CTV Edmonton ? Is social networking turning teens into narcissists ...

Updated: Fri Aug. 05 2011 09:58:34 CTV News.ca Staff

Could Facebook be turning your teen into a narcissist?

Research suggests social media can bring out problems in teens that lead to psychiatric disorders. but they can also offer teens some advantages too and help to develop their social skills.

Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University and the author of ?Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration and the Way They Learn,? has been researching the impact of media and social media on the psychological health of kids and teens.

Rosen says the problem with Facebook and other social media sites is that they can give budding narcissists a new platform to develop their overinflated sense of selves. Narcissism can then develop into?full psychological disorders.

Rosen says online narcissists are fairly easy to spot.

?Even if you just look at someone?s status updates on Facebook, you can tell how narcissistic they are because they use words like ?I? and ?me,? rather that ?you? and ?we?,? he told CTV?s Canada AM Friday.

Narcissists also tend to post more pictures of just themselves, with no family or friends, and their photos are usually more posed and more professional looking.

Rosen said he believes one of major disadvantages of social media and texting is also one of their major pluses: hidden communication.

?With any social media, most of the actions take place behind a screen, so you don?t see the person at the other end. Therefore, you can feel comfortable saying whatever you feel like to anyone,? he said.

That can hold an advantage for those with social anxieties because it can break down some inhibitions. but it can also lead to problems, because the reactions to what?s said online are often not immediate.

?One of the aspects of social media is that you really get much of the reactions at the other end. And when someone does react to something you say, you can choose to ignore it. You don?t have to see their expressions, you can simply go one doing what you?re doing,? he said.

That can lead to social gaffes. without the social cues that come when speaking to someone face-to-face, people on the other end can misinterpret what you?re saying, Rosen says. That?s why he recommends parents teach their kids how to?use social media?properly, so that there are no misunderstandings.

?As soon as you put your kid on any kind of technology, you need to talk to them constantly about the ramifications of the technology. You need to point out that on the other end of the screen there is a real human being, someone who might get sad if you say something to hurt them,? he said.

He also recommends that parents teach kids about taking a waiting period before reacting quickly to something they read online.

?When you type something, give it a couple of minutes or seconds to re-read it and see if there?s anything in it that might be hurtful. or see?if something could be added to make the other person feel better,? he advises parents tell their kids.

While some might believe that social media can stunt a child?s socializing skills, Rosen believes the services simply teach a concept?called ?virtual empathy.? with virtual empathy, instead of getting a hug when we tell our friends we?re sad or upset, we get messages of support.

?We still get the empathy that makes us feel good. And that?s really what you?re looking for when you say, ?Gee I?m not feeling so good today?,? he said.

Please Add Comments | 14 Comment(s)

Earthwatcherall teens are narcissists at some point and to some degree in those year. I was, you were, we all were. it just becomes a matter of balance, realizing at some point the world does not actually revolve around each of us. FB is a tool, use it at your own peril.

AcroyearI don?t know about teens, but it sure had turned a few friends of mine into self obsessed ?look at me, look at me!? types. They post everything they do and if they don?t get replies and ?likes? they act like they?ve been slapped in the face. When did simply getting through each day without being a self obsessed, greedy little weasel loose it?s value?

Just call me old fashioned!I?m not signed up for FB nor do I ever intend to be. Is it not, after all, just a ?bulletin board?? People need to ask themselves one question before posting on FB?.?would I post this information on the Bulletin Board at work or at the Supermarket?? if the answer is no, then DON?T PUT IT ON FACE BOOK! I still prefer keeping in touch the old fashioned way?pick up the phone and call your friends?..or go and visit your friends house (in the old days that was called a PARTY!) . I always know exactly whom I am sharing information with.

MiggsVer2.0Narcissism isn?t restricted to teens in the case of twitter. Anyone posting their daily routine on Twitter is a narcissist quite trithfully. I don?t care where you stopped for coffee this morning and whether or not you had to use the bathroom while you were there. if I did care then I would fall under the definition of a stalker. Get a life.

Prof. Pye CharttFacebook and Twitter, as forums for self-importance, are a narcissist?s paradise. the curious, unhappy, and yearning folks that partake and create the integral symbiotic relationship grease the wheel of social idiocy and help make it turn.

chel in the PegTeens have been narcissists long before social media (how quickly adults forget). now they?re just fat narcissists.

Dixie from AlbertaKids need to pay attention to whats around them, not just what?s on a 5?3 inch screen in their hand. They?ve also lost the art of talking face to face with the world. Its easy to type comments on a keyboard, but try saying those same words right to the face of a person and understanding their facial reaction to those comments?that?s a lot harder. my life is too full to be worried about what my next door neighbour had for breakfast or what part of the mall my friend is at right now.

GHWI think FB is more likely a window into an established narcissistic condition and at best a supporting tool after the fact. More likely the narcissism developed in first 5 years of life from poor parenting and possibly some combination of poor parenting and genetics. Raising my kids I found I had to constantly remind them that life was not all about them and to put others before yourself. the happiest most peaceful people are those who serve and give. the most miserable people are those who only think inwardly all the time. the best cure for depression is to volunteer somewhere.

MLSomehow, it became necessary for the world to know that you?ve been to the beach yesterday. look, it?s a picture of me in the water! I?m special, not everybody gets to go to the beach. I am now the cool kid in school.

Abdula from KanataFacebook is just a mild amusement. People said TV would harm children turn them into mindless automatons etc? the only people threatened by Facebook are those that think their way of life is threatened by change (we know who you are) Narcissists will be narcissists Facebook just makes them more visible. Paranoia is more of a threat and this sort of article contributes to it.

Oh please!Narcissism goes hand in hand with being young, whether or they?re on FB. People who jump all over FB and Twitter are narcissistic to begin with. As others have pointed out, who cares if you just ate a cherry and it gave you the runs. the social media fad will die down as soon as people figure out that nobody really gives a rats ass about every second of their lives.

V.I could have told you that.

Jaid in TorontoFacebook is the ?virtual? connection to the outside world. whatever good comes out of it comes a bad side to it. Narcissism can be kept in balance with the promotion of good-willed values. Simply because media gives you an outlet to hate yourself or advertises you to hate yourself, doesn?t mean it?s the only choice. FB is simply another way to express yourself, whether it be good or bad, depends on how the individual or their parents/friends guide him/herself.

ConcernedIt turns just about FBer into a self-obsessed bore. Who cares if you?re stuck at the Vancouver airport waiting for your luggage or what you had for lunch? Too much information!

<a href="http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110805/social-media-sites-narcissists-110805/20110805/?hub=EdmontonHometag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110805/social-media-sites-narcissists-110805/20110805/?hub=EdmontonHomeFri, 05 Aug 2011 15:06:36 GMT 00:00?>CTV Edmonton ? Is social networking turning teens into narcissists? ? CTV News

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