HMN 2024: Is Social Media Making Us More Narcissistic?

My hands hesitated over the keys as I considered yet another Facebook/Meta status. Should I post a life update? Or some insight? Who did I want to see my post? Did I wish to share with anyone?

More Narcissism and Less Self-Esteem?

I have often wondered how social media impacts our relationships with ourselves and others. We are a communal species, and naturally, we yearn to connect. Yet, the set up of status updates and the consequences of interacting online prompt us to share from a self-orientation with special concern for how others might judge us.

A study of 23,532 people explored possible relationships between self-esteem, narcissistic personality traits, and social media use. Of interest, low self-esteem and narcissistic personality traits are both correlated with high levels of social media engagement (Andreassen et al., 2017). How is this possible?

While social media exposes us to others, it tends to do so in a manner that encourages comparisons and distance. Unlike real-time conversations, social media grants an asynchronous fashion, creating a barrier to unfiltered, intuitive emotional responses. According to the virtual disengagement hypothesis, interactions on social media might foster blunted empathy and awareness of others’ mental states (Tavares and Rein, 2024). When used excessively, this habitual detachment could foster a more generalized impact.

The type of social media used and how someone engages with it could also make an impact. A recent study found that among the 334 participants, the use of Instagram and Twitter correlated with heightened levels of communal narcissism; however, Reddit did not (Kristinsdottir et al., 2021). Sharing on social media, coupled with placing importance on feedback, also correlated with communal narcissism.

In-Groups and Out-Groups

Another factor in social media use that might impact how we relate to ourselves and others is the phenomenon of group identity. It’s been a long-known phenomenon in social psychology for individuals to feel closer to those to whom they feel more similar and for people to tend to blend their views with those of others when set into a group.

One study found that the more someone related to a specific group online (in this case, as being a fan of one sports team), the more likely they were to celebrate the pain of those in another group (fans of a rival sports team) (Wakefield and Wakefield, 2024). The researchers called this observation “intergroup counter-empathy.” Within social media circles where group identity magnifies, this tendency is susceptible to take a dark turn. The rise of community hate groups online might be one such example.

What Can We Do?

It is tricky to withdraw totally from social media. Still, there are steps we can take to enhance empathy in the face of social media’s impacts. Balancing interactions online with interactions in person is one step. Another strategy is diversifying how we utilize social media, reaching out from our usual circles to expose ourselves to different ideas and ways of experiencing life.

Finally, taking other steps to build empathy while offline, like learning about different cultures, engaging curiosity around others’ life experiences and stories, and volunteering, might also help to counteract some of social media’s impacts in this department.