo + said it was

'ore liel* that Narcisss+ to console hi'sel, ,or the death o, his belo-ed twin

sister+ his e9act conterpart+ sat gaing into the spring to recall her ,eatres.

(:Narcisss<)

$h* is narcissis' a bad thing& n contrast to sel,%estee' or sel, con,idence (both -er* positi-e

alities)+ Narcissis' is a ps*chological spectr' disorder+ and enco'passes a wide range o,

ndesireable beha-iors! it can case the a,,licted to lose ,ocs on the positi-e aspects o,

interpersonal relationships (and when war'th and inti'ac* are re'o-ed ,ro' the eation+ a

narcissist tends to initiate 'aniplati-e+ sel,%aggrandiing interactions that ,eed his desire :...to

appear poplar and sccess,l<(Mehdiadeh 354).) #his+ in trn+ can lead to an inabilit* to

tolerate criticis' which @ i, the narcissist is s,,icientl* nstable @ can case hi' to lash ot

either -erball* or+ at worst+ ph*sicall* at those who :dare< to criticise hi'. "reentl*+ becase

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the narcissist has to be the center o, attention+ he will deliberatel* 'ae shocing state'ents @ or 

ad'it to shocing beha-ior @ in his stats pdates! this ensres that he will get se-eral

co''ents or responses in a short ti'e+ rein,orcing his belie, in his own desirabilit* or

i'portance. Narcissistic SNS sers are also :...predicted to de'and social spport bt be

nliel* to pro-ide it to others. #he* ,eel that others shold spport the' when the* are

distressed+ bt the* ,eel no dt* to reciprocate< (Carpenter+ =43). n essence+ a narcissist stops

caring abot others? eno*'ent o, their acti-ities and beco'es obsessed with garnering as 'ch

attention as possible (on "aceboo+ this is anti,ied as the n'ber o, :lies< recei-ed) ,ro' as

'an* people as he can. "inall*+ a Narcissistic ser can waste a sbstantial a'ont o, ti'e b*

reading throgh their peers? statses and co''ents and tr*ing to de-ise wa*s to :one%p< the

others. Clearl*+ this disorder is not condci-e to a prodcti-e+ well%adsted li,est*le.

Bcil*+ Social Media sers tend toward the lower%'iddle range o, the narcissistic

spectr'. n ,act+ there re'ain 'an* sers o, "aceboo et. al. that do not indlge in narcissistic

 beha-ior. "or e9a'ple+ 'an* SNS sers that 'o-ed awa* ,ro' ho'e (lie '*sel,) tilise the

ser-ice :,or sstained+ in%depth co''nication with ,riends who li-e ,ar awa*< (Selig'an =1)

or that did not lea-e their ho'etown. 8igh school renions+ anni-ersaries+ birthda*s @ all these

e-ents can be set into the SNS re'inder s*ste' to help sers eep abreast o, their ,riends? special

dates+ and "aceboo in particlar is reportedl* :particlarl* se,l ,or planning srprise parties

 becase 'an* people can co''nicate at once+ pri-atel*+ withot the recipient o, the part*

wondering where all her ,riends are or wh* the* are all taling in the corner withot her<

(Selig'an =1). 8a-ing been in on the planning o, a ,ew srprise parties+ this is a -alid point in

,a-or o, SNS%based part* organiationF "aceboo e-en tells its sers abot birthda*s on the

ser?s news ,eed and ass i, the* want to get their ,riend a gi,t. #he pro-ided lin sggests gi,t

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cards+ and i, one has a credit or debit card+ or e-en a Aa*Aal accont+ the* can prchase a gi,t

right ,ro' their des and ha-e it deli-ered to their ,riend b* the date in estion. No 'ore

rshing abot to obtain a gi,t be,ore the stores close the night be,ore a ,riend?s birthda* in these

enlightened+ digital ti'esF

Clearl*+ social 'edia is here to sta*+ and it does indeed ha-e its bene,its! distance is less

o, a barrier to co''nication+ since "aceboo 'essages are instantaneos and long%distance

 phone calls can be costl* or ti'e%cons'ing; SNSs allow (throgh the blogging ,nctions) a ser 

to :blow o,, stea'< in a t*ped rant that is as pblic or as pri-ate as the* choose to 'ae it;

ho'ewor or class proect in,or'ation can be rela*ed with less error than a -erbal report and

less ti'e cons'ption in transit than a written letter; and thans to the searchable personal

in,or'ation in a ser?s pro,ile+ long%,orgotten ,riends ,ro' childhood can be located and the

,riendship renewed. Still+ in spite o, the 'an* bene,its and con-eniences+ "aceboo and other

SNSs bring ot :...the natral h'an inclinations toward -o*eris' and narcissis'...and...the

allre o, these ,ri-olos alities in addition to the sites co''nication -ale eeps s logged

on< (Selig'an =14). De to these inclinations+ and becase the* are spported and e-en

indirectl* encoraged+ these sites shold be sed onl* sparingl* b* the *ong and

i'pressionable! and i, *o are easil* in,lenced+ *o wold perhaps be better ser-ed to eschew

digital relationships+ and st get ot o, the hose and live.

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$ors Cited

Carpenter+ Christopher G. HNarcissis' on "aceboo! Sel,%pro'otional and nti%social /eha-ior.H

Aersonalit* and ndi-idal Di,,erences 52 (2011)! =42%4>. SciIerse ScienceDirect.

Else-ier+ J Dec. 2011. $eb. 12 Sept. 2013.

Cle''ett+ Marcia. HSocial Media E9plosion.H CK Lesearcher 23.= (2013)! 41%10=. 25 Gan. 2013.

$eb. 13 Sept. 2013.

Dar-ell+ Millie G.+ Shari A. $alsh+ and atherine M. $hite. H"aceboo #ells Me So! ppl*ing the

#heor* o, Alanned /eha-ior to nderstand Aartner%Monitoring /eha-ior on "aceboo.H

C/ELASC8OBO6+ /E8IOL+ ND SOCB NE#$OLN6 1=.12 (2011)! n.

 pag. 2011. $eb. 12 Sept. 2013.

Marche+ Stephen. Hs "aceboo Maing s Bonel*&H #he tlantic. #he tlantic Monthl* 6rop+

Ma* 2012. $eb. > Sept. 2013.

Mehdiadeh+ Sora*a. HSel,%Aresentation 2.0! Narcissis' and Sel,%Estee' on "aceboo.H

C/ELASC8OBO6+ /E8IOL+ ND SOCB NE#$OLN6 13.= (2010)!

35%>=. 2010. $eb. 12 Sept. 2013.

HNarcissis'.H Dictionar*.co'. Dictionar*.co'+ 2013. $eb. 14 Sept. 2013.

HNarcisssH. Enc*clopPdia /ritannica. Enc*clopPdia /ritannica Online. Enc*clopPdia

/ritannica nc.+ 2013. $eb. 12 Oct. 2013

Selig'an+ Moll*. H"aceboo! "riend or "a9&H Gornal o, n,ant+ Child+ and dolescent

As*chotherap* 10 (2011)! =15%21. Arint.