Why does there seem to be a growing narcissistic epidemic among the young?

[singleitis]

I've always thought narcissism was a personality disorder you were born with or caused by something that happened to you due to severe trauma in your childhood, but why does it seem to be a "normal" thing amongst millennials and gen z?

[Wiseman2]

The older you get the more entitled you believe youth is.

[j.man]

I've got plenty of generalized gripes about my generation, but when there are some boomers out there who can go into a 10-minute tirade over a cashier handing them their change bills first or pressing 1 for English, I find it difficult to believe we've got the market cornered on narcissistic moments or feelings of entitlement.

 

And you are correct in that narcissism is a diagnosed disorder when pervasive and extreme enough. That doesn't mean anyone who has narcissistic tendencies would inherently qualify, though.

[pippy longstocking]

Mental health is being recognised now , big time ...finally it is a thing .....thankgoodness

 

With this has come more knowledge

 

With that has come more labels

 

Now we have everyone and their dog adopting these traits to justify , explain and rationalise anothers or their own behaviour .

[Wiseman2]

Are cats narcissists too? 🙀

[DanZee]

Glad you asked. These kids were spoiled rotten, coddled, and excessively praised for everything from using the toilet to making a doodle on a piece of paper. Their parents made them feel like they were the most important thing in their lives, and the most important thing in the world. They all have inflated egos, at least until the first time they fail at something or they can't have something that they want, and then they go off the deep end by getting depressed, becoming bipolar, or having dissociative personal disorders.

 

Of course, I'm speaking in generalities. There are some great, normal kids out there. They're tech savy, they want to run their own businesses, and they want to teach the world to sing (in perfect harmony). But for some of the misfits, the attention that their parents have lavished on them have created the idea that they're special and everyone else is inferior. The trauma in this instance was being told they're special.

[Wiseman2]

But aren't we all special snowflakes? 😥

[pippy longstocking]

But aren't we all special snowflakes? 😥

 

wiseman have you been smoking my sh1t tonight

 

But yes , for one , I am a special snowflake thankyou very much

[melancholy123]

The older you get the more entitled you believe youth is.

 

 

I'd change that to the older you get the more entitled youth believe youth is!

[Capricorn3]

Quite frankly I think the word "narcissist" is just the new flavor of the month. You almost never heard that word/term until recently when every second person is now suddenly a narcissist. Now it seems everyone knows someone who's a narcissist, anyone who's anyone is suddenly narcissist. To me it feels like the world has gone mad, lol.

[thisisrichey]

It's the way parents are raising their kids, and society. They are definitely coddled and told they're all "winners" and "special" even if they aren't. some on... PARTICIPATION trophies?????

Also, it's what society is rewarding now. Look at YouTube. Look at SocialMedia. It's all about me me me me me.

When we stop paying attention to and rewarding narcissists - then it'll stop.

[Jibralta]

Our whole society is narcissistic. Movies, TV, and advertisements have all contributed to it over the last century, but the advent of social media has really kicked it into overdrive. "Narcissism" is named for the legend of Narcissus, a beautiful man who fell in love with his own reflection. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. are like big mirrors for people, and its amazing to see how people fawn over the images they create of themselves. I don't have to be on it to see it because all around me people are filming themselves, taking selfies, etc. People under a certain age aren't even aware that self-obsession is abnormal and don't even attempt to hide it. It's amazing. I can't imagine that this is a good trend, but we shall see....

[pippy longstocking]

Quite frankly I think the word "narcissist" is just the new flavor of the month. You almost never heard that word/term until recently when every second person is now suddenly a narcissist. Now it seems everyone knows someone who's a narcissist, anyone who's anyone is suddenly narcissist. To me it feels like the world has gone mad, lol.

 

Exactly caps ...begining of the year every man and their dog had frickin bi polar

[figureitout23]

Exactly caps ...begining of the year every man and their dog had frickin bi polar

 

Yep. It’s the new flavor of the month.

 

The irony of diagnosing everyone and their mama a narcissist is the action in itself is narcissistic!

 

“Well if we breakup and you’re treating me coldly, that must mean you’re a narcissist and abusing me. “” The thought process is incredibly self absorbed because it it’s core you’re ignoring the other persons wishes to not have anything to do with you anymore, you’re assuming they are no longer treating you like a lover because there’s something wrong with them mentally. That they were bad partners because they’re emotionally handicapped. It absolves you from taking any blame or responsibility. Well it’s not my fault I chose a cheater and a liar, he’s a NARCISIST!

 

 

Call me crazy but I kinda find the phenomenon fascinating. Sometimes if I’m bored I’ll check my email spam box for quora updates and holy cow! It’s a literal circle jerk!

 

They’re all ‘narcissist experts’ I’m not even kidding it’ll be in their title and they go on and on and on like they’re scholars!

 

And the questions will be like:

 

Will my narcissist come back after their done discarding me?

 

What can You text to a narcissist before You finally have NC with them again?

 

Do narcissists really stop thinking about you?

 

What terrifies a narcissist deep down to their core?

 

 

Will a narcissist devalue you no matter how good of supply you may be, even if he risks losing you?

 

 

These are all real questions people asked. To me, it’s an obvious pattern. People who are engaged in a game of who wins the breakup and people who have taken on labeling their ex as a coping mechanism. It’s just a giant den of codependence. A big reason I love ENA is while coddling does happen at times for the most part, of you ask a question, you’re going to get an honest, well thought out, response from people of all walks of life, instead of getting pulled into the abyss of obsession that is the diagnosis club.

 

Sorry for ranting again I find the subject super interesting.

[Hollyj]

Are cats narcissists too? 🙀

 

Definitely!

[Realitynut]

That and Borderline......my ex is CRAZY!

[BecxyRex]

I’d say social media and coddling in universities are a big factor in this.

[boltnrun]

Self absorbed. Self centered.

 

Narcissism, from my understanding, is a diagnosable personality disorder.

 

So, again, self absorbed and self centered rather than narcissistic.

[nutbrownhare]

You can be rude, self absorbed and self centred without being a narcissist.

 

Teenagers have been obsessed with image, fashion and their appearance for as long as I can remember - it's just that today's youngsters have more opportunity to share it with others than previous generations did. I think for many people, a sense of entitlement and thinking you know it all is just part of growing up, and in that respect today's teenagers are no different to any others.

 

On the other hand, I find many young people to be great. Certainly in the UK, the kind of customer service you get from the youngsters is so very much better than that from many older people; they don't have the inter-generational hangups that my generation did; they are less racist and bigoted, and more open to other cultures and experiences. I work with people of a wide range of ages, both as clients and co-workers. I enjoy the lack of cynicism and open-ness of the youngsters.

 

And then... the scariest narcissist of the lot, the one who genuinely can wreak carnage on a global scale, stopped being young an awfully long time ago....

[Lester]

Starting around the eighties, many families went from parent-centric to child-centric.

 

Good for the pill-pushers, cell phones and fancy imported car makers but bad for all those around them.

[figureitout23]

You can be rude, self absorbed and self centred without being a narcissist.

 

 

Its called being a human...

 

I agree with the rest though!

[Jibralta]

Self absorbed. Self centered.

 

Narcissism, from my understanding, is a diagnosable personality disorder.

 

So, again, self absorbed and self centered rather than narcissistic.

 

Before it was adopted but psychologists to name a diagnosable personality disorder, the term "narcissist" was used to describe a quality or condition where a person is self absorbed.

 

The term "narcissist" comes from mythology and is literally centuries older than the science of psychology. It's probably thousands of years older, in fact.

 

Calling someone "narcissistic" isn't the same as saying that person has narcissistic personality disorder.