More Narcissist Teens Due to Social Media

Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University and the author of “Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration and The Way They Learn has developed research that points to social media has potential to cause narcissist problems in teens and children.

Rosen says the problem with social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, & others is that they can give borderline narcissist teens an outlet to develop their overinflated sense of selves. If not dealt with, narcissism can possibly lead to major psychological disorders.

Rosen doesn’t believe it’s difficult to find signs of online narcissists.  He said that “even if you just look at someone’s status updates on Facebook, you can tell how narcissistic they are because they use words like ‘I’ and ‘me,’ rather that ‘you’ and ‘we’.”  Kids that have narcissist tendencies also post more pictures of just themselves, with no family or friends, and their photos are usually more posed and more professional looking.

There are some advantages to social media even though there is a darker side as just mentioned.  Social media can help timid or shy children interact with others developing self confidence where it may be difficult without the outlet.  Rosen believes that these communication interactions “with any social media, most of the actions take place behind a screen, so you don’t see the person at the other end. Therefore, you can feel comfortable saying whatever you feel like to anyone.” Not having someone physically in front of a child judging the  communication gives them the confidence to be themselves and improve their communication skills when they’re too afraid to do so in face to face communication conditions.

For parents, Rosen recommends that they take on an interested role in their children’s internet activity.  Calmly asking them non-intrusive questions about what sites they have been visiting, and taking the time to listen their children is important.  Parents tend to interrogate their kids rather than interact with them and create trust.  Rosen also believe it’s important for parents to talk to discuss the benefits, dangers of social media.  Also that it’s a real person on the other side of online communications, since social media and the internet as a whole have both useful and damaging applications.