There has been an extensive debate on the subject of narcissism and its association with the millennial generation. It is no longer a Western issue, but rather a global one. Some researchers have stated Millennials as the “Most Narcissist Generation” of all time. Jean Twenge’s work on the “Narcissist Personality Inventory” has found out that now over two-thirds of US college students are suffering from narcissistic personality disorder. The research’s work is based on observations from 1982 to the present. Therefore, by recognizing the importance of this subject, the paper aims to highlight its impact, causes, and recommendations to help readers comprehend the subject.
The issue is the way millennials use self-expression on their social media platforms, which is considered narcissism by the older generations. In addition to this, the Millennials have rated themselves 61.4 on a point narcissism scale, while the older generations rated them above 65.3.
Now, Millennials become exhibitionists to a group of masses through social media use, which, according to them, is self-expression and narcissism according to the previous ones. Millennials are also known as the selfie generation, who upload their photos merely to express their appearance, and according to this age, there is quite nothing wrong with that. However, due to the constant validation, Millennials seek results in them being labeled as narcissists.
Thus, the constant validation-seeking attitude of Millennials also leads them to delve into social comparison with their peers, and eventually fall into depression and loneliness. This explains that millennials have a major lack of self-esteem. Another research study states that most Millennials experience a lack of severe economic downturn during childhood; in short, it is stated that they are the product of a failed parenting strategy. To conclude, the failed parenting strategy, as well as increased use of social media platforms, has led to a lack in the self-esteem movement, and this is why Millennials are constantly struggling from superior complexity, even personality disorders to mental illnesses. As a result, it is hindering their potential.
By this discussion based on the secondary research, it can be stated that Millennials are struggling with a narcissistic personality disorder.
The Impact of Narcissism on the Millennial Generation
Time has named Millennials as the “Me, Me and Me” generation, and till now by the above discussion, it is now provided that Millennials experience narcissistic personality disorder. Hence, the first identified cause is the failed parenting strategies that led to mismanagement of early childhood development, and eventually led the adult to grow into a narcissist. Second, as discovered earlier, the selfie generation, and the over-stylized use of filters have led this generation to develop a superiority complex psychological problems and eventually result in extremely narcissistic personalities. This section will study its impacts.
Millennial is known as self-absorbed. According to personal observations they need constant admiration for their academics, attention to their physical presence, and praise for their exterior self. Hence, Millennials fail to understand and recognize the difference between flattery and honest feedback. The statistics state that the incidence of narcissistic personality disorder will eventually increase nearly three times as time grows. In 1982, it was found out that now more than 58% of the students are suffering from narcissism. These students are subconsciously narcissistic and without even realizing their long-term impact. They are obsessed with every idea and medium of power that leads them to fame, the false prophecy of increasing their social media followers, and yet they are still depressed, and lingering into severe individualistic crisis. The fault is that the millennial generation depends on other people’s points of view rather than their true selves. They are also overly affiliated with the status of power and money, leading them to believe the misconception and myth of the ultimate happiness formula. In short, they are losing their true selves in the competition of simply serving as the corporate slave for the rest of their life. This is the result of failed parenting strategies, which failed to understand that the times were changing and that their child had to be dealt with differently.
Some researchers, as well as more prominently, the Times, reported that Millennials had been found to be highly fame-obsessed. As stated, “Three times as many middle school girls want to grow up to be a personal assistant to a famous person as want to be a Senator, according to a 2007 survey; four times as many would pick the assistant job over CEO of a major corporation.”
The concept of happiness according to Millennials is power, status, and fame. The self-absorbed millennials fail to understand that materialistic standards do not lead to a contented life, as the research says. According to a personal viewpoint as well as research, it is found that the narcissism scale of Millennials is increasingly also led by their opinions on materialism. More and more Western children are now overconfident and self-absorbed that they fail to understand the bigger problems, such as the harmful influence of narcissism on their personalities. (Bergman, 706)
Research Works on Narcissism and Millennial
It is also found that the increased influence of great inflation and the emerging Industrial Revolution has led children to believe that attaining power is an easy process. They fail to recognize the importance of failure and simply trust the process rather than overdepend on the result. This research idea will be further studied in Issue #2.
