Unnecessary Study Proves I'm a Narcissist

You may want to sit down for this, because I’ve got some news that is going to blow your mind.

Are you ready?

Okay, get this; research has proven that peeps who post about themselves all over Facebook tend to be just a wee-bit narcissistic and self-involved.

I know, right?!

Mind. Blown.

Here’s the lowdown on this earth-shattering discovery, courtesy of The Guardian:

Researchers at Western Illinois University studied the Facebook habits of 294 students, aged between 18 and 65, and measured two “socially disruptive” elements of narcissism – grandiose exhibitionism (GE) and entitlement/exploitativeness (EE).

GE includes ”self-absorption, vanity, superiority, and exhibitionistic tendencies” and people who score high on this aspect of narcissism need to be constantly at the centre of attention. They often say shocking things and inappropriately self-disclose because they cannot stand to be ignored or waste a chance of self-promotion.

The EE aspect includes “a sense of deserving respect and a willingness to manipulate and take advantage of others”.

The article goes on to state a clear correlation between the number of Facebook “friends” a person has and the scores on aspects of the GE.

It seems that folks with more Facebook friends tend to score drastically higher for grandiose exhibitionism, because they’re basically accepting a wider array of “friends” in an attempt to broaden their personal audience.

So there you have it, folks. If you’ve got a buttload of Facebook friends and you’re posting personal crap to Facebook all the time, odds are pretty good that you’re a raging narcissistic tool.

As someone who fits pretty much all of the criteria of this study, I’ve got to say that I’m a tad disappointed in myself.

I’ve done my best to chop down my “friends” list over the years and I’d like to think that a lot of what I post is more entertaining than self-absorbed.

Although, I suppose the fact that I’m writing a blog post about it probably nullifies the entire thing and puts me squarely back in the narcissist role again.

Crapsticks.

Well, there you have it. I’m a narcissist.

…you know, just like the 845 million other peeps on Facebook.

I guess I’m in good company.