College students with big egos
Apparently, today’s college students are more narcissistic than college students back in 1982. That is, according to a study done by Jean Twenge. That doesn’t mean we’re supposed to get put into a crazy house in order to be treated for narcissism. It does, seemingly, mean that we’re going to have problems dealing with other people.
Part of the problem seems to be the emphasis on the individual through the Internet:
The internet, with its MySpaces and YouTubes are allowing the self-regard to flourish to dangerous levels, said the study, “Egos Inflating Over Time.”
While I don’t believe that Twenge is necessarily blaming YouTube and MySpace (the former actually allowing anyone with a little luck and charisma to be a star of their own “TV” show) for this narcissism, it is an interesting point. Is it bad to have a place where students can gather and feed off the compliments of other people? I don’t think so, unless that person begins to preen so much that they think themselves as famous as Mariah Carey.
According to the study, the downside of being too self-absorbed is “treating others badly.” I wondered how narcissism could lead to the ill treatment of others, but if you’re so into yourself, you might actually unintentionally treat someone with disrespect. Of course, that probably comes from the idea that you yourself have been treated with disrespect.
Of course, this may also stem from the rise in emphasis on individualism. Since we all want to be different, we tend to think of other people’s differences as inferior to our own. Which is a silly assumption to make, but it seems to be happening.
However, I don’t think my friends are anymore narcissistic than I am. But that might be the problem.
Tags: college, ego, egosim, myspace, narcissism, narcissistic, self absorbed, youtube
Posted on February 27th, 2007 by Joy
Filed under: News | No Comments »