A concept of Selfishness Technology is also discovered that highlights the fact that middle-class Americans are now taking 85 more pictures while walking down the street. This is quite a mere observation that holds a deep-rooted problem of overgrowing narcissism in their personalities. Researchers at Florida State University have stated that this generation is in a crisis of low self-regard that will harm their future and further years of life. This has clashed with the over-expecting, and overly rational Baby Boomers who are also constantly criticizing the Millennials in the workforce. (Balaji, 11)
They simply state that the Millennial generation fails to meet their expectations. Thus, this has resulted in Millennials developing an inferiority complex and a misunderstood concept of the Baby Boomer generation’s behavior. The impact has also resulted in a huge generational gap that is also a factor why more and more Millennials are leading into depression.
Another impact that has been developed by the ongoing age of narcissism is the sense of entitlement. According to the survey done on previous generations, the sense of entitlement is higher in the Millennials as compared to them. Even when a millennial adult learns the impact, eventually, they are led to the fact that their facts are right compared to those of the older generations. They consider them outdated and old-fashioned, and they are a generation that cannot understand the Millennial. Hence, this is true, and there is a clash between the generations, however, by understanding it can be solved for the benefit of both ends.
Another research done at the California State University states that Millennials are suffering from an iDisorder. The researchers celebrated the concept, which even resulted in a published book. IDisorder results in reduced creativity with an increased amount of dopamine, eventually resulting in lower IQs. This has also led the Millennial to be self-absorbed and fail to understand the importance of the creativity of the soul simply. The soul’s creativity occurs by developing favorable thinking for the entire humanity regardless of being divided by the deepest roots of racism, classism, and elitism. Millennials are also reported to lack empathy and feel concern for others, and there is a reason behind it. The failed parenting strategy has led the Millennials to control their emotions on a general basis, which is. Therefore, they fail to understand the significance of every emotion. It is important to feel sad, angry, anxious, stressed, number, and happy (Bourke, 16).
Each emotion is important, however, due to the overly practical and rational tactics of their parenting they are led to control their emotions. The previous generations have practiced every practical strategy to establish their children as practical adults; however, they fail to provide them with the significance of emotions. Identifying emotions also leads to empathy and concern for others regardless of any social barriers. Therefore, due to the lack of a “homely sense of being” in their own family, Millennials are now led to believe that their social media “friends” are more important to them than their own family. The sense of family and togetherness has resulted in Millennials displaying themselves as narcissistic beings. However, a Millennial may feel more insecure than their pseudo “social media presence” to their followers, and friends. Another important theory is the moderation theory proposed by Aristotle who stated that happiness lies in moderation.
Issue #2 Based on Research Work
On the basis of this research work, it can be safely stated that social media, the self-esteem movement, and technology have impacted Millennials making them different from the previous generation. However, the largest influencing factor is the great inflation which was further generated by the emergence of capitalism and globalization. The argument over this subject even reaches an extent when the previous generation considers Millennials to cause great inflation, booming capitalism, and globalization.
The Concept of Real-Self, Millennial, and Narcissism
Psychologists are still discovering whether Millennials are narcissists or it is just healthy, high self-esteem developed by them. Due to the chaos between who they think they are and how they present themselves to the world, there is an answer to this viewpoint. Gen-Y is not only claimed to be narcissistic but also a psychopath and sociopath with no sense of empathy. From a personal belief, Millennials are narcissists. However, their empathy scale is higher than that of previous generations.
Another important part of the narcissist personality inventory test has resulted in calculating the negative traits that are usually found in Millennials. However, their scale of empathy is found to be higher than the previous generations. The negative of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is the average Millennial’s need to be associated with exhibitionism, self-absorption, arrogance, entitlement, and other important traits. (Wickel, 24)
However, these traits are not associated with harming the environment or even causing problems. But, due to this sense of their personality, Millennials fail to reflect on the true and long-term perspective rather than a short-term outlook. The short-sightedness of an average Millennial is the result of the overgrowing narcissism in their personality which may not cause harm to anyone, but it is destroying their selves. The author of Americanization of Narcissism has stated that Millennials usually have a false perception of the important aspects of life, such as happiness, empathy, leadership, and other subjects. For example, millennials must understand that a leader can be directive and humble. Confidence, leadership, and assertiveness are linked to better research of oneself, and self-driven attitude rather than aspects of life that cannot be controlled. However, the influence of social networking and the ability to gain followers on social media platforms has led Millennials to misunderstand the concept of the true self. Their lack of self-discovery is the main trait that millennials are increasingly suffering from narcissism and other personality disorders. Under narcissism, there are different types of; this is why it is stated that subclinical narcissism is a healthy choice. It is a normal personality trait that is lacking in Millennials on average. Extreme self-confidence without truly discovering oneself is the main aspect that is lacking in major research works done on narcissism. The Millennial fail to understand that seeking attention, admiration, and validation is not abnormal if it comes from the right sources. Hence, it also leads to the increasing number of Millennials now spending more time with their peers, social networks, video games, and Facebook than their families. This is why many Millennials now dislike the social situation related to family matters. The lack of family and togetherness has diverted the average Millennial’s attention; therefore, they are now occupied with competitiveness and dominance.
