Are we more narcissistic than ever before?

[yoda you can call me]

There was once a young man named Narcissus who was so vain that he fell in love with his own reflection in the water and died. In some versions of the mythological tale from Ancient Greece, Narcissus was transformed into a flower that today carries the name narcissus, or daffodil.

Like the flower, narcissism has continued to flourish in modern culture. “Selfie” was awarded word of the year in 2013 by the Oxford Dictionary. Capturing an image of oneself – once the purview of despondent artists – has become an international pastime. Even politicians rode the trend taking selfies at memorial services. Celebrities continued to be, well, celebrated as well. Miley Cyrus ended 2013 as the most searched person on Google, with Drake and Kim Kardashian coming in at the number two and three spots. Between them they have more “followers” than the population of an average country. And, as both Miley Cyrus’s career trajectory and research findings suggest, the importance of fame is more prominent than ever before.

In recent weeks, we’ve seen the Ice Bucket challenge thrive, but it has been revealed that less than half of people doing the challenge are actually donating. So, for some, is it really about awareness for ALS or self-promotion?

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my facebook (yes i'm on it ) has recently been plagued with friends and family doing that damn ice bucket challenge, and i doubt half of them have them have made a contribution to anything,. I got nominated but fuck that, id rather just make a donation. Also, i was at a funeral a few months back and at the wake, certain family members decided it would be an appropriate time to take a selfie and post it on facebook ) there's way too much ego these days. SMH

Thoughts?

[TonyTilt]

My thoughts are everything you said is true and our society sucks fat dick.

[TheBoss123]

I dont think so. I think we as humans are riddled with insecurities and care deeply about our own self image. We have always been this way, and I think now people are simply given more tools to express their narcissism, which I dont even think is always a bad thing.

With the ALS thing, it does more good, even if some of its principles are silly, its still spreading awareness for a disease, and helps those suffering from it/ that will suffer from it in the future.

[Fleka]

I think people are just as narcissistic as they've always been, only now they have a means to show you just how narcissistic they really can be.

This. You nailed it.

[ganjakush56]

I think people are just as narcissistic as they've always been, only now they have a means to show you just how narcissistic they really can be.

This. You nailed it.

However, this assumed narcissism is rooted in Western philosophy and modern Western science. People have not always been this way; it is quite the contrary. According the evolution of Western philosophy, this evolved conception of self and ego that we experience today is a fairly new understanding if we compare it to the total time span of human consciousness. The Archaic period of Western thought was spanned far longer than the modern, contemporary Western thought that we utilize and experience today.

[Guess_Who]

Yes, we are. That's the way our society evolved. Think about how your grandparents lived. Maybe people wanted to be more than the neighbour back then, but now with the internet and stuff the competition became bigger.


I know people who don't enjoy to go somewhere because they are taking pics all the time and waiting to see how many likes they get, for some people is a drama if their pictures doesn't get likes enough.

Girls competing about who looks more hot on their profile pic, the selfies...now here is a trend everybody doing the ice bucket thing, of course almost noone is donating, the important thing is do it and make it as cool as possible.

Time ago people were exposed to their friends, family...now with the social networking, there is an increased exposure of people not only to their friends but to the whole world.

[yoda you can call me]

Yikes @ my errors, i was sleep doe. Good points guys.

I dont think so. I think we as humans are riddled with insecurities and care deeply about our own self image. We have always been this way, and I think now people are simply given more tools to express their narcissism, which I dont even think is always a bad thing.

When would you say narcissism is a good thing?

[TheBoss123]

Yikes @ my errors, i was sleep doe. Good points guys.

I dont think so. I think we as humans are riddled with insecurities and care deeply about our own self image. We have always been this way, and I think now people are simply given more tools to express their narcissism, which I dont even think is always a bad thing.

When would you say narcissism is a good thing?

Given the definition is "excessive" interest in ones self, I misspoke. But the rest of what I said I feel is still true. The ability to express our self-absorbedness has just become easier to do.

[slims]

i think people are more sell absorbed (than they've ever been before). A big part of it is because of social media and the internet in general. everyone seems to have this 'i have to one up this person' mentality.

[runSA]

we are only more narcissistic now because of our culture. A lot of our stars and celebrities promote this self importantce image. People need to realize that alot of these stars have this image to entertain. Hell even im guilty of it on a small scale when i play football.Social media also allows narcissism because it lets people show off on a small scale to all of their followers. Obsession over anything is bad and that includes obsession over yourself

[Guess_Who]

We take care more about the looks these days. The image. We are in economic crisis but there is more plastic surgeries than ever.

Put facebook, twitter and instagram in the hands of someone who needs to be admired by everybody...