1. Running head: A NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE
A Narrative Perspective On The Development Of Narcissism And Anxiety Through
Social Media Use
Michael Shawn Ellis
PSY 6030-Personality Theory and Research
December 1, 2015

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Abstract
People have been telling their stories for centuries and because of this need we have
seen many industrial developments that have aided in helping civilizations tell their
stories to world. Starting with drawings on cave walls, to chiseling on stone, to writing on
animal skins, to the development of paper and ink, the printing press, typewriters, the
printer, and now in the twenty-first century the digital copy and social networking sites.
The evolution of social networking sites, with the aiding of the internet, has allowed
everyone to become a storyteller plus giving anybody that has internet access the ability
to read anyone's story without the limitations of geographic location. Celebrities from all
over the world are using social networking sites to tell their story when they are not
being seen on the television screen giving their avid followers a chance to follow, make
comments, and hopefully be noticed (Greenwood, 2015). From a theoretical approach
based on the narrative perspective, are social networking sites aiding in the personality
development of narcissism and anxiety amongst its users? Results reveal that users
must develop healthier uses of social networking sites when presenting their narratives.
Keywords: narcissism, anxiety, narratives, social networking sites

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Introduction
There have been many different theories that have been developed to help
clinicians understand personality, regardless of culture, and to name a few:
Psychoanalysis, Big Five Trait, Attachment, Genetics, and Lifespan. Living in the
twenty-first century and the advances that have happened with technology, one theory
of personality that has seen its advancement in research, in practice, empirical
validation, and helping bridge the gap between clinician and client is the narrative
approach. What makes the narrative perspective different from the other personality
approaches (theories), is the client tells their story and in this process the clinician has
the ability to go on a intimate journey into the past and present, or just the past, and
discover from the client's eyes who they really are, as long as trust has been
established. An example of a brief narrative is as follows:
Before moving to the Northeast in 2008, I was born in Memphis, TN and lived there until
I was four years old and then moved to the Tupelo, MS area and lived there until I
moved back to Memphis, TN in 2008 for the job that brought me to the Northeast, where
I have been since. How this applies to culture affecting personality is that being from the
Southeast one of the major proponents to southern culture is the Bible and Christian
living, in which we strive to live our lives based on the Bible's teachings. I have been
going to church since I was born, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior at age
8, and I just completed reading the whole Bible in a year at age 33; so how I live, how I
treat people, how I make decisions, and how I love my wife and kids is all centered
around the teachings in the Bible which therefore is major part of my personality that
stems from my culture. Now, having lived in the Northeast for over seven years, I can
say that certain aspects of the Northeast culture is changed some parts of my
personality: I expect order in every aspect of my life, I am very fast paced (but there are
times when I like to take things slow like in the Southeast), and I have adapted certain
rude tendencies versus constantly showing the warm “southern hospitality”, and
although I am not a liberal I have become a little more open-mind than what my mom
and dad would like for me to be (Ellis, 2015).

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The information presented in this brief narrative reveals a couple things about this
person's personality: his faith has played a big role in the development of his
personality, his exposure to different cultures based on geographical location has played
a role in the development of his personality, and it can be theorized that his need for
order could be genetics or nature-versus-nurture that played a role in his personality
development.
It makes sense and natural for people to talk about their lives through personal
narratives and John, Robins, & Pervin (2008) explains it this way:
the stories we construct to make sense of our lives are fundamentally
about our struggle to reconcile who we imagine we were, are, and might
be in our heads and bodies with who we were, are, and might be in the
social contexts of family, community, the workplace, ethnicity, religion,
gender, social class, and culture writ large. The self comes to terms with
society through narrative identity (p. 242-243).
These words begin my narrative approach for this paper because I have a story to tell
about how people in our culture have two different narratives they are creating for the
two different worlds that people in the twenty-first century live in. This dualistic existence
is also creating an atmosphere for people to where they have to portray a certain
personality in one world and another in the second world, creating a shadow that will
also be present in both worlds from a jungian perspective. In order for me to not ruin the
ending of my narrative, I must start from the beginning because every narrative involves
a history lesson that provides the groundwork for the rest of the tale. Without further
hesitation, at the conclusion of this narrative you will have understanding of what
narcissism, anxiety, and social media is and how social media has become a garden for
personality developments in narcissism and anxiety to gestate and grow within its users.
Literature Review
Narcissism
I first came to the understanding of narcissism in high school when I began
reading the novels based on Hannibal Lecter, the serial killer and cannibal psychiatrist
who viewed himself as a god, with no remorse for life except his own. To read about this
intelligent man who thought he could take life when ever he wanted to, who thought he

