View
11
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM:ANEXAMINATIONOFBLOGS
BYB‐LISTCELEBRITIES
AThesissubmittedtoSouthernUtahUniversity
inpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsforthedegreeof
MasterofArtsinMassCommunication
April2012By
BrockThomasBybee
ThesisCommittee:
KevinStein,PhD,Chair
MatthewBarton,PhD
ArthurChallis,PhD
SocialMediaNarcissism:AnexaminationofblogsbyB‐listcelebrities
BrockThomasBybee
Dr.KevinStein,ThesisSupervisor
ABSTRACT
Thebirthofsocialmediaintoourcultureissomethingthathasdrasticallyaltered
thecommunicationpatternsofhumanbehavior.Fifteenyearsago,welivedina
worldthatlimitedtheamountofhumaninteractionsthatcouldoccuronadaily,
weekly,monthly,andannualbasis.Attimes,socialnetworkingisaconstantbarrage
ofopinionsandideasbeingformulatedontheWorldWideWebthatinturncould
triggeraresponseoffeedbackfromaviewer.Thiscanbedoneinanattempttogain
popularityandattentionfromthepeoplethatweinteractwithonline.Buffardi
(2008)lookedatthedifferentassociationsthatnarcissisticpersonalitydisorder
(NPD)haswithsocialmedia.ThosewhosufferfromNPDaredistinguishedtohave
numerouscontacts,butthatthoserelationshipsremainshallowandimmaturely
developed.Thereisalsothedevelopmentofarelationshipwithanindividualfor
thebettermentandself‐preservationofone’scharacterintheirowneyes.This
studyanalyzesspecificblogs,andidentifiesparticulartraitsandfeaturesofan
individualwhomayinfactsufferfromNPD,andtheninturnportraythosefeatures
ontheirblogs.
Keywords:Narcissism,Blogging,SocialMedia
Acknowledgements
ThereareanumberofpeoplewhoIamgratefulfor,andwhodeservemore
thanjustaparagraphsummaryofacknowledgements.ToDr.KevinStein,mythesis
chair,thankyouforyourdirectionandcriticalthinkingonthistopic,yourhelpwas
integraltothisevengettingoffthedrawingboard.Tomycommitteemembers,Dr.
MatthewBarton,Dr.BrianHeuett,andDr.ArthurChallis,thankyouforyour
insights,yourperspectives,andyourcooperationthroughoutallofthis.Toallofthe
beautifulwomeninmylife;mymother,mysisters,andmyGrandmother,thankyou
fortheloveandadmirationthatyou’vegivenmesincedayone.Andfinally,tomy
Grandfather,youhavebeenandalwayswillbe,thedrivingforcethatpushesmeto
becomeabetterman.Thankyouforbeingmymotivation.
TableofContents
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….i
Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………………………ii
Chapter
1.Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………..1
2.LiteratureReview……………………………………………………………………………10
a.SocialNetworking…………………………………………………………………10
b.Blogging……………………………………………………………………………….11
c.Narcissism……………….…………………………………………………………….15
3.Methods……………………………………………………………………………………………21
a.ContentAnalysis……………………………………….………………………………21
b.CodingProcess…………………………………………………………………………22
c.ParticipantsoftheAnalysis………………………………………………………24
d.SelectedTextsusedintheAnalysis…………………………………………26
4.Results…………………………………………………………………………………………….…29
a.SelfPraise……………………………………………………………………………….29
b.CelebrityStatus…………………...…………………………………………………..32
c.HighProfileRelationships…...……………………………………………………37
d.Mobility…………………………………………………………………………………..39
e.UniqueInterpretationofReality………………………..……………………..42
f.Amorous…………………………………………………………………………………..45
5.Discussion………………………………………………………………………………………….47
a.Limitations………………………………………………………………………………55
b.TheoreticalContributions………………………………………………………...56
c.FutureStudies……………………………………………………………………….…58
References………………………………………..……………………………………………………61
a.AppendixA………………………………………………………………………………71
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 1
Chapter1:IntroductionandRationale
InOctoberof1998,BruceAblesonlaunchedoneofthepremiersocial
networkingsitescalledOpenDiary.com,orinhisownwords“thefirstwebsitethat
broughtonlinediarywriterstogetherintoacommunity”(Lulu,2005).Thesitegave
onlinewriterstheabilitytoconnectanddocumentanythingandeverythingthat
theywanted,transformingtheartofrecordkeepingtotheonlineforumwhereit
reststoday.OpenDiaryhasnowhostedoverhalfamilliononlinediariesontheir
site,andcontinuestogrowwithmorereadership(WashingtonPost,2007).
SixmonthsafterOpenDiary’sintroduction,BradFitzpatrickstartedupLive
Journal.com,asimilarsocial‐networkingsite(SNS),mainlycreatedtohelp
Fitzpatrickkeepincontactwithlong‐losthighschoolfriendsandassociates.This
sitefollowedsimilarsuccesspatternsthatOpenDiarydid,andbytheendof2011,
LiveJournalwashosttoover1.8millionactiveusers(LiveJournal,2012).
InAugustof1999,EvanWilliamsandMegHourihanintroducedblogger.com,
anotherparallelsitetothepreviouslymentionedthatgaveonlinesurfersthe
opportunitytopublishinasimilarfashionasbothOpenDiaryandLiveJournal.com.
Blogger.comwouldlaterbeboughtoutandhostedbyGoogleunderasub‐domain
nameofblogspot.com,andiscurrentlyoneofthemostpopularandupdatedblog‐
hostingsitesontheentireweb,currentlythe10thmosttraffickedwebsiteinthe
UnitedStates,(Alexa,2012)allowinguserstotime‐stamptheirentriesandpublish
asfrequentlyastheