Posted on 02/19/2024 6:40:08 AM PST by MtnClimber
Why is there so much self-promotion in our society, self-inflating behavior at the expense of others? Data suggests “narcissism,” the outsized need for admiration, blind conceit, and lack of empathy is rising. Why? With what effect on society?
These questions – why and with what effect on society– are important for understanding the world in which we live and assessing the drift of society.
Unpacking the complicated drift of society toward unrepentant, unapologetic, often unaware self-aggrandizement is tough, but several facts pop off the page.
First, social media – self-tailored, instant, one-to-many communications – have grabbed society faster than any innovation in recent memory. They are reinforced by reliance on computer networking, hand-held communications, and a shift away from basic, tactile, physical, and non-digital interaction.
Thus, a look at social media trends from 2004 to 2018 is stunning. Use of Twitter, first on the scene, went from zero to 250 million daily. Next was YouTube, appearing in 2005 which rockets to just under two billion users. Facebook, which appeared in 2008, has over 2.5 billion users.
In the meantime, What’s App, We Chat, and Instagram have a billion users, while Tumblr, Tik-Tok, Reddit, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Myspace continue to grow, hovering from tens of millions to 600 million.
Unknown to many, others like Rumble, Parlor, Truth Social, Telegram, Gab, Gettr, and BitChute are not far behind and are gaining social recognition.
So, in short order, America has gone from landlines and flimsy flip phones to instant, uncorroborated news and the boldest, most unhumble, objectively narcissistic self-promotion in human history.
Can that possibly be good? Social media, in a word, has “democratized” the newsroom, living room, and bedroom, but at the expense of traditional limits, privacy, respect, self-respect, and self-awareness.
In effect, the Tower of Babel, reaching vainly for the sky, is here. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for such things, and Babylon was threatened with a similar fate. Are we the modern Babylon, all for nothing?
Nutshell: Social media has accelerated these trends – self-absorption, putting others second, ourselves always first, before others; this divides souls from each other and divides them from within if you think about it.
Second, we have a news media – public and private – that prioritizes glitz, personal attention, and entertainment over truth, accuracy, and modesty.
What does this do? Not surprisingly, the personality-centric media – where we go for news – reinforces our worse instincts, gets us edgy, and keeps us uneasy with flash, bang, and startle rather than basic facts.
That, in turn, leads us to think social media and startle-me-news are normal. We are encouraged to think the latest personal tragedy, scandals, photos, cultural deception, destruction, or trauma, all matter, is normal.
Is all the chaotic self-promotion and one-up-man-ship, senseless sizzle, cake-and-monkeys – narcissistic behavior – good for any of us or society? Of course not.
Third, recent studies show this reflexive, almost pathological self-aggrandizement – over time – produces a narcissistic society, reinforcing personal insecurities, driving us farther apart, not together.
Without getting too deep, textbook narcissists compare themselves to others, never feel secure enough to stop, and always aim to edge others out – unsuccessfully. The shadow chasing them is not others’ but their own. This fuels more personal doubt.
What we are living through then is a social thermal, a kind of circling, chaotic current of public sentiment that reinforces what is least helpful, dividing us, creating envy, distraction, and friction – causing us to deemphasize what matters most, namely caring for each other and putting ourselves in the shoes of others.
The trend toward self-orientation reduces what holds a republic – or any group – together, respect and mutual support, encouragement by action, not words, recognition of individual strengths, willingness to take risks for others, working to understand others even when not understand ourselves, helping to fulfill dreams.
Bottom line: The modern trend is a dead end. No amount of self-focus, preoccupation with self-adulation, admiration, or glorification – in a word, narcissism – can offer the lasting fulfillment and contentment coming from other-regarding thoughts and behaviors, putting others first.
Sometimes, the most complicated things can be reduced to one line. Here is one. Alexander de Tocqueville, in 1835, wrote: “America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” The same is true … of individuals.
I would not be surprised if our current POTATUS has “Narcissist” tattooed in a private place.
