Does Facebook promote narcissism?
Many seem to think so. I read an article in CNN a couple of weeks ago, in which the author said Facebook was turning everyone into shallow narcissists, and seemed to think a resistance movement against the site was necessary to avoid impending apocalypse. I have heard this from others too, to the extent that everyone may soon associate Facebook and narcissism automatically.
What bothers me most about these articles is that no one makes a distinction between the type of self-love that seeks to exploit others without consideration for anyone else, and the harmless type that is essential for mental health.
In the myth of Narcissus, the handsome man did nothing except look at his reflection in a pond until he finally fell in and drowned. No one would argue that this is not toxic, and probably insane.
However, Facebook narcissism seems to mean posting mundane details about your day and creating a page of interests that other friends can see, in search of like-minded people. At worst, Facebook may be boring sometimes, but is a militant resistance movement really necessary to stop people from announcing that they just ate a donut?