The traits of competitiveness and dominance are the result of over-dependence on SNS, also known as Social Networking Sites. The most popular online websites have grown by approximately 153% market share. Sites such as Facebook and Instagram are some of the most important market leaders in social media platforms. They have no purpose other than leading the average Millennial to develop a social comparison with their peers, leading to depression. The increasing rate of depression, loneliness, substance abuse, and even physical violence is the result of overusing social media sites and not understanding the means of moderation. Hence, in this section, the lack of important aspects in an average Millennial’s personality has been discussed, completely reflecting the importance of the true self. (Westerman, 8)
In addition to this, the psychoanalytic theory of Freud in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatry is one of the pioneers in understanding narcissist personality disorders. To understand narcissism and its presence in the Millennial generation, it is important to know the pioneers who have worked on it. The pioneer stated that it has a similar impact to that experienced practically worldwide. Hence the noted important aspects are discovered that the Millennial must not lose their true self and be aware of their own emotions, learn self-control, and eventually find themselves in a position that they are healthy narcissist individuals. As stated earlier, clinical narcissism is healthy and therefore, Millennials can adapt to that with a sense of moderation. The Millennial must also understand the importance of philosophy and psychology in life, as both deal with practical lessons and identification of one’s self. This way, Millennials can attain self-discovery and become their competition and best versions. Narcissism works like every marketing strategy, leading customers to believe they are free to choose. However, they are not. Therefore, recognizing one’s addiction to narcissism is a healthy choice and an effective way to have a self-evaluation.
Conclusion
The paper has successfully discussed the subject of narcissism in accordance with the Millennial. It is discovered Millennials are constantly struggling with superior complexity, even personality disorders, and mental illnesses. As a result, it is hindering their potential. Therefore, highlighting the issue and creating awareness about it is important. Moreover, the first identified cause is the failed parenting strategies that led to mismanagement of early childhood development, and eventually led the adult to grow into a narcissist. Second, as discovered earlier, the selfie generation and the over-stylized use of filters have led this generation to develop superiority complex psychological problems eventually resulting in extremely narcissistic personalities. Therefore, the first step to eliminate narcissism from society is to identify the main causes. The negative of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is the average Millennial’s need to be associated with exhibitionism, self-absorption, arrogance, entitlement, and other important traits. These are usually found in Millennials, so they are important to identify. The Gen-Y is not only claimed to be narcissistic but also a psychopath and sociopath with no sense of empathy. From a personal belief, Millennials are narcissists. However, their empathy scale is higher than that of previous generations. Hence, Millennials can overcome narcissism through self-discovery (Hoover, 38).
Works Cited
Westerman, James W., et al. “Are universities creating millennial narcissistic employees? An empirical examination of narcissism in business students and its implications.” Journal of Management Education 36.1 (2012): 5-32.
Bergman, Shawn M., et al. “Millennials, narcissism, and social networking: What narcissists do on social networking sites and why.” Personality and Individual Differences 50.5 (2011): 706-711.
Hoover, J. Duane. “Complexity avoidance, narcissism and experiential learning.” Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning 38 (2014).
Dworkis, Kelsey Kay. The interactive effects of incentive threshold and narcissism on managerial decision-making. University of Southern California, 2013.
Balaji, K. V., and R. Indradevi. “A STUDY OF THE PRESENCE OF SUB-CLINICAL NARCISSISTIC TENDENCIES AMONG MILLENNIAL GENERATION ADULTS IN A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY.” Global Management Review10.1 (2015).
Wickel, Taylor M. “Narcissism and social networking sites: the act of taking selfies.” Elon journal of undergraduate research in communications 6.1 (2015).
Bourke, Brian, and Heather S. Mechler. “A new me generation? The increasing self-interest among Millennial college students.” Journal of College and Character 11.2 (2010).
