Voicelessness and Emotional Survival > Voicelessness and Emotional Survival Message Board
Interesting article on Facebook and narcissism
BonesMS:
--- Quote from: Ales2 on March 22, 2012, 02:40:42 PM ---Bones - eeewwww about revealing photos is right..
Kathy - This quasi business partner also added people he did not know (quite a few - anyone who said they read his book) as well as some completely fake profiles and paid the price for it.
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I struggle to understand this kind of behavior.
Bones
BonesMS:
--- Quote from: JustKathy on March 22, 2012, 11:34:51 AM ---I'm sure it's the ideal tool for Ns to gather N-supply - "look at me! I'm so cool!"... and I'm sure a lot of people unsubscribe to their posts pretty quickly in response, too and then unfriend them.
Yes! I see this daily with my N-friend and her 5,000 Facebook "friends." She loses 5-10 a day, then scrambles to replace them. She doesn't care who she adds, as long as that number stays at 5k. Facebook has a an unlimited supply of potential "friends," many of them spammers, bots, or fellow Ns. It's not at all hard for them to gather that N-supply.
Just a side note: a friend of mine who also has an N-mother tried an experiment with this. She created a fake ID, fake person, with a fake photo and fake profile, just to see how many people would friend someone they didn't know. Amazing as this sounds, over 200 people accepted her friend request on the first day. That's 200 people who friended someone who didn't exist, and she probably could have gone higher if she had really tried.
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*Shaking and scratching head in bewilderment*
Bones
SilverLining:
With my own acquaintances, I see Facebook use correlated with narcissistic tendencies, and also depression. My siblings are heavy users of anti-depressants, and heavy users of facebook. Could there be a connection? They were taking AD's before FB appeared, so it didn't cause the depression. But it sure appears to be a diversion from effective dealing with their problems.
Seems to me FB might make a good enhancement to pre existing relationships. It's a way to stay connected without the bother of writing and sending physical letters through the mail. But as soon as people start relying on FB as a source of relationship in itself, there is huge potential for problems. What does a person do when they need a ride to the airport and their only friends are on the internet? FB could make people feel a false sense of connection when they really are more alone and isolated than ever.
BonesMS:
--- Quote from: SilverLining on April 03, 2012, 05:51:16 PM ---With my own acquaintances, I see Facebook use correlated with narcissistic tendencies, and also depression. My siblings are heavy users of anti-depressants, and heavy users of facebook. Could there be a connection? They were taking AD's before FB appeared, so it didn't cause the depression. But it sure appears to be a diversion from effective dealing with their problems.
Seems to me FB might make a good enhancement to pre existing relationships. It's a way to stay connected without the bother of writing and sending physical letters through the mail. But as soon as people start relying on FB as a source of relationship in itself, there is huge potential for problems. What does a person do when they need a ride to the airport and their only friends are on the internet? FB could make people feel a false sense of connection when they really are more alone and isolated than ever.
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Well, in one sense, the relationship issues could apply here as well when there are no 3-D relationships to balance it out.
Bones
Baddaughter:
I enjoyed the article. I am a user and lover of Facebook --(218 friends) although I am not sure to how many people I would admit the love part. I see some validity to the article but think it bears further scrutiny. I love making friends all over the world and usually I locate them during those stupid Facebook games or forums that I am hooked on. But out of 200 or so friends that have come and gone during the two years that I've been using it, a handful have become "fast" friends. Like a real social contact, when the need of it is gone, sometimes it disappears, but sometimes you meet really warm wonderful people and over time, get to "know" them. And my attitude is to keep it light and breezy and not to invest too much emotionally into these virtual friends. I have a few that we post a pic back and forth or brighten each others day -- so it is good clean fun if you let it be. If a narcissist gets on Facebook -- that would be about 1 in 10 users anyway wouldn't it? And that is a lot of people and researchers would notice the Ns first if that is what they were looking for. Wouldn't be the cup of tea for someone who had no desire to see and be seen. Let's face it, "Fools Names and Fools Faces are Always Seen in Public Places." I am sure that is an oversimplification and will probably argue the "other side" when this comes up again. I agree with Bones about the depression part but think it is more a form of self medication like drugs or alcohol. People really get hooked on it -- especially if not much worthwhile or fulfilling in the real world. I got hooked after my parents died -- but don't "need" as much now. And there are at least as many Voyeurs as Narcissists on Facebook -- apparently I have quite a few tendencies of each, to my shame. Facebook really is full of hackers, identity thieves, viruses and bots and a sane person would stay away for that alone. But meanwhile, consider it "Liked!"
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