Connectivity & Individualism
The human mind is filled with all manner of worries and I am no different. For the better part of a decade now I have been worried about a malevolent social phenomenon that has been somewhat discussed , but subtly remains untreated. It is something I’m passionate about because I believe remedying this issue will greatly benefit society.
We as a species, through leaps in understanding of the scientific process, have relied on scientific studies to provide a benchmark to establish and publicise facts. Whether it is gauging world poverty, developing medical cures or even psychology, we rely on scientific studies. So, therefore if we adopt the findings of scientific studies on aspects of life that we find beneficial, we must also accept the facts revealed by studies that display our deficiencies. We can’t pick and choose facts based on our feelings.
Psychological studies overwhelming have shown humans are becoming increasingly individualistic, moving away from collectivism to become self-centred machines with the desire to fuel the self!
Why are we becoming narcissistic?
Increasing wealth has been cited as one factor, as we make more money, we rely less on community.
However, disturbingly, the rise of Social Media has been identified as a significant driver of narcissism in humanity today. The science is becoming more evident on this..the research on this issue is copious and available for everyone to read.
Social networking platforms have provided us greater connectivity than ever before, but people are becoming more alone than ever, without realising. They are alone in a crowd..
People are addicted to the drug of instant gratification from the likes on their photos or hip new adventures unfolding in their life.
The concern is no longer for good, effective and respectful communication. The transfer of the message is trivial to these people, what’s most important is the validation from the attention their posts receive.
Social media is fuelling narcissism, where people are being conditioned to see themselves as being on a stage, and every shred (Likes, DMs) of attention they receive, reinforces in them the feeling that they are the centre of universe.
People are literally being programmed to ignore the message others are trying to communicate. Instead, the conditioning is telling them it is “all about me.”
I am not absolving myself of this either.. but have become aware of the condition..and trying to raise awareness where possible.
We have all seen it first hand where mid-conversation people descend into a blank faded stare.. slowly tuning out the words coming out of our mouth. The addiction of self-validation tells them.. the spotlight is not on you right now so just switch off and re-enter the conversation when it shifts back on to you.
The study on global individualism (Santos et al. 2017) clearly shows that despite of being connected and having access to other people… rising narcissism is actually alienating people from one another. The tragedy is people are often unaware of how they are behaving.
Furthermore, narcissism has been shown to contribute towards people becoming more addicted to social media (Newport Institute, 2022).
Vulnerable narcissism: characterised by hypersensitivity to criticism and a constant need for reassurance.
– Newport Institute (2022)
A study on Social Media narcissism by the Newport Institute found vulnerable narcissists have a higher tendency to become addicted to social media.
There used to be time when good manners dictated attentive, healthy conversations (albeit) less frequent were able to bring people closer together.. to make them feel part of a community.
I fear and worry that if we do not recognise the detrimental impacts of social media on human personality, it will be too difficult to return to a station of superior human contact we all once shared.
References:
Kristinsdottir, K. H., Gylfason, H. F., & Sigurvinsdottir, R. (2021). Narcissism and Social Media: The Role of Communal Narcissism. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(19), 10106. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910106
Narsaria, A. (2022, January 22). Are we all becoming narcissists?. Science ABC. https://www.scienceabc.com/social-science/are-we-all-becoming-narcissists.html
Newport Institute. (2022, May 4). Social media narcissism in young adults. Newport Institute. https://www.newportinstitute.com/resources/mental-health/social-media-narcissism/
Santos, H.C., Varnum, M.E.W., & Grossmann, I. (2017). Global increases in individualism. Psychological Science (published on-line, July 13, 2017).
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