There are two distinct discussions happening in the realm of psychology: the fall of empathy and the rise in narcissism. It’s important to remember that narcissistic personality disorder is at the extreme end of the narcissistic spectrum.
When you encounter someone consumed with themselves, rarely going to any length to understand your feelings, you are likely talking to someone who exhibits narcissistic tendencies. However, researchers have published alarming findings that suggest over 10% of young adults suffer from subclinical narcissism.
To understand my perspective, we must build a framework to operate from. That framework involves understanding the difference between individualistic and collectivist societies. Individualistic societies promote ideals that lead to narcissistic tendencies: self-promotion through social media, material consumption and status-oriented symbolism.
The United States is regarded as an individualistic culture. Your goals are priority, your relationships should bend to your needs and accomplishments are part of your identity. This incentives us to adopt narcissistic traits within our pursuits.
This is because capitalism brings forward the ultimate personal challenge. It intertwines profit with the quest of our dreams and self-image. A homeless person on a philosophical soliloquy could say the same thing as a Cambridge professor on stage, but most would hold the professor’s words in higher regard because of his accomplishments and status.
The reunification of Germany in 1990 gives us further evidence on the effects of capitalism. The aftermath of the second world war in 1945 saw Germany split into four regions. The east, run by the Soviet Union, instituted socialism, while the west, run by a present-day NATO coalition, reinstituted capitalism.
The effects of individualistic cultures and collectivist societies were seen over this 45-year period. Scientists found those who grew up in West Germany had higher scores of grandiose narcissism, a subset of narcissism, compared to East Germany-born people.
The organic nature of this event opened the door for scientists to investigate narcissism stimuli.
It is hard for me to differentiate between self-confidence and narcissism. Self-esteem is highly valued by scientists and citizens alike, with it being preached to us as essential for our self-belief and self-contentment. One study even showed how self esteem during adolescence can predict the income and employment of someone at 31-years-old.
As time progresses, we naturally have more self esteem. Scientists have observed that self-esteem appears higher in groups born later than earlier in history.; Participants born in 2002 scored higher than participants born in 1986, further, participants born in 1960 scored higher than participants born in 1920. Could this be a product of increased wealth, whether materially or financially?
Narcissism and self-esteem have been widely discussed together regarding their association. Self-esteem rising alongside narcissism has brought about studies examining the two. Self-esteem and narcissism have a concurrent correlation between .30 and .40, which is considered a weak to moderate correlation.
As fair as it is to say self-esteem is essential, it seems to be a reflection of outside approval and results. Maybe a confident person does not need to attend a self-esteem seminar, but that proves nothing connecting self-esteem with narcissism. Confident people add value to a group, while narcissists drain the energy of others. Frankly, you never can be sure if the person talking to you is acting out an Oscar-worthy facade.
Narcissism is beyond a diagnosis, falling on a spectrum encompassing society on scale without cemented positions; like politics, what you consume and what you champion will push you one way or another. It’s important to examine the narcissistic traits and how we might pick them up through our actions.
The aforementioned 10% of young adults whom scientists believe suffer from subclinical narcissism make me wonder what is causing the rise. My obvious blame is social media.
Since the advent of social media, three generations have entered this new reality: Millennials, Generation Z and Generation Alpha. Regardless of when these generations entered, the concept has been the same: create content that draws crowds.
Social media becomes part of who you are because pursuits are intertwined with your identity. People view you as a celebrity while you share parts of yourself that are genuine and revealing. These parasocial relationships feed the consumer in exchange for notoriety and monetary benefits.
The risk is that you can begin to lose yourself for new fans. No matter what a creator says, they do not care about your subscription, follow, likes or comments. It is all a show dedicated to the goal of presenting themselves properly to their target audience.
Social media follows the rules of any hierarchy, meaning that not everyone will rise to stardom. Every minute over 66,000 posts are made on Instagram, and regardless of if you are posting for fans, family or friends, we pose our content to make us look desirable. Those unhappy with their physical reality have a chance to create a new, “better” version of themselves. You might start creating disingenuous content lacking value, and positioning your content along viral trends. The chase for numbers lessens the concern you have for the consumer. Sound familiar?
On the opposite side of narcissism lies empathy. The perfect solution to this discussion would be to find empathy rates rising, yet we are left with another dilemma. Research shows empathy falling among college students and the general public alike. In fact, scientists found that the average person in 2009 was less empathetic than 75% of people in 1979.
People are glued to their phones and are indulged in their dopamine fixations. If you have ever lost your phone you know the heart attack it gives you. One study showed a positive correlation between grandiose narcissism and Problematic Facebook Use (PFU); however after reading the study the correlation was too weak to be considered reliable.
So, why is empathy decreasing while narcissism is increasing? My take feels necessary, but anyone honest would admit the mind-boggling complexity of this issue.
I posted a poll on my Instagram asking, “Is narcissism growing in our society?”
32 people answered, “Yes,” while one person answered, “No.”
This reeked of blame shifting. Blame shifting is when no one wants to take responsibility and blames everyone else for the issue. At its core it is a trait identified in abusive relationships, but that does not mean we don’t participate in more shallow forms in daily life. From here, I had to assume I was part of the problem. The poll was embedded on a selfie, and my sister pointed out the irony of that.
It is hard for me to blame social media because of the concept of fragmentation: the idea people separate on the web into fragmented talking spaces. Fragmentation encapsulates any bar scene. People always group up into their clicks, and the weird guy walking around trying to make friends is always behind the 8-ball. Older people tend to say the world was a lot more social back in the day, so did that lead to increased empathy?
I think that is on the right track. Our inability to talk to others stunts the frequency at which we hear the lives of the unrelatable. We should allow people to ramble on and imagine a day in their shoes, whether they are homeless or from a different culture. Social media substitutes the necessity of finding new perspectives with new voices preaching the same lessons. Truthfully, empathy falls somewhere under wisdom while being consumed with beliefs, status and number falls under immaturity.
The bright spot here is the tendency for narcissism to decrease with age. As children leave the house, menopause and erectile dysfunction occur, partners die, people are left with declining narcissism and declining self esteem. Again, the two are intertwined in research, but more research is needed to untangle these concepts.
Maybe they are two sides of the same coin randomly facing the world and affecting our interactions. We all have moments of being overly boastful, inconsiderate or manipulative. If not, you may be the narcissist everyone’s avoiding. It is hard to tell, especially since even scientists have yet to fully figure it out. We are all boiling in the same pot, yet we are blaming each other for the heat.
Mohammad Tantawi is a 23-year-old mass communication senior from Smyrna, TN.
