We have entered a new era in this country. One I am not proud to be part of nor do I wish for it’s survival into our future. We are now in the age of narcissism. Much was made of the “me” generation several years back, but they had nothing on this current generation of egomaniacs. Things have gotten so bad that even the Psychology/Psychiatric industry have taken notice. A few years ago (during O’s run up to the presidency) they began the process of removing Narcissistic Personality Disorder from the upcoming release of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition.
What has brought this on? How about a school system that rewards mediocrity? How about sporting events that no longer even keep score in the fear of alienating someone? How about a culture that embraces relativism at any cost? Also much damage has been done by an internet culture that convinces every teen out there that his/her opinion is not only equal but actually superior to all others. Twitter, Facebook, and many others have convinced teens that they are wise beyond their years, they consider their follower counts as proof of their abilities and importance. Now we have a President in this country that represents what they have always believed about themselves, that the “cool factor” is all that matters. It doesn’t matter one whit that he has accomplished nothing of substance, it doesn’t matter that he continues to destroy any chance of a future that any of these kids could ever have. All that matters is that he is cool. He’s not a boring, old, white man with too much money and not enough coolness.
The Age of Narcissism is upon us, may it die soon.
We are raising a generation of deluded narcissists
Published January 08, 2013
FoxNews.com
A new analysis of the American Freshman Survey, which has accumulated data for the past 47 years from 9 million young adults, reveals that college students are more likely than ever to call themselves gifted and driven to succeed, even though their test scores and time spent studying are decreasing.
Psychologist Jean Twenge, the lead author of the analysis, is also the author of a study showing that the tendency toward narcissism in students is up 30 percent in the last thirty-odd years.
This data is not unexpected. I have been writing a great deal over the past few years about the toxic psychological impact of media and technology on children, adolescents and young adults, particularly as it regards turning them into faux celebrities—the equivalent of lead actors in their own fictionalized life stories.On Facebook, young people can fool themselves into thinking they have hundreds or thousands of “friends.” They can delete unflattering comments. They can block anyone who disagrees with them or pokes holes in their inflated self-esteem. They can choose to show the world only flattering, sexy or funny photographs of themselves (dozens of albums full, by the way), “speak” in pithy short posts and publicly connect to movie stars and professional athletes and musicians they “like.”
Using Twitter, young people can pretend they are worth “following,” as though they have real-life fans, when all that is really happening is the mutual fanning of false love and false fame.
A Fate That Narcissists Will Hate: Being Ignored
By CHARLES ZANOR
Published: November 29, 2010
Narcissists, much to the surprise of many experts, are in the process of becoming an endangered species.
Not that they face imminent extinction — it’s a fate much worse than that. They will still be around, but they will be ignored.
The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (due out in 2013, and known as DSM-5) has eliminated five of the 10 personality disorders that are listed in the current edition.
Narcissistic personality disorder is the most well-known of the five, and its absence has caused the most stir in professional circles.
Most nonprofessionals have a pretty good sense of what narcissism means, but the formal definition is more precise than the dictionary meaning of the term.
Our everyday picture of a narcissist is that of someone who is very self-involved — the conversation is always about them. While this characterization does apply to people with narcissistic personality disorder, it is too broad. There are many people who are completely self-absorbed who would not qualify for a diagnosis of N.P.D.
The central requirement for N.P.D. is a special kind of self-absorption: a grandiose sense of self, a serious miscalculation of one’s abilities and potential that is often accompanied by fantasies of greatness. It is the difference between two high school baseball players of moderate ability: one is absolutely convinced he’ll be a major-league player, the other is hoping for a college scholarship.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/health/views/30mind.html?_r=0
