Narcissism seeps through spring break social media posts

As school resumes and spring break becomes a thing of the past, the very last of the spring breakers’ Facebook updates and Instagram posts trickle in—the posed beach photos, selfies by the beach and glossy updates from exotic vacation destinations. Admittedly, I have been increasingly guilty of updating my own social media accounts more when I go on vacation to share my wonderful experiences abroad. But especially during vacations, the “look what I’m up to” social media updates foster both insecurity and narcissism that plague our generation.

A York University study evaluated the post regularity and content of 18 to 25-year-old Facebook users against the Narcissism Personality Inventory, concluding a correlation between higher Facebook usage and narcissistic or insecure personalities. Part of the narcissism is intuitive: constantly streaming every aspect of our lives to everyone we’ve ever known is a pretty obvious sign of self-obsession.

But how do we know that social media has created narcissism, and not just self-empowerment? Certainly, the rise of the selfie has, especially for women, allowed a redefinition of beauty standards based on what actual people look like, revolutionizing the portrayal of women in the media. The fine line between what Nicki Minaj refers to as the self-love-driven “feelin’ myself” and true narcissism, however, lies in the intentions behind the behavior. For example, social media posts that increasingly glorify their accomplishments and experiences may be compensating for an underlying sense of insecurity. And the role that social media increasingly plays as an instrument for social comparison exacerbates this sense of insecurity.

Though, at some level, the desire to be liked is human, social media intensifies this desire by providing a new, constant mechanism for self-evaluation based solely on social comparison. Quantifying someone’s likeability — the number of Facebook likes on a profile picture, followers on Instagram, and retweets — all serve as the new form of social signals that validate self-worth based on outside sources. Social psychologist Leon Festinger calls the concept the social comparison theory, the idea that we determine our values and desires based on those of our peers. In a way, social media brings the immaturity behind the concept of high school popularity back to social relationships.

Social media as a form of social comparison also makes insecurity more vulnerable because of constant barrage of exciting updates. The recently emerged phenomenon of “fomo,” or “fear of missing out,” encapsulates the concept: both the consistency of social media updates and the urge to check social media guarantees an almost constant “fomo” of more exciting experiences that uniquely plagues our Internet-addicted generation.

We must, then, grapple with social media’s unique insecurities and narcissistic qualities that will surely shape our personalities and relationships. It is not realistic to simply unplug; for many, refraining from social media is simply not possible when a large part of personal and professional relationships are shared online.

But perhaps, if we gain a more cohesive understanding about the implications of social media, we can work to create more meaningful social media updates and, as conventional wisdom holds, we can refrain from comparing our lives to someone’s highlight reel — literally.

Sonali Seth is a freshman majoring in political science. Her column, “Sonacrates,” runs Tuesdays.