FlippED is an ED Original style wherein two bloggers come together to share their opposing or orthogonal perspectives on an interesting subject.


Have you ever met a person who likes to talk about themselves a lot- their family, house, cars, ambitions, avocations, and refuse others an opportunity to speak out their minds? Yes, you are right, that person might as well be a narcissist.

Narcissism is a personality trait linked with excessive self-love, conceitedness, egotism, a desire to be centre of attention and lack of empathy for others. Narcissists have a perceived sense of grandiosity and feel that they are entitled to special treatment by the virtue of their superiority.

Jean Twenge, a psychologist who has been studying changing trends and patterns of narcissism for the last fifteen years, has remarked that there has been an increase in narcissism over the years. 

Twenge blamed the popular culture centred around individualism and lack of consideration for the collective responsible for this change. 

On the contrary, many psychologists claim that millennials are not full of vanity and boastful tendencies, rather they are more immune to bigotry, and not only accept but also admire the diversity in the present-day world.

Jeffrey Arnett is one such psychologist who believes that “Millennials are an exceptionally generous generation that holds great promise for improving the world”.

Hence, deciding whether millennials are narcissists or not is a complex task and so, it is a must to delve a little deeper into this parlance.

Blogger Anjali Tripathi’s Views:

Is the youth narcissist? This question has been running through my mind for quite some time and I think I have my answer now.

Studies and research show that millennials are a narcissist generation. While we have heard our elders scold us for being self-absorbed on numerous occasions, their taunts are getting corroboration from this latest study.

Millennials are proud narcissists

The psychoanalytical study of human behaviour was introduced by Sigmund Freud and since then, the debate has continued.

Professor Jean Twenge outlined the difference between narcissism and self-esteem, noting that ‘Somebody high in self-esteem values individual achievement, but they also value their relationships and caring for others.’ A recent research says that millennials aren’t self-esteemed individuals. Rather, they are proud narcissists.

A research study published by Dr. Josh Grubbs of Bowling Green State University found that adults aged between 18-25 are the most narcissistic and entitled. They have a self-absorbed behaviour which, sometimes, is accompanied by a superiority complex.

This study is based on experiments and data collected from students. Some students labelled themselves are narcissists while others had a hard time accepting their behaviour.

Social media is responsible for boosting narcissist tendencies

One of the reasons for the spread of negative thoughts and narcissistic ideas is the widespread use of social media among the youth. It is no secret that the millennials are very active on social media, definitely more than their older generations.

When they spend more time online, amongst posts of people whereby they are showing off their superiority and self-absorbed behaviour, they also get influenced by these ideas and start following them.

The virtual world and the real world run parallel in today’s time and when we say this, we shouldn’t forget that the difference between the two is characterized by a very thin line.

While millennials struggle to make their identity both online and offline, the emotions of kindness and thoughtfulness are lost amidst the race.

So, even though I believe that the world’s youth are narcissists, I don’t blame them for it.


Also Read: From Self-Love, Narcissism To Narcissistic Personality Disorder – What Really Happens?


Blogger Paridhi Sehgal’s Views:

‘Millennials are narcissists’ is a misnomer. The recent research in this area does not support the idea of a “narcissism plague”.

Recent research studies show that narcissism has declined over previous decades

Personality expert Brent Roberts and his colleagues tested individuals who attended American colleges in three separate eras- the 1990s, 2000s and early 2010s.

In his narcissism detection test, he did not collect data on narcissism directly. Rather he gave due consideration to other related traits like self-absorption, vanity and leadership skills as well.

He sliced up the data and analysed to come at a conclusion that narcissism has declined since the 1990s. He blamed faulty memories for the popular claim that millennials are narcissists. According to him, we become oblivious to our youthful narcissism as we grow older.

Other psychologists believe that we become less entitled and more emphatic as our age increases. Hence, narcissism is a developmental effect and it would be wrong to attribute a narcissist personality trait to a whole generation.

Millennials suffer from self-esteem issues

Another study conducted by Leadership IQ debunked the myth that millennials are narcissists. About 3,000 employees from a multitude of industries were surveyed. Among the hundred-plus questions in the survey, millennials were asked to rate their speaking and writing skills against their peers.

Data mined divulged that only 28 percent of employees in the age group of 18-30 believed that their communication and writing skills are better than their peers. On the flip side, 42 percent of employees in the age group of 41-50 ranked themselves higher in the communication skills department.

Image source: Forbes

Hence, if millennials were narcissists why would they rank themselves so low? 

Millennials were less critical of their writing abilities. 35 percent of millennials believe that their writing skills are better than their colleagues whereas 49 percent of people over 60 feel that they are better at writing than others.

Image source: Forbes

This study led Mark Murphy, founder of Leadership IQ and an author of five books, to take a contrary stance- millennials are not narcissists rather, they suffer from self-esteem issues.

Thus, whether millennials are narcissists or not is still a hotly debated topic in the psychological realm.

Having said that, we need to understand that an entire generation cannot be narcissistic. There are young men and women out there who are kind and thoughtful, however, their positive character-traits are shadowed by the negativity that various members of the younger generation emit. This negativity may not be found in all but it gets more attention.


Image source: Google Images

Find the blogger: @lisa_tay_ari

Sources: Forbes, Psychology Today, BBC, New York Times and ABC Radio National

This post is tagged under: Millennials, Me Generation, millennials are narcissists, Millennials are not narcissists, use of social media responsible for narcissism, Millennials love themselves, Millennials are self-absorbed, why are Millennials narcissists, vanity, self praise, boastful, generation, pompous generation, millennials


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