Photo by Royal Anwar on Unsplash
Is our society becoming more narcissistic? An article written in the American Psychological Association Monitor by Sadie F. Dingfelder discusses the research and conclusions. The conclusions are mixed. Studies by W. Keith Campbell of the University of Georgia and Jean Twenge of San Diego State conclude that narcissism is on the rise with college students. However, Kali Trzeniewski from the University of California, believes that we were just as narcissistic as college students are today. Based on my clinical experience, I believe that the level of narcissism in today’s society has grown. We live in an age of self-promotion and pseudo confidence through Facebook, Twitter, blogging and other forms of social media. Sometimes parents also contribute to the rise in narcissism by constantly telling their children how special they are. The show American Idol is a classic illustration of my theory. Can you recall an audition when a contestant belted out a song that the judges were horrified by? When Simon Cowell tells them how badly they performed their typical response was, “but my mother told me I was a great singer.” She lied. Many parents delude their children by giving them an overabundance of praise and overcompensation for what they didn’t have as a child. Whether it is more material possessions, more praise, or increased attention; too much of even a good thing can be harmful. How is self-obsessiveness impacting our children’s lives and what can we do about it? Read next week’s blog to find the answers to these questions.
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