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was above everybody else was shocking to me but walking the halls of my high school I
began to see all kinds of narcissism, not in the extremes of Hannibal Lecter, but people
that played sports, cheerleaders, certain teachers, and even among the academic
successful kids. I would later come learn that this was a form of psychopathology in my
abnormal psychology class I took for a elective for my bachelor's degree, in which I was
drawn back to what I was taught as a kid at church, “pride comes before the fall.” I
would advance my understanding of narcissism with the completion of my masters in
counseling psychology, revealing that we all can exhibit narcissistic tendencies in
different aspects of our lives. Now that I am working on achieving my Ph.D., I have
come to learn where the word narcissism came from, which not only summarizes what it
means to be narcissistic but it's origin comes from a Greek myth about a man named
Narcissus. The man “spent all of his time gazing at his own reflection and ignored the
love of a beautiful nymph with whom he could have produced offspring (John, Robins, &
Pervin, 2008, p. 440)” and he later ends up dying from his excessive pride. In
conclusion, the DSM V presents us with the empirically validated definition of
narcissism: “has a grandiose sense of self-importance, is preoccupied with fantasies of
unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love, believes that he or she is
'special' and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other
special or high-status people (or institutions), requires excessive admiration, is often
envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her, and shows arrogant,
haughty behaviors or attitudes” (APA, 2013, p. 669-670). Although this is the criteria for
Narcissistic Personality Disorder, you will discover that our culture here in the United
States has become more individualistic allowing narcissism to spawn in a way you
might not yet be aware of (Wirtz & Chiu, 2008; Barry, Doucette, Loflin, Rivera-Hudson,
& Herrington, 2015; Greenwood, 2013).
Anxiety
Growing up as a kid, my mom constantly worried about everything and although
our faith teaches us not to worry, because just like our Father in Heaven provides for the
birds He will provide for you, my mother to this day still has a hard time putting this into
practice. From a lifespan development perspective, excessive worrying was not in my

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thought process until I became a teenager where obtaining friends, clothes, being good
at sports, and girls was your purpose in life. I was glad to see that I was not the only one
dealing with these concerns going through junior high and high school but I found that
these concerns amplified into my college years plus the added worries of obtaining job,
graduating college, and hopefully finding true love. I am now thirty-three years, having
been employed at many different employers, obtaining a bachelors and a masters
degree, finding the love of my life with us having two kids now; but the worries have not
stopped because I am now working on my Ph.D. plus being the only bread winner I
must also be successful at my job to be able to provide for my family. The worries have
changed from junior high, high school, and college years to a all new set of worries but
these worries should now be properly defined as what they are, anxieties.
Now that I am further along on my academic journey in psychology, I have come
to learn that anxiety affects almost everybody in some form of fashion and at different
times in peoples lives, presenting the fact that many pathologies can develop from
being a constant anxious person. Some of these pathologies are presented in the DSM
V but the most common of these disorders is Generalized Anxiety Disorder and its
essential feature is defined as “excessive anxiety and worry (apprehensive expectation)
about a number of events or activities. The intensity, duration, or frequency of the
anxiety and worry is out of proportion to the actual likelihood or impact of the anticipated
event” (APA, 2013, p. 222). I would not label my mother as having generalized anxiety
disorder or even me for that matter because the things that I can get anxious about
does not prevent me from enjoying and living life. I know that I am not alone with the
many anxiety moments that can be experienced but to add some foreshadowing to my
narrative, anxiety is becoming a part of culture due to this entertainment and narrative
application that has become a necessity for most people in the twenty-first century
(Greenwood, 2013; Vogel, Rose, Roberts & Eckles, 2014).
Social Media
I can remember being a junior in high school (1999) and I was introduced to chat
rooms due to a lot of my favorite bands at that time using this form of media to
communicate to their fans. These chat rooms also allowed you to communicate with

