After reading up on narcissism this summer, I realized that narcissistic behaviors are increasing, especially in this age of technology addiction. It’s common knowledge that our generation spends way too much time glued to cell phones and computers, projecting ideal self-images to the world. This can create a divide called the separation of the internal and external self. A person’s true personality may be shielded by the alternative one they promote on social media through pictures, tweets, and captions. The creation of the selfie has further added to the expansion of narcissistic behaviors as people seek praise and acceptance by posting photos of their faces on the internet. This is the widespread version of narcissism that most of us have just a little bit of. However…
Legitimate narcissists tend to put themselves first, without having empathy for others. In addition, they crave approval from everyone, and struggle with rejection; everyone must like them, and if someone doesn’t they will do everything in their power to convince that person to like them. The growth in narcissistic personality characteristics is becoming more and more prevalent right now. If you’re observant, you might discover that you indeed know a narcissist! Here are some signs of a narcissistic personality disorder:
1. The narcissist exaggerates their achievements and talents, repeating them to people until the narcissist starts to believe in these accomplishments.
2. They are master manipulators. A narcissist will utilize your weaknesses just to get what they want. They are frequent users of people, treating them as objects, instead of as human beings. To a narcissist, everyone’s purpose is to help them achieve one of their goals.
3. They don’t recognize or accept your feelings. To a narcissist, their emotions are the only ones that matter, and they’re usually fueled by their own needs.
4. They are arrogant. A narcissist believes they are never wrong. They will step over anything, everything, and anyone in their path in order to get what they want.
5. They require constant attention, and they need to be the center of it. When the attention is no longer available, they will move on to the next person who is able to provide them with it. This is why they usually can’t keep relationships for long periods of time.
6. They take advantage of others. The narcissist appears to have high self-confidence, but in reality, it’s just a façade. Because they are lacking in self-worth, they tend to take others down to gain power.
7. They’re jealous of others. No one else can receive more attention than they do, or they will become depressed and/or enraged.
Narcissistic personality disorder is, in all actuality, a mental illness. However, it can be difficult to detect in people, as some of these behaviors have become very normalized. Donald Trump, Taylor Swift, and Kanye West are just a few figures in our society who display narcissistic traits but are accepted and admired by thousands of people all over the world. I’m not saying that these individuals are definitely complete narcissists, however, their actions should not be worshipped, since they influence multitudes of people to behave similarly, and selfishly.