Beyond
personal branding, Dunbar’s number and the mobile phone pictures of the crème brule
you ate last night lies the realm of the new social media narcissist. It seems
we’ve entered a new age of narcissism—where blatant self-promotion on social media
sites has become standard behavior. Psychologist, Mike Leary argues that social
sites, like Facebook provide opportunities for well-adjusted people to unleash
their inner narcissist. Leary notes that “[Facebook] is a self-presentational
vehicle. It's a little bit like advertising.”
Ironically,
this trend comes at a time when brands are attempting to evolve to a more
human, engaged and caring tone within the realm of social media. Certainly everyone
has a reason for partaking in social media; whether it’s to promote a personal
or profitable brand, to stay connected to friends and family or simply remind
the world how awesome you are.
Maybe it
is time ordinary people take a different cue from brands and work on figuring
out how to be more, well, human?
Photo from State Library of New South Wales, via Flickr. Blog post contributed to by Cassandra Morello, Gigantic Intern.