Insert pic of chick with fake everything and an intellectual age of eleven taking selfie in a filthy bathroom here. Or Geraldo Rivera in a towel.
bunch of baloney sauce! narcissistic behavior has been around since the beginning of time. the only reason it’s so apparent now should be apparent to everyone...it’s the internet age. duh!
Barack Hussein Obama, that’s why.
OnlyFans and TikTok are microcosms of American culture.
Correct, and they perfectly express our state of collective mental/spiritual illness.
Everyone was learning English to do business with US and they adopted OUR dollar as a global currency standard.
Damned STRAIGHT we come off as narcissistic, but IS it ?
When you know you know you know, . . . . Damn Man . . . you walk straight, strong and (if you will, to the unlearned) . . . arrogant.
They're STILL trying to f*** with our heads with sixties psycho-babble.
I'M A PROUD AMERICAN !
Kids have been raised by parents who for decades have constantly told them that they are “special” and hover over them day and night.
They don’t have the awareness that there are actually other people in the world, and they don’t care. (because they are special)
Now they are in charge.
Social Media.
The internet and the fact that God has pretty much been banished from the public square.
This may explain some behaviors.
It’s a big-time mental shock to most all (excepting of course those very few who can consistently sink a 40-foot jump shot or a 90-foot putt or who can write a couple hundred hit songs or plays, etc.) when they learn the hard truth that they are not “special” in the eyes of the general public.
It’s because we told God to take a hike.
That’s correct.
One reason is the closing of insane asylums. People who would have been previously committed are free to mingle and breed with other people who would also have been committed in the past.
Between cars, airlines, and infrastructure, people have more options to pick up and relocate, including people with mental problems. After the national highway system was built starting in the late 1950s, look at how many "oddballs" made their way to California in the 1960s. They were migrating from every small town in the U.S. Even now, look at how many homeless migrate between San Francisco and Portland or Seattle depending on the weather. They've built their own communities filled with a disproportionate number of the mentally ill.
People with mental illnesses have an easier time congregating compared to past history or currently in other parts of the world. The downtowns are filled with people who belong in institutions. They'll find drugs, things to steal, places to camp, and live off the taxpayers and the excesses of modern society.
People with mental illnesses such as narcissists are rewarded for their behavior in certain segments of society. Large korporations are known for hiring Type A personalities to fill certain positions. Rewarding them leads to more of them.
Government programs pay for mentally ill people to remain unemployed and allow them free reign to meet other mentally ill people and even breed. If they have children, the family is given housing at the taxpayers' expense.
We are now two generations into PsychFest and it continues to get worse.
In other parts of the world, people with clear mental illnesses are kept in check by default. There is no financial incentive to hire them as it's only in companies that have a disconnect between actions and accountability that some mentally ill can thrive. There is no overabundance of wealth to support groups of them on welfare programs. It is more difficult for them to leave where they live and move to a location with a higher proportion of other mentally ill people.
Homosexuals are malignant narcissists. Homosexuals have somehow risen to power in this country. That would explain the abundance of narcissism.
If I’m an American, which is THE exceptional country, and I have a coffee mug that says “World’s Best Dad” and I have one of those huge foam fingers that assures me that my team is Numero Uno then why shouldn’t I be full of myself?
**The internet and the fact that God has pretty much been banished from the public square.**
Our little country church has lost kids to Sunday sports tournaments (baseball, softball, basketball, flag football,volleyball) right here in the Bible belt, because....
....of the “look at me” epidemic. And the hopes of “look at me” getting the kid a college scholarship, and/or making the kid (and the parents) rich and famous.
I recall about 4 years ago, when filling in for a sick truck driver, hauling ‘special’ dirt for a high school baseball infield. That load went over 200 miles one way. The shipping cost to the school was near double of the dirt...
...for kids, of which maybe 5% would go on to play in college, and maybe one kid in a generation would be good enough to play at least semi-pro.
And where does most of the sports gear come from?.... you know the answer.
Yay us!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.