Ah, narcissists! You know them. The people with a grandiose self image, a constant need for admiration and a general lack of empathy for others.

For narcissists, the world really does revolve around them. “That’s enough about me. Now let’s talk about myself.”

Sound like anyone you know? Or anyone who is constantly in the headlines? I am sure that does not describe you. Of course not!

I have always been fascinated with the psychology of narcissists and their role in business, politics and the culture overall. Just the other day, my favorite conservative columnist, David Brooks, wrote a really interesting NY Times column on narcissism. He tied it to the recent rantings and ravings of that world-class narcissist Mel Gibson.

I’m not really interested in Gibson or his latest crazy outburst (the man certainly seems to have come unglued in recent years). But, Brooks’ piece really got me thinking about narcissism and its impact on my business of marketing. A few questions emerged for me:

• Have narcissistic tendencies grown in recent years, declined (fat chance!) or stayed about the same?
• What impact has the new digital, web culture had on narcissism and the frequency of its occurrence?

The Brooks column cites a study that really puts narcissism’s growing impact in perspective for me:

“In their book, “The Narcissism Epidemic,” Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell cite data to suggest that at least since the 1970s, we have suffered from national self-esteem inflation. They cite my favorite piece of sociological data: In 1950, thousands of teenagers were asked if they considered themselves an “important person.” Twelve percent said yes. In the late 1980s, another few thousand were asked. This time, 80 percent of girls and 77 percent of boys said yes.”

Brooks goes on to suggest how this growth of narcissism could be having a broader effect on our culture (and even marketing):

“That doesn’t make them narcissists in the Gibson mold, but it does suggest that we’ve entered an era where self-branding is on the ascent and the culture of self-effacement is on the decline.”

How many books and conferences have you seen on how to create your own “personal brand?” Don’t know about you, but that self-help driven drives me batty.

And, how many stories have you read about how the Millennial generation (and even more so, the kids being raised today) have grown up in a culture where they are truly put on pedestals and are made to feel that they do no wrong (except for the occasional “time out”). In this new narcissist world view, every kid is in first place and deserves an award. There is no such thing as getting cut from a team, or coming in last place. We’re all winners today!

(When I was a kid, you either had the stuff to make the team or you didn’t…even in the pee wee leagues! It toughened you up fast and made you learn and appreciate the value of working hard to attain your goals…it was all about practice, practice, practice. If you didn’t, well you didn’t get chosen. And you didn’t get a trophy, either.)

If the majority of people in this new generation thinks they are “important people” (to quote the Brooks piece), that creates some interesting challenges for marketers today. It certainly expands the culture of narcissistic self reverence, because that is what these kids have been taught since they were little tykes.

I have not figured all of this out yet. But, it definitely has me thinking. It sure is interesting to contemplate this new era of narcissism and what it will mean for our political, media and business cultures in the years ahead.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS