There is growing evidence that narcissism is linked to excessive Facebook use, and many in the popular media are quick to blame Facebook for the rise in narcissism. However, new research suggests that Facebook use may be a consequence, not a cause, of narcissism.
Many in the popular media lament the proliferation of narcissistic posts and images on social media. Research suggests that much of what is seen on social media may be narcissistic. Several studies have shown that frequent Facebook users are more likely to be narcissistic1,2,3. Narcissists also tend to post more self-promotional content1,2,4,5 and are particularly likely to choose profile pictures that emphasize attractiveness6,7.
Related : Narcissism and the Myth of Invincibility
Some have blamed social media for the rise in narcissism in young people. Intuitively, this claim makes sense. Constantly focusing on yourself and posting photos and information about your daily activities for the world to see seems to encourage self-glorification. However, narcissists are also more likely to be drawn to situations that allow them to brag.
As you learned in an introductory statistics course, correlation is not causation. If Facebook use is linked to narcissism, then it’s certainly possible that Facebook makes people narcissistic, but it’s also possible that narcissistic people are drawn to Facebook. Fortunately, social scientists have a way to untangle these two competing explanations: controlled experiments. In an experimental study, participants can be asked to use Facebook, and then researchers can examine how they differ from people who are asked to do another activity. In most studies of narcissism and Facebook use, researchers have examined whether people who freely chose to use Facebook were more narcissistic. Thus, when researchers found a relationship between Facebook use and narcissism, there was no way to determine whether Facebook use increased people’s levels of narcissism or whether narcissistic people were more likely to choose to use Facebook. If people were tasked with using Facebook and then had increased feelings of narcissism, compared to those who were tasked with a different task, this would support the conclusion that Facebook caused increased narcissism, because we would know that these individuals did not choose to use Facebook because of their previous narcissism.
Fortunately, some experimental studies have shed light on this issue. Gonzalez and Hancock8 found that spending time on one’s Facebook page, compared with sitting in front of a mirror or a blank computer screen, led to higher levels of self-esteem. Gentile and colleagues found that self-esteem, but not narcissism, increased after Facebook use. However, they found that levels of narcissism increased after MySpace use, suggesting that traits of MySpace use could increase narcissism. None of these studies had examined the nature of a user’s online activities, until a recent experiment by Robert Horton and colleagues. Some Facebook activities may enhance narcissism while others may not. Horton and colleagues10 conducted two experiments in which they varied the type of Facebook activities that participants were instructed to engage in during a 15-minute online session. Participants were assigned to self-promotional Facebook activities, such as posting status updates, photos, and updating profile information; Group activities that involve communicating with other people, such as responding to or liking people’s posts and posting birthday greetings; or neutral activities not related to Facebook. Participants who engaged in agency activities, rather than community or neutral activities, had a slight tendency to express greater narcissistic tendencies immediately after the activity. In the second, similar study, using a larger group of people, an experimental manipulation of Facebook activities did not affect narcissism. These findings provide evidence that Facebook use likely does not cause people to become more narcissistic.
In addition, early research suggested that posting photos and status updates were preferred Facebook functions for narcissists. 3 However, more recent research suggests that college-age narcissists are drawn to a newer platform, Twitter. In a more recent survey of college students, high levels of narcissism were associated with active posting on Twitter, but not Facebook. 11 This suggests that Facebook was once a primary place for young narcissists to hang out, but that they are now drawn elsewhere.
Of course, it is worth noting that Horton’s experiments examined short, individual sessions of Facebook activity. Thus, it is still possible that prolonged Facebook use could lead to increased narcissism. It is also important to remember that narcissism is not the only trait that increases the likelihood of Facebook use. For example, studies have shown that Facebook use is also higher among extroverts3 and, paradoxically, among people with low self-esteem2.
The jury is still out, but for now, the evidence suggests that despite the fact that narcissists gravitate toward social media, social media is not turning us into narcissists.
