Social Media Narcissism and Depression

What is Social Media?

Technically speaking, social media is a platform on which users can create and post content and interact with other users through means such as text, audio, video, and images. It can be seen as an online version of community life—or as a town hall (as Twitter is often called)—where people can share, interact, debate, or collaborate. Yet socially speaking, social media is very often a kind of digital shrine to the Self. Each user creates a profile and gathers followers, posts personal thoughts or beliefs, and tries to get others to respond or pay attention, give approval or spark a reaction. It is way for people around the world to say, “Hey, everybody! Look at me!” And that is why for some, when no one looks or pays attention, severe depression can follow: social media has become a means of personal validation, and if that validation is not forthcoming by way of likes, re-posts, follows, and so on, users can become despondent, withdrawn, feel isolated, and find that their lives have no meaning in the context of the hyper-connected, digital world (De Choudhury et al., 2013).

A negative or drawback of this form of communication and social network is that it can lead to increased levels of narcissism and can become an avenue for digital addiction (Andreassen et al., 2017). As people become more dependent and addicted to their devices and social media, they can forget how to connect and live in the real world, becoming socially isolated (no matter how digitally connected they are) and unable to form meaningful relationships (i.e., families, partnerships, long-lasting relationships). Another drawback of social media is that people who use it can become easily exposed to harmful ideas, content that can corrupt their morals, and dangerous opinions of others (for instance, social media is one means of radicalizing people, as content can be posted to make people form extremist views, ramp up emotions, and get them committed to taking action). Plus, it can be a risk for one’s career—as has been shown time and time again when something one has posted on social media years back returns to haunt one: a joke here or there, or a remark that is now deemed insensitive and offensive can be all it takes to get one canceled, fired, and ostracized from real society (Velasco, 2020). Cancel culture has destroyed lives, and social media has often been the place where cancelation begins.

That said, social media is not all bad—for there are some good things that can be said about it. For instance, some of the positive aspects of social media include the fact that it allows for increased connectivity and collaboration among people. People are able to make new friends and acquaintances through social media (just look at the way Dave Collum went from being a relatively anonymous chemistry professor to a finance (FinTwit) celebrity via Twitter, hanging out with guys like famed short-seller David Einhorn. Social media has been good for Collum—but then Collum was also older and wiser when he took to social media than most of the young people who use social to become influencers or erect their shrines to themselves. Still, as Collum and countless others have shown, through social media, people can quickly spread messages, share ideas, and create connections with others from around the world. Social media allows people to spread information in seconds whereas before it took days for information to unfold. Now, people who never heard of Sam Bankman-Fried can become experts in FTX and crypto markets before the day is out thanks to social media lighting up with news about Bankman-Fried’s alleged fraud. Moreover, social media has democratized news: citizen journalism is more rampant today than ever before; people today have the means to investigate, communicate, and publish the facts as they uncover them—and they are not beholden to advertisers or large companies the way mainstream media outlets are. In other words, social media has opened the door for technological citizenship and a new form of agency in the free speech arena. Of course, not everyone views this as a positive: those who hold authoritarian beliefs tend to want to restrict free speech and allow only those views that conform to the authoritarian’s position. Thus, social media, in this sense, has brought about a direct conflict between democratic values and authoritarian/totalitarian pathways to power.

Ultimately, social media provides an opportunity to express one's opinion, engage in discussions, and learn new skills. It is not without its risks, however. People looking for validation on social media might not find it. If they spend their time comparing themselves to others on social media, such as influencers, they may find that they don’t measure up in terms of appeal, attractiveness, wealth, followership, etc. They may become depressed. Or they could find some modicum of success and fuel for their narcissism. All the same, social media users run the risk of cutting themselves off from real reality by engaging with people primarily in a virtual (digital) reality. That said, social media can be used for educational purposes and to disseminate valuable information about important topics. But there are also a lot of lies and corrupting influences to be found on social media, and users use at their own risk.