- Link between number of friends and narcissistic qualities
- People with more friends tend to "self-promote" more
- Researchers also attribute Facebook to rise of narcissism
CONFIRMING the suspicions of many social media sceptics, researchers have established a direct link between the number of friends a person has on Facebook and the degree to which they are a narcissist.
A study published in the journal, Personality and Individual Differences, found people who scored highly on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory questionnaire had more friends on Facebook, tagged themselves more often and updated their newsfeeds more regularly.
The study also found narcissists were more likely to take offence to derogatory comments about them and also changed their profile picture more often.
A number of previous studies have linked narcissism with Facebook use, but this is some of the first evidence of a direct relationship between Facebook friends and the most "toxic" elements of narcissistic personality disorder.
The research comes amid growing evidence that young people are becoming increasingly narcissistic and obsessed with self-image.
The researchers, from Western Illinois University, discovered two social factors of narcissism - grandiose exhibitionism and entitlement/exploitativeness.
Grandiose exhibitionism (GE) is characterised by ''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.
The entitlement/exploitativeness (EE) aspect includes "a sense of deserving respect and a willingness to manipulate and take advantage of others".
The research found the higher someone was to score on aspects of GE and EE, the greater the number of friends they had and the more likely they were to accept friend requests from strangers and seek social support.
Numerous researchers have attributed Facebook to the rise of narcissism among teens as it provides a platform for people to "self-promote".
Christopher Carpenter, who ran the study told The Guardian: "In general, the 'dark side' of Facebook requires more research in order to better understand Facebook's socially beneficial and harmful aspects in order to enhance the former and curtail the latter.
"If Facebook is to be a place where people go to repair their damaged ego and seek social support, it is vitally important to discover the potentially negative communication one might find on Facebook and the kinds of people likely to engage in them. Ideally, people will engage in pro-social Facebooking rather than anti-social me-booking."
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Robert Karl Stonjek
Robert Karl Stonjek
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