THE NARCISSISM EPIDEMIC

The co-authors of a headline-making 2007 study of college students’ growing self-centeredness take a comprehensive look at the rise of narcissism in American culture and the resulting incivility, exhibitionism and celebrity obsession.

Twenge (Psychology/San Diego State Univ.; Generation Me, 2006) and Campbell (Psychology/Univ. of Georgia; When You Love a Man Who Loves Himself, 2005), draw on a growing body of academic research to offer an analysis of narcissism that goes a long way toward explaining current cultural phenomena, from American Idol to Internet social-networking sites. The authors show how the 1960s emphasis on the greater good morphed into the self-admiration of the ’70s and ’80s, which promoted indulgent parenting, celebrity worship, an obsession with instant fame and a “Look-at-me!” attitude. Noting that the American Psychiatric Association developed a Narcissistic Personality Inventory in the ’80s, the authors stress that their main interest is narcissistic behaviors among normal people that do not merit a clinical diagnosis. Our culture has gone far beyond the good intentions of the self-esteem movement, they argue, too often crossing the line into arrogance and self-centeredness. Narcissism is expressed in materialism (McMansions), self-promotion run amok (YouTube), vapid blogging, too-cute kids’ names, physically intimate but emotionally distant relationships, phoniness in everything from beauty (botox) to fame (faux paparazzi) and a general flight from reality into fantasy. New technologies and the mass media are the enablers of our self-obsession, they write. “It’s as if being famous has become a right,” remarks a sociologist. The authors ground many observations in quantifiable evidence and recognize the difference between useful self-promotion and outright self-absorption. Their suggested remedies are often obvious (education and awareness) or naïve (tell your kids not to watch My Super Sweet 16 on MTV).

Insightful and provocative, but repetitive.