One of the greatest things about living in the age of information is that everything that we could ever wish for is at our fingertips, practically 24/7. We could figure out the year the first skyscraper was built, and on the same day, that same screen can help with our math homework. It’s incredible what we have been able to achieve in this short period, but nothing is more impressive than social media. Media that conquers distance with ease, it can connect people all around the world. Although its invention is rather remarkable, this all comes at a cost: our mental health. Don’t lie, we all become different people online whether we like it or not, but is this an issue? One prominent thing you may have seen maybe online or in your friend group is the rise to one major issue. Is one of your friends particularly conceded perhaps? Do you think that they only care about themselves? Well, that’s adolescent narcissism.   

It’s a massive claim to attribute this kind of attitude to narcissism, especially considering the severe nature of the disease, but there is significant research that points at narcissism being an issue in developing children. According to a Northwestern University in Illinois, in 2015, 75% of teens from the study had social media accounts, of those, 50% visited daily. This level of exposure is bound to have some effect on all of the teens, and that effect is typically seen in the form of self-esteem variations. While most people only will acknowledge the extremes, research hints at there being more than this black and white solution. In the same study, they say that narcissistic traits are reliably shown starting at ages 7 to 12. This adolescent age range is responsible for the recent spark in diagnoses in the past ten years, according to a study by The Journal.   

In the same study, researcher Bruce McKinney reveals that using social media is the new “norm” whenever there is a free period. In both of these studies, a narcissist is defined as relying on self-regulation via social interactions that, in turn, will increase their self-image and self-esteem. They rely on these strategies of creating relationships solely to improve their self. Social media gives them a rich source of these disposable relationships due to its intended purpose of easily connecting people. This easy system of interacting with people is what helps develop these behaviors because, as children, they create an idea of how to act on social media from their friends and then that behavior leaks into their everyday lives.   

This echo chamber of narcissists is becoming an issue because 90% of the population has at least used social media, this means that there is a possibility that more people are suffering from this disease than we have on the records. This disease destroys relationships and can get people involved with terrible people, and they aren’t even the only victims. The people that the narcissists, in a way, feed off, are affected negatively as well. They are subjected to the cruel treatment of these people and could have issues with self-work and self-image. We need to be more aware of this issue in our society before it is too late to stop.