Does Social Media Make Us More Connected... or More Narcissistic?
Today I was on Facebook (how apropos for this entry), where a friend linked out to this CNN article, Facebook feeds narcissism, survey saysIt's pretty much a study about how "Generation Me," as sociologists are calling it, have become increasingly self-promotional and narcissistic in their social media behavior. The sheer fact that today's youth has "social media behavior" is something I'm sure not all of us can relate to when we look back fondly on our childhood.
This generation is the first to be born with social media already being a central part of their lives. It's not emerging or on the fringes, for only geeks to spend time with. No, it's completely and utterly mainstream. It's the fabric to many of our lives.
My 16 year old cousin, for instance, got an iPhone before I did and checks it constantly. She also recounts nearly every story about a crush or a tiff with a friend by stating "Well, first (s)he posted this thing on Facebook that..."
It's strange that as technology advances, the rate at which it accelerates and changes picks up speed as well.
The technological changes that happened in my youth (which mind you, weren't THAT long ago), happened every so often and were noticeable. Now things change with the launch of a product. May it be the MySpace ---> Facebook switch, or the abandonment of CD collections in lieu of iTunes purchases, today's world is changing as quickly as our DSL connection allows it to.
Which brings me back to the CNN article. A very compelling quote in the article stated that:
"For the average narcissist, Facebook 'offers a gateway for hundreds of shallow relationships & emotionally detached communication... People who scored higher on the study's narcissism test also spent more time on Facebook and checked it more times each day than their less narcissistic counterparts."
This kind of leads me to beg the question: what purpose does social media truly serve? I think it's a great way to stay connected, but it also seems like a great way for people to stay connected to an inflated sense of self-importance (without ever having done anything worthy of that... except maybe updating their Facebook status).
Social media is like an amplifier that takes your thoughts and puts it out there for as many people who are willing to friend/follow you to see. With the central emphasis on social media being YOU, I can't help but wonder if it makes US fixate on our own lives more than the world that is going on around us. It also makes me question what this will lead for us as individuals.
I would be lying if I stated that when I update my Facebook status I wonder if it'll go ignored in the world of saturated newsfeed nonsense or get "liked" and commented upon.
So, similar to how TV sculpted the personality and habits of the children who were first born into having such a technology in their homes, I often wonder what the internet will bring for the generation that is younger than me. Will they use the internet to peak their curiosity on life's most interesting mysteries, questions and events, or will they use it to let the world know they just ate a sandwich?
Becky
Brilliant post, Rebecca! This will most likely be the next topic on lbobi Radio.
I find that my attitude has changed about social media over time, and I'm not sure I am happy about it. I had to be dragged kicking and screaming onto Twitter, for exactly the reasons you mentioned in your post. I didn't see the point of letting everyone know I just had fish sticks for dinner.
Now, I find myself checking twitter all the time--in fact, that's where I was alerted to this post. I post probably a couple time a day on average, but mostly go on to see what a lot of my favorite creators, writers and developers are saying. Whether posting or just following though, I'm still contributing to the whole "me" culture of twitter.
Facebook is a bit of a different animal for me, as I have been able to connect with old classmates, and other people I would probably never run into.
I think part of the problem may be that Twitter is not so much a social networking tool as it is a self-marketing tool. It's not really designed for you to connect with others in a "give and take" manner.
Lots to think about with your post, and lots to talk about. Thanks for giving Jeff and I a jump on the next podcast!
Brian
I think it is so open ended that the medium alone does not decide how it is used. Your use of it would change the level of narcissism involved. For facebook - Some users have 1000s of 'friends' - it would take a massive time investment (if it was even possible) to really participate with all of them. I would think this is more the job of a fan page where you simply put out the information you are sharing about whatever it is that made you so popular and perhaps have some discussions you participate in. The medium is so open ended though- users can decide what works for them. There isn't a right way to use it. Brilliant! I manage about 150 facebook friends. I don't friend people I wouldn't be interested in hearing from via phone or over dinner. Twitter - I see as the information sharing and connection tool. Twitter is where I will 'follow' people I would never have the chance to meet or get to know. Their twitter stream can be more personal because learning what someone has for lunch.. whose world you wouldn't otherwise tap into.. IS interesting. I use lots of direct messages and @s and have short conversations. I try and keep to 100 - 150 tweeting peeps too. More than that is noise for me. Interesting take on twitter from Brian - I dont see a lot of marketing in my twitter stream (some but not lots) It may depend what your network looks like? I know the high school students I photograph who have friended me on facebook use it very differently to me. It IS their social world. I would argue it isn't the medium, it is the user which creates their own version of the interactions and therefore the level of narcissism they both demonstrate and experience.
I agree. If anything it brings the true personality of the user to the fore in my opinion. I'm not so conceited that I think anyone cares if I'm eating waffles.
I also think that people don't actually discern between friends and acquaintances. I know a good may folks but I'm really only invested with a select subset of those folks and so I only have in the neighborhood of 50 friends and I think 20% of that is family and 10% is organizations like my college or podcasts I listen to. I rarely Tweet and I only post things I find funny and/or interesting on Facebook. I will occasionally post something related to what I'm doing but only if I'm at a concert or ball game or something.
I don't know about the narcissism angle. I know lots of folks in my parents' generation and in the subsequent baby-boomer generation who are on Facebook, so I'd hesitate to call social media a "Generation Me" phenomenon. Most people I know on Facebook are baby-boomer/children of baby-boomer (so-called Gen X--what idiot came up with that appellation?).
Facebook and Twitter have become important marketing tools, too. Photographers are connecting with clients more on Facebook than ever before, to the exclusion of other forms of contact (snail mail, etc.). Events that I attend are typically scheduled through Facebook. Entire courses exist dedicated to marketing through the social media avenue.
Having a very wide diversity of friends and acquaintances on Facebook leads to a very eclectic mix of news stories, too--people post news links that are important to them. Very interesting to see both the ultra-left and ultra-right views on different issues (eventually, we'll have a balanced view represented, but unfortunately balance doesn't sell news...).
I dispute the narcissistic angle. Social media is merely the latest communication tool. Telephones, email, locker-talk (and water-cooler conversations), cell phones, texting, blogs, social media. As technology evolves, so does communication methodology. People are no more narcissistic than they've always been...social media is merely the latest method for exploiting and unconsciously projecting that narcissism.
Just my opinion, of course....