Everyone knows that Facebook is one of the world' most popular and dense online social networks when it comes to the number of registered accounts, yet even though there is so much popularity revolving around it, there is also a dark side many people just don't know or don't want to know about. For those who already have an account, they have already seen that many Facebook members actually put very good pictures of themselves, which oftentimes are modified in Photoshop. They do this in order to show the world how beautiful they are, how well they fit a certain role and many more.
Studies
Yet even though these individuals are apparently normal people, they are actually becoming narcissistic. A study took place around this matter and published by Christopher J. Carpenter. The scope of this study was to actually find socially disruptive personality types on the popular social network. There were two hundred and ninety four people that were surveyed in this study, their ages being between eighteen and sixty five years old. They all received some questionnaires in which they were asked about the use of Facebook.
On top of that they were also asked certain questions that would let the researchers in on their level of narcissism. The 2 Narcissistic Personality Inventory subscales used were the EE or Entitlement and Exploitativeness and GET or Grandiose Exhibitionism.
Behavioral Problems with Facebook Use
The study came to the conclusion that individuals who had a higher level of Grandiose Exhibitionism have a lot of friends, because in their search for more and more attention, they need new people to see and appreciate them. This type of Facebook user is also more likely to accept friend request from people they don't even know, upload new photos on a regular basis, change their profile picture (in order to get a higher leave of attention) and so on. On the other hand, individuals that had a high level of SEE felt that they were entitled to getting attention without actually doing anything about it.
Below, there are some questions that were asked in the study:
How often do you accept a friend request from someone you don't even know?
How often do you update your FB profile info?
How often do you update your FB status?
In the majority of cases, the study confirmed that individuals who have a high friend count also tend to be narcissistic or have such tendencies.
Social problems
The fact is that people who are logging in on Facebook will create a world of their own in which they will live, breathe, wake up and go to sleep in. There are reports of users being logged in even twenty four hours a day on Facebook and posting anything they're doing, even though that content is likely not of any real interest to their friends. Because it's an impersonal way of communication where people can easily start and finish a discussion, social skills are highly attacked by this behavior.
Given the fact that people can always put "cool" photos of them on their profile, they will even start believing they look as good as they appear in the picture, even if the picture was modified. This distorts their personal view about themselves and when put face to face with a social situation, they will fail it.
Communication problems
Meeting up with someone face to face and chatting online are 2 different things, so Facebook is just a way for those who are socially anxious to have a communication channel which doesn't involve the immediate physical presence of their interlocutor. Exposed for long periods of time to this behavior, people not only become socially isolated, but their social skills are also greatly affected, especially communication. They will live in a world of their own, narcissistic most of the times in which their personal view of themselves will be distorted and unreal.
The Behavioral Problems with Facebook Use is very real and people find a great comfort in being in their cozy bed or sofa and typing words online. They don't have to dress and act in a certain way as no one can see them. This takes a toll on the person from many points of view and will in the end render that person a social inadequate. Regardless if it's teens or adults involved, the effects are the same: social inadequacy, the diminishing of communicational skills and even social anxiety.
