جشن‌ هزار ساله‌، خودشیفتگی، و شبکه های اجتماعی:خودشیفته ها در سایت های شبکه های اجتماعی چه می کنند و چرا؟

The rise in levels of narcissism among Millennials together with the increased usage of social networking sites (SNSs) raises the question of whether there is a connection between the two. The current study examined the link between narcissism and both SNS activities and motivation for SNSs activities. Results indicated that narcissism did not relate to the amount of time spent on SNS, frequency of status updates, posting picture of others, or checking up on SNS friends. However, narcissism predicted reasons why Millennials use SNSs, such as having as many SNS friends as possible, wanting their SNS friends to know what they were doing, believing their SNS friends were interested in what they are doing, and having their SNS profiles project a positive image. Findings suggest that Millennials’ general usage of SNSs is a sign of the times. While narcissists in the Millennial generation do not appear to use SNSs more often than non-narcissists, their reasons for doing so are different.

Recent research supports the often-made assertion that the Millennial generation, those in college from the early 2000s to late 2010s, are more narcissistic than previous generations (Twenge et al., 2008a and Twenge et al., 2008b). This increase in narcissism has occurred alongside the increased usage of social networking sites (SNSs) such as MySpace and Facebook, which have now amassed over 100 million users among them (Kwon & Wen, 2010). SNSs appear to be particularly popular among Millennials, with over 90% of college students having Facebook profiles (Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2007). The concern is that SNSs may reinforce, or even create, narcissistic tendencies because they offer a convenient outlet to display vanity, self-promote, and accumulate large numbers of superficial friendships (Buffardi & Campbell, 2008), all of which are characteristics of narcissism (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The rise in levels of narcissism among Millennials in combination with the increase in the usage of SNSs raises the question of whether there is a connection between narcissism and SNS usage. As such, the current study sought to determine if the SNS activities of Millennials are related to narcissism. We also went beyond SNS behaviors and examined self-reported reasons why Millennials engage in certain SNS activities, what they hope to accomplish through these activities, and if these self-reported motives are related to narcissism.