The Rise of Narcissism

In psychological parlance, narcissism describes people who cover an inner feeling of emptiness and questionable self-worth with a grandiose exterior baggage that brags of self-importance. Narcissists are typically vain, expect special treatment and admiration from others and can be manipulative and hostile towards others - Tim Kasser in The High Price of Materialism (12)

It points, says the study's author, to a generations lack of empathy, is inability to form relationships - and worse..."Research shows [narcissists] are aggressive when they have been insulted or threatened...They tend to have problems with impulse control, so that means they're more likely to, for example, be pathological gamblers [or] commit white-collar crimes" - The Washington Post

According to a new study, "students NPI [Narcissistic Personality Inventory] scores have risen steadily since the current test was introduced in 1982. By 2006, they said, two-thirds of the students had above-average scores, 30 percent more than in 1982" (source). The reason? The authors believe that Gen Y'ers are too full of self-esteem after being told too often that they are special (and not just by their parents, but also by teachers and most importantly, advertisers). Kids have become the center of the universe and this creates within them a sense of entitlement beyond the norm and the belief that they are better than others. No matter how you spin it, a world full of people who lack empathy, are bad at building relationships, and think that they are better than you and everyone else is not a good thing.

The interesting part of this study is that while the authors, and by extension the media who are covering this story, believe that the problem is too much self-esteem, Kasser believes that narcissism is born of not having enough. In his book, he says that "[a]ccording to these theorists, narcissists attempt to cover their feelings of inadequacy by going to the opposite extreme, hiding behind a false sense of worth that is typically dependent on external accomplishments" (50). So while this generation is being told ad nauseum by a multitude of people that they are special, in the end they don't really believe it. If Kasser and others are right in believing that narcissists are covering up a low self-esteem, then the message that parents and others are telling them, that they are special, isn't getting through. These people feel bad about themselves and need external rewards (material or praise) in order to feel as though they have some worth - they need others to feel that they are special in comparison to others in order to feel it themselves.

So why is that message failing? Why is a generation that has been the product of a sustained "self-esteem" movement not feel so good about themselves? Why do they cover it up with this false front of greatness and superiority? Is it because the ways in which they are taught to feel good about themselves is superficial and external? Is it because kids are taught to look to external rewards (praise and material things) to feel special, and because these things do little to actually make us feel good about themselves, that these Gen Y'ers feel so shitty? Whatever the case, the end result, being narcissistic, is not a good thing. We need people who feel more empathy, not less. We also need people who are less focused on themselves and more on the world around them. The scary thing is when you realize that while Gen Y may be the most narcissistic, considering the bombardment of ads aimed at kids today telling them are special, and even more parenting and schooling cenetred around making kids "feel special," the law of consequence (thanks Cletus) would suggest that Gen Z will be even more narcissistic. Fanastic!

Update - As a counterpoint to the narcissicsm study, here is an op-ed piece in the LA Times forwarded to me by Cletus by the authors of the book, Generations - its called, Will the real Gen Y please stand up?
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To lighten the mood, here is a good read from the great George Lakoff (who Bill O'Reilly called the brains behind the insidious left wing secular-progressive movement - if this isn't a big enough endorsment to read him, well, I don't know what to day) - the article's called The Words None Dare Say - Nuclear War

Cross Posted at Dodosville.