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Narcissism and social networking Web sites
Laura E Buffardi1, W Keith Campbell
1Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-3013, USA. lbuffardi@gmail.com
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|July 5, 2008
Summary
Narcissism on social networking sites like Facebook is linked to more self-promotion and social activity. Observers accurately perceived narcissism based on profile content, highlighting the expression of narcissistic traits online.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Media Studies
- Personality Research
Background:
- Narcissism is a personality trait characterized by grandiosity and a need for admiration.
- Social networking sites (SNS) provide a platform for self-expression and social interaction.
- Understanding how personality traits manifest on SNS is crucial in the digital age.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the manifestation of narcissism on Facebook.
- To examine the relationship between narcissistic personality traits and online behavior/content.
- To determine how observers perceive narcissism based on SNS profiles.
Main Methods:
- Collected self-reported narcissism scores from Facebook users.
- Coded objective and subjective content features of user profiles.
- Had strangers rate user profiles for narcissism and other traits.
Main Results:
- Narcissism positively correlated with social activity and self-promoting content on Facebook profiles.
- Observers accurately identified narcissistic individuals based on their profile content.
- Profile features like social interaction quantity and self-promotional photos influenced perceived narcissism.
Conclusions:
- Narcissistic individuals exhibit distinct patterns of self-presentation on social networking sites.
- Online self-presentation on SNS can serve as an accurate indicator of underlying personality traits.
- The study sheds light on the expression and perception of narcissism within online social communities.
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