Facebook and its narcissistic nature
Holly Ringerud is hungry for tacos.
Holly Ringerud is on her way to pilates
Holly Ringerud is wondering if using Facebook makes her narcissistic.
I saw it on Facebook
I will be the first to admit, I love Facebook. I love looking at vacation photos of people I haven't talked to since high school. I love knowing where my friends ate dinner last night. I love that because I'm a fan of Sprinkles Cupcakes I'm privy to the free cupcake secret word of the day. But as much as I love fulfilling my voyeuristic needs while also telling everyone I know that "Holly Ringerud can't wait for the new season of Mad Men," I can't help but wonder if it's all a little narcissistic. And I'm not the only one who has thought about this. There have been numerous articles written about this topic. Some say we're in the midst of a narcissistic epidemic. There's even a fan page on Facebook for those who wish to celebrate their narcissism!
Recently, a study published by researchers at University of Georgia found that Facebook could be used as a means of gauging narcissism. A person's number of friends and amount of wall posts was indicative of how narcissistic they were in real life. It also stated that narcissists were more likely to choose self-promoting pictures for the main profile. But couldn't it just be that some people just know a lot of people, especially as that person gets older? Does it mean I'm self-promoting if I "friend" someone with whom I haven't spoken to in years? And why would I want an ugly picture of myself for my profile?
Facebook at work
And what about using Facebook for business? It's becoming more and more evident that Facebook, and don't forget Twitter, have become outstanding tools for engaging and communicating with your customers. In a way, companies have to be a full of themselves to succeed.
Facebook is a great place to promote your products, events, specials and more. I wouldn't find it a turnoff if a company was to tweet or comment about a success for their business or to tell me about something I might be interested in. So I guess in this instance if you could call a company narcissistic, it works. It's quite interesting how the worlds of personal communication and marketing communications are becoming more intertwined every day. The two faces of Facebook, if you will.
Perhaps in the future we will just get used to everyone over-sharing details of their life and it won't appear narcissistic at all. We'll usher in a new "Me Generation." Or maybe, it's already happened. In the meantime, Holly Ringerud is going to go log in.
About the Author: Holly Ringerud
View more blog posts from Holly Ringerud >
Contact Holly
4 comments so far
Erik says:
With the socail networking sites....everything in moderation.
Roger Hurni says:
Aside from FaceBook and Twiiiter being on the narcissistic side, I'd also look at them as: Reverse Stalking.
Jeff Colburn says:
I just started using Facebook a few months ago, and I'm still getting used to it. It is a great tool for businesses, but some people do get carried away with the personal stuff. I don't really need to know, or care, that someone needs to make a trip to the grocery store, just received an e-mail from their mother, but the vacation pictures are nice. Twitter is next.
Have Fun,
Jeff
EA Rice says:
I think narcissistic is a little harsh. I personally like reading peoples updates. I can't speak for everyone but I know that I'm always busy and never at home but usually am on the internet (thanks to my cell phone). I'll be honest, I don't always have the time to check in on my friends so in a strange way reading their updates, even the trivial "went to the dentist" makes me feel like I am more in contact with them. It also makes it easier for me to strike up a conversation with them rather than starting out with the trite "How are you" "I'm good" exchange that really gets us nowhere.