How Much Does Social Media Fuel Our Narcissism?

Narcissism: the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one's idealized self-image and attributes. - Wikipedia

Whether we like it or not, for most of us, social media fuels our narcissism. The "Likes", shares, comments - even negative ones - can make us feel good about ourselves. On the other hand, some of the negative effects of social media go the totally opposite way, giving some of us increased feelings of inadequacy, according to this report from All Psychology.

• Increases feelings of inadequacy: Social media users compare themselves to other users and feel as if they can’t measure up to the “ideal” lives that their connections depict. - All Psychology Schools

I guess it depends on how we view ourselves in the first place.

I follow a gentleman on Facebook who often posts articles, observations, original poetry, and general blogs. Chris Hochstetler was a warrior in the United States Army, leading the men and women under his charge. Not only is he a good leader, but he is also a good man (and being a good man is, in my opinion, necessary to be a good leader.)

His recent post about recognizing narcissism was a great reminder to me to not get too sucked-up into social media, and to be grateful to those who, as he says, "lift me on their shoulders when I fail…daily".

Thank you, Chris, I think we all needed this.

(Wikipedia, Facebook/Chris Hochstetler, All Psychology)