“Want you to make me feel like I’m the only girl in the world!” Rihanna sings.
And Kanye West? “Excuse me? Was you saying something? Uh-uh. You can’t tell me nothing.”
Lyrics like these are what Nathan DeWall, a psychologist at the University of Kentucky, says point to a rise in narcissism in popular culture—and among teens.
“What we found over time is that there’s an increasing focus on ‘me’ and ‘my’ instead of ‘we’ and ‘our’ and ‘us’ [in today’s music]. So, for example, instead of talking about love being between we and us and us finding new things together, it’s mostly about how, you know, for example, Justin Timberlake said ‘I’m bringing sexy back’.”
It’s not a flattering description. Narcissism is a personality disorder where a person needs admiration and self-adoration. Narcissistic people have a very high feeling of self worth and often direct all conversations to them, as they believe their business is more important than anyone else’s. Combined with a lack of sensitivity, narcissists tend to exploit others, according to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Friendships and relationships may be formed just to enhance self-esteem or boost an ego. To make them feel better, putting down someone who is in need of emotional support are ways of making themselves feel better or more achieved than that person. Instead of taking criticism from someone else they in turn flip the criticizing onto that person, making them feel bad about themselves, and in turn boosting up their ego even more.
“There’s no doubt that teens are far more narcissistic than adults. I think narcissism is part of growing up and self-awareness. As you mature, you start to realize it’s not always about you,” John Markovich school psychologist said.
Other researchers are suggesting that there may be a link between narcissicm and social media.
New studies show that narcissism could be directly linked to Facebook, with all of the inappropriate comments, statuses, flashy pictures and “rate me” posts. All of these things degrade those who have more respect for themselves and make them feel as if those who put up more flashy things on Facebook are more popular, though it’s probably untrue.
Senior Jenn Howland believes that there is a link between Facebook and narcissism. When girls put up Facebook pictures of themselves saying “how do I look?” or “rate me,” it’s a very conceited and self-loving comment, as well as them trying to get attention, Howland said.
Dr. Nathan DeWall found that lyrics in pop music from 1980 to 2007 reflect increasing narcissism in society.
Songs like “Pretty Girl Rock,” with lyrics like “I’m so fly it’s a little bit scary, boys wanna marry, looking at my deirre,” turn teens into sexually addicted and rebellious people, Dr. DeWall said.
“A lot of musicians, celebrities and athletes use a lot of narcissism, so definitely there is some narcissism in music,” said Markovich.