Narcissism 101

Smile. Take a selfie.
Smile . Take another selfie. This time with lots of smiling friends.
The meaning of life is simple. Make others envious of you and your lifestyle.Its more important to look happy than to be happy.
"If I could just be happy as Larry. He really looks so happy. Look at all those happy snaps on Facebook!"
Your goal is not only to impress but also to depress. Make others feel sad they havent got the same raw material as you. Make them doubt their own self worth.
Then you can say you won the game of life! Self congratulations!

Larry? Why I havnt seen him in years!.............. There seems to be a hint of sadness in his eyes.

yet narcissism takes many forms. but the most common is prevalent in social media. build up a fan base. when you comment, strike the right chord. don't make yourself look outside 'those in the know'. try to be modern but not too modern. if you choose a conservative profile make sure everyone knows you have a big funny bone as well. hate to look like an old stick in the mud.
I'm sure the same thing happens in strictly Christian circles as well. No one likes to appear remotely 'secular." Let others know how devout you are. be the first one to offer prayers.
then there is the "humble" contest. In the humble contest you are never allowed to take credit for absolutely anything. God must take credit for everything. Any hint that you suggest you might feel some pride, can be shut down immediately by those with antenna sensitive to "pride sins".
I'd be a hypocrite without mentioning my own narcissism. I like to think I am the class clown. Have not always been this way. in fact at school I was one of the quiet well behaved ones. ive posted on facebook but mainly memes. Building up my cool humour resume. I laugh with shame as I flick through my facebook account. What does God think of all this? I'm hoping he can at least give me credit for having a good sense of humour. He might think I am incredibly dull. I would be shattered to discover that.
Not everything is funny. I know that. Nothing funny about Syrian refugee camps. And Australian wives of dead ISIS members crying out for help. Their punishment seems severe to me. Australia wont have them back yet.
But there is so much bad news out there. i'd rather focus on my own little world. If my problems are minimed by larger world problems I feel minimised too. I don't think God wants us to feel minimised. But I'm guessing He much prefers genuine humility to narcissism.

I think you understate what narcissism really is. It's more than selfies and social media. It's much deeper and darker than this little social media game you refer to.

narcissism has different levels I would agree. Is the narcissism we see on facebook really harmless though?

That's just from Larry getting his latest cable and cell phone bill.

Well since I just said I don't really view it as narcissism I'm afraid I have no answer.
People on social media are just regular people looking for a way to get noticed and feel important and special. It's ultimately shallow and meaningless but that shows the level of self contempt they have for themselves.
Narciccists believe their very existence is a gift to the world. "Self love". Narcissists are dangerous and potentially violent or even murderous when their self love is challenged.
Social media is still full of people trashing you constantly, no matter the level of fame you achieve. A True narcissist would not dare well hearing a constant stream of criticisms from such a wide variety of people.
I'm well aware of the problems that face people who become overly focused on becoming internet famous. But, as stated before, not narcissists.

Nacissism 201, 301 and 401 will be my follow up threads.

The really dangerous narcissists have power either in the workplace or in a relationship. or are criminals.

Narcissism 101 will mainly cover everyday narcissism that we can all be guilty of to varying degrees.
50 per cent of your assessment will be a major assignment. A case study of your choosing. The other 50 per cent will be classroom participation. Credit will be given in class for making the teacher look good, wise and informative.

Oh theres higher levels of narcissim than people taking photos of themselves.
Im finding it annoying when people post stuff on your timeline and its like they are making fun of you. Um, not funny. I dont have time to respond to every single entry on facebook sorry.

I dont as a rule put pictures up on there if they are of other people cos some people just dont want their photos put there for the world to see. I dont even put myself on there and ask people to like me. The people I have as friends as supposed to already like me, thats why they are friends?! Why do I need to ask them to like me, makes no sense.

I know someone who takes a lot of photos of themselves like the kind mentioned.
They have anxiety, depression and very low self esteem. The photos are their way of
trying to show the world they are worthy of people’s attention.

Not everything is quite so black and white. Many post like this on social media as they
are desperate to feel accepted, which is the complete opposite of narcissism.

If their posts make a person feel inadequate, than it just means both the poster and
the viewer has a problem and maybe both have similar problems but express it in a
different way.

Its more that the modern world encourages narcissism. We are encouraged to share. Then we become addicted to sharing.
Thats why the modern mallaise of alienantion and loneliness is so common. Unique to the technologies we use.

What are you sharing though, knowledge, experience, encouragement that helps other people, or just random stuff that makes you feel proud or self righteous.

There is quite a difference between sharing and self promoting. Jesus would ask why people would call him good. nobody is good except for God!

Now if Jesus said that he clearly wasnt out to promote himself as a man but to glorify God the Father.

I don't know about anyone else but i am just not affected at all by seeing smiling selfies.. I just don't get these jealous feelings you describe at all..

To me self worth is set by... Myself... It has nothing to do with the value other human beings place on me.. The only One outside of myself Whos opinion of me counts is God..

And the version of the ""Game of Life"" that seems to be in the minds of many is a ""game of looser"".. It is a game where everyone who plays it loses.. The way to win is to avoid playing that game...

I dont think people are on facebooks to make others envious, otherwise you need to really rethink why you are on facebook or find new friends. I dont envy my friends, cos we are friends! I am happy for them. If they do something well, just say good on you, well done.

Be ecnouraging and lift them up, the thing is not just when they do well but also when they are down. I had a friend on facebook who said she was feeling a bit down and having a rough time me and all her friends shared encouraging messages with her.

If you are honest then evryone else appreciates that honesty as well. Dont fake it around your friends they can handle it just be real.

One thing I cant stand is people lying. Naricissists are generally liars and most convincing at it for unsuspecting people. They either lie or in their words 'omit the truth' and think thats ok. Well its not.

Facebook and Twitter, verbal selfies.

You want the definition of narcissism? Look at a photo of hillary clinton.

you seem to be ...uh...'hung up' on happiness what with your other op and this one

define happiness by the world's standards, which it seems you are doing, and it will never last

as far as people taking selfies, I don't by the way...maybe if I was a teenager in the all about me stage with no experience...that does not mean they are narcisstic

probably more than less of the population, just want to be like everyone else

try to define joy because the Bible defines it and that is what a Christian should actually persue

we all know, hopefully, that happiness is fleeting and depends on externals

thankfully attendance is not required

amateur hour in the chair

Freud would be so happy