Is the Internet creating a narcissitic society?

JP Morgenthal ‏ @jpmorgenthal: Is the Internet creating a narcissitic society?

ANSWER:

Whether there was an Internet or not, society would still be filled with narcissists.

First off, what is a narcissist? Every time a girl wants to accuse me of something, I’m accused of being a narcissist. So I better look this up.

From the Mayo Clinic: “Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration. Those with narcissistic personality disorder believe that they’re superior to others and have little regard for other people’s feelings. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem, vulnerable to the slightest criticism. “

Ok, I’m a little guilty of this. Depending on the girl and the time of day. But so are many people. It’s like two other overdiagnosed mental disorders: ADD and Bipolarism.But people have these disorders regardless of whether or not there is an Internet.

The great thing about the Internet is that, magically, you can hit the delete button on anyone who is a narcissist. In the post, “How to Deal With Crappy People” I say, “if you get in the mud with a pig, the pig gets happy and you just get covered in mud.” So just ignore the crappy people on the Internet.

But here’s the good news. One way you can become better as a person is by surrounding yourself with positive, inspirational people.

100 years ago, your choices of the positive people in your life were limited to the people who lived in your immediate vicinity.

Now you are only limited by the 800mm people who are interconnected on “The World Wide Web”. So, it’s your choice. Is your Internet more narcissistic, or is it an immensely positive experience that uplifts your life and provides valuable resources in ways you didn’t expect.

[Note: its very hard to pull yourself out of the mud. Even in the past day someone did something humiliating to me. I should’ve just ignored but I responded. My fault. Bu it’s all practice. And practice makes permanent.]