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other fans allowing you to be on the internet talking to people you would never meet but
it was the cool thing to do besides playing video games and listening to music. After
graduating high school in 2001, I would be out of touch with the advancements in social
media until 2005 when I come to learn about Facebook and myspace through my
friends. I would create a myspace account because it was geared towards celebrities,
bands, and the ability to customize the way your page look with also the ability to
include five of your current favorite songs to play when you or your followers visit your
site. I would maintain my myspace account for about three years leading me to delete
the account and starting a Facebook account in May of 2008 because Facebook was
becoming more popular than myspace due to it being open to everybody except college
students. I would utilize my Facebook account to get in contact with the people I went to
high school with because my 10 year high school reunion was coming, plus the new
friends that I had met in college and at work. My family members and I became addicted
to farmville, a game where you grow your farm and decorate it with the object being to
beat your friends to having the largest farm. Once my wife and I recognize the addiction,
I stopped playing and cancelled my account (2010) because you can really spend a lot
of your time on Facebook, plus it was amazing to see how everybody was moving to
this non-personal form of communication and I no longer wanted to be a part of it.
I would begin my masters in September of 2011, and at the completion of my
degree in 2013, I wrote my master's thesis on why the need for social media sites based
on two psychological theories: attachment theory and self-determination theory. Based
on my research these were my conclusions:
Attachment Theory and Facebook
To conclude these statements and to validate the literature, the above
mentioned study on attachment theory and Facebook results were
presented in this way “with insecure attachment style positively
associated with neuroticism and negatively associated with
extraversion...individuals with more secure attachment will feel more
comfortable and capable in interpersonal relationships and social
behavior, and by implication online social behavior” (Jenkins-Guarnieri,
Wright, & Johnson, 2013). Based on these results, the writer would like
to inform to the reader that if one enjoys Facebook and is experiencing a
positive social experience, chances are either one is from a secure

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attachment validating it is in one's nature to engage in this behavior or
one is seeking out some positive secure social experience because of
the insecure attachment one comes from validating one is looking for
people to either securely attach to or due to avoidance one might not get
to close although one has the desire to get close. When it comes to
Facebook use and the supported literature, attachment style will be at
the heart of the user and how one uses Facebook validating the second
and other main psychological theory integrated into social networking
sites.
Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Facebook
In concluding SDT and Facebook, people have a need to connect and
relate in which these social networking sites help encourage plus
providing an avenue for people to do this, especially with the
advancement of technology and connected devices. This need for
relatedness validates the psychological need described in SDT as well
as the two (autonomous and competent) in which Facebook allows the
users seek out this need, maintain, and develop but it also provides an
avenue for the users to develop maladaptive and addictive symptoms to
the point to where the users could neglect their responsibilities and real
life experiences. Sheldon, Abad, & Hinsch (2011) revealed that “such
activities offer an easy and painless route toward a social experience
that people need, a route that indeed supplies positive feelings but that
does not manage to replace concrete social relations” which should be a
word of caution for all users. Facebook has its benefits and
disadvantages but face-to-face relationships are more satisfying when it
comes to the psychological needs of the SDT because this writer sees
Facebook as being an easy and lazy way when it comes the
psychological needs of SDT.
My research on social media lead me to conclude what I had initially thought, that
people were using this medium as another way to stay connected with friends and
family, in a non-personal way, and this allowed me to validate it based on current
research. Now that I am currently working on my Ph.D. two years later, I have decided
to continue on with my social media research but this time on how it is affecting
personality. After collecting my research just for this narrative, it has lead me to now
present that social media use has become a platform for its users to increase in
narcissism and anxiety.
Narcissism And Anxiety In Social Media Use
I have presented what narcissism, anxiety, and social media is from a narrative

