http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/01/08/are-raising-generation-deluded-narcissists/
Whoa....this is kind of true, on the one hand, but on some level it's just a very negative take on the human condition itself. I mean, what exactly is the author trying to argue about identity?...that you are your circumstances and nothing more? While his comments are directed at the way social media allows us to pretend about ourselves, they come off as hostile to the notion that we might be anything other than what? Our grades? Our paychecks? Our real appearances? Our medals? That kind of attitude would have been anti-thema to progress during any stage in the history of technological advancement. The motivation to do great things requires people whose "hearts race and heads swell with...pride for something they are not" because inspiration is a dream (or delusion, if you will) of a better us.
I can recognize the clear connection between social media and narcissism, and it resonates that society is very sick and seems to be getting worse every day. But death, destruction, and lunacy have always been present in society. They themselves don't offer proof that our children are sick and demented. Society always thinks its children are sick and demented, because they have a new perspective and they are in the process of taking over the world. Alcohol has fueled narcissistic delusions throughout history. To denounce it as an evil poison would be to denounce the human spirit. Now we have a new drug in our midst with social media. It is good to recognize it is a drug. More people are basking in the glow of mutual self-aggrandizement than ever before, and that could be a time bomb of anger as these individuals are confronted with the fact that they are not stars. On the other had, social media has provided motivation in the form of recognition to more artists and entrepreneurs than ever before. And that's a good thing.
