Facebook reveals narcissism!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10052216-36.html

Researchers at the University of Georgia have uncovered a shocking fact: technology-savvy people who think very well of themselves use the Facebook social networking website to self-promote, ending up with hundreds of "friends," status reports updated several times a day, and lots of photos of themselves. This research will be published in October's issue of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin academic journal.

Narcissism is a psychological disorder in which a person thinks so excessively highly of themselves that they put themselves first in everything to the point of alienating others (the article here calls is "excessive egotism"). The study also states that those with the disorder at first may seem to be very confident and well-composed, but it soon shows through that they're far more than that, and narcissists tend to end up hurting others in order to further their own goals.

This is the biggest news since it was announced that the sky was blue!

It surprises me that this research was funded and supported by UG. It also makes me a little sad... there are so many things out there that need attention... there's no cure for cancer, but now there's documented evidence that narcissism can be seen on Facebook? Anyone who has used facebook a bit could have told the researchers that and saved them the trouble.

This is not to say that anyone with a Facebook page is narcissistic, but... here's a scenario. Now that Facebook has a feed that shows you who on your friends list has done what lately, when you sign on, a page pops up that lists various goings on. This is wonderful for keeping in touch with those friends you rarely see, but when the entire list consists of "Bob is taking a shower! Bob is out of the shower! Bob is going to class! Bob has posted 37 new photos!"... it gets old. In this case, Bob is a narcissist, and it's no surprise to anyone. Sorry, UG.

The most humerous part of the blog I linked to with this article is the comment that someone posted underneath, calling the study "completely false and untrue." It seems that the commenter didn't realize that the study said that Facebook helped to identify narcissists, not that anyone with a Facebook page was one.