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perspective validating it with empirical evidence and this is the part of my narrative
where I will inform how narcissism and anxiety are two of the major personality traits
that have evolved from social media users. As it was mentioned before that social
media use began as another medium to connect and stay in touch with people from all
over the world, but in its evolution bringing us to 2015, there are three major reasons
why people (not corporations and businesses) are using social media: 1.) self-promotion
though selfies, 2.) in search of fame, and 3.) social comparison. These three areas kept
coming up in my reading and collection of my research in which I will now narrate for
you revealing the evolution in narcissism and anxiety personality traits.
Self-promotion Through Selfies
A selfie is described as a picture or video that you have taken of yourself and it
has become a world phenomenon among social media users, and the equipment that is
being used to take selfies and post them to social media, is the use of smartphones
because they have front and back facing cameras. The reason for the rise of the selfie
phenomenon can be theorized on a statement made by Reavey and Prosser (2012), “In
contemporary culture more generally, visual images have become an important means
by which we express our feelings and how we communicate with one another using
emerging technologies (mobile phones, social networking sites, and virtual reality
Internet fora). It should then come as no surprise that psychologists have seized the
opportunity to study the impact of these developments on the way we experience our
worlds” (p. 185). One of the major impacts that selfies have had on how the average
social media user is through self-promotion whether the user views themselves as being
of someone of high self-esteem or low self-esteem. Barry, Doucette, Loflin, Rivera-
Hudson, & Herrington (2015) describe this reason behind this self-promotion this way, “
nonpathological narcissism is conceptualized as including many of the overt, observable
characteristics of narcissism such as vanity, efforts to highlight one’s superiority over
others, a sense of entitlement regarding positive appraisals from others, and a desire to
be the center of attention. This dimension of narcissism converges with high
selfesteem” (p. 3). This reveals that although selfies have help aid in the development of
narcissism, it is not in the form of pathology but has paved a way for the high selfie

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users to development this non-pathological form of narcissism.
This form of narcissism walks hand-in-hand with anxiety because of the constant
need for self-presentation and the anxiety comes into play with having to maintain the
users posting quota. Another form of anxiety that comes from posting selfies is the need
to make the picture look perfect, and with the many different filter and editing
applications that can be used, narcissistic selfie posters will spend the extra time to
make their picture perfect instead of posting it in its raw form. A third and final anxiety
that has been associated with selfie posting is making enough money to buy the latest
smartphone that has the most updated photography technology. I currently work as a
retail sales consultant for AT&T and I have been there since 2012, and every six months
to a year a new phone comes out bringing in the crowds of people to replace their
phone they bought last year. I am not saying that every person walking through the door
cares about posting selfies but the ones that do will do what they can to get that latest
device for their social media purposes validating this anxiety on having the money to get
the device. It is clear that there are anxieties associated with this form of non-
pathological narcissism amongst the excessive selfie user creating the foundation that
the other two major areas for social media use are built upon, with the next one being in
search for fame.
In Search For Fame
Barry, Doucette, Loflin, Rivera-Hudson, & Herrington (2015) concluded their
study with this statement, which provides a great introduction into this section: “they
appear consistent with motives for self-presentation for individuals with narcissistic
tendencies. A strong desire for self-presentation versus belongingness directly aligns
with the association between narcissism and an emphasis on agentic qualities for
reaching social goals at the expense of communality” (p. 11). One of the major specific
goals these individuals are seeking through the use of social media is the hope at being
famous whether it be from a celebrity standpoint or amongst the whole social media
outlet. Have you ever noticed how many times the news, tv show hosts, and other
media outlets will post either pictures or videos from a person's Facebook, Twitter, or
Instagram page. Back when myspace (remember that), was popular a band named

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PANIC! At The Disco was discovered through their myspace page by the band
Falloutboy and the rest has been history. Social media has become the bridge for
common people to self-promote themselves in hoping to also become the latest fame
success story. Greenwood (2013) presents it this way, “individuals may use social
media in the service of ostensibly gratifying specific psychological needs—the need to
feel seen and valued, and to feel meaningfully embedded in social networks. These
needs may also manifest in individuals’ attitudes about the appeal of fame, from being
literally seen and admired, to having elite access to resources, to having the power and
ability to help others” (p. 223). Notice the verbiage he used, this is almost the same
verbiage used in the DSM V defining narcissism and this validates why the increase
usage of social media, especially within the selfie users.
This strong desire in search of fame also brings anxiety because people are
losing sleep, neglecting their work, not going to school, not being present in their current
relationships, to achieve this so called American Dream. “Research suggests that both
may also be fueled by basic, even existential anxieties about the self. Prior analyses by
the author found that individuals with heightened inclusion anxiety (i.e., higher need to
belong) showed increased interest in diverse appeals of fame, in addition to increased
time spent engaged in fame fantasies (Greenwood, 2013, p. 223)” revealing another
area of anxiety that can also be present in the selfie area of social media use. Social
media has allowed a veil to be removed that was once there between the famous and
the common people and compared to the origins of social media being a outlet for
people to feel belongingness and attachment it has now become the outlet for people to
seek out fame. Greenwood (2013) concluded it this way, “The need to be seen and
valued is powerful and primitive; the extent to which social media actually enables
individuals to meet those needs may vary depending on motivation and use patterns.
Individuals who are overly preoccupied with visibility may risk becoming overly
dependent on social media use, and, more specifically, on others’ (including famous
others’) positive feedback or lack thereof (p. 234)” reaffirming developments in
narcissism and anxiety amongst social media users.

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Social Comparison
America's culture is very different from many of the other cultures because of our
individualistic approach versus a collectivistic approach which can be presented in this
manner, do what you can to get ahead and if the others do not follow oh well keep
going. Wirtz & Chiu (2008) presents it this way:
The "noisy," totalitarian ego is frequently observed in American society
and is evident in many social psychological research findings, perhaps
because it emerges from this cultural emphasis on individualism in which
the self is a contained unit separate from others. Furthermore, because
cognitive biases motivated by the American cultural ideal work against
the elaboration of negative experiences that are relevant to the self, the
ego may thus be characterized as having a ready social-cognitive
defense against threats (p. 150).
These “social-cognitive defense against threats” can be seen in many of the social
media users because the American culture of not presenting anything negative but also
that my life is better than yours is what seems to be flooding everybody's pages. Vogel,
Rose, Roberts & Eckles (2014) validates this as well as supporting America's
individualistic approach with this statement, “In support of the general idea that profiles
on SNSs are projecting positive (rather than negative) images...frequent Facebook
users believe that other users are happier and more successful than themselves,
especially when they do not know the other users well offline. It appears, then, that
people might be comparing their realistic offline selves to the idealized online selves of
others, which may be detrimental for well-being and self-evaluations” (p. 207). Again
this reveals the rising in the development of narcissism for social media users because
of the drive to present themselves with their perfect life, revealing that users will do their
best to not present any imperfections plus the desire to out do their friends and family
members. This in itself brings the anxiety because when your social media use
increases, you have many opportunities to see what other users are doing, revealing
how they maybe doing something more attractive than your current post creating a
vicious cycle of social comparison. When looking at social comparison, you can see
how self-promotion through selfies and the search for fame can lead to this third major
reason among social media users as well as the amount of narcissism and anxiety

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within the culture of social media.
Conclusion
I am now at the end of my narrative in that I have presented what narcissism,
anxiety, and social media is and how social media has become a garden for personality
developments in narcissism and anxiety to gestate and grow within its users. Social
media has become so important to our twenty-first century society that not having a
social media account is almost like not having a cell phone. I did present a negative
narrative based on my social media observations but that does not mean that it does
not have a positive or happy ending because with this knowledge we now have the
ability to confront the shadow sides of our real self and virtual self so that one does not
take superiority over the other (Branthwaite, & Patterson (2011). The purpose of this
narrative can be summarized in this manner, “For me personally, successful ageing
means to believe that the journey one has taken has had meaning – to oneself and to
others – even though the meaning itself may have changed over time. One has lived
well if one is able to continue to care about what happens to people, to work towards
establishing a balance between personal needs and desires and to respond to the
callings of the world beyond oneself. It means that one is still emotionally invested in the
world, that one loves and is loved, and that when it is time to go...” (Andrews, 2009, p.
75). When I read this, this became one my mission statements on why I am wanting to
obtain my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology because I want the ending of my narrative to be
that I did not give up on the world, regardless of the negative changes, and that I help
people become better even in their social media use.

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doi: 10.1037/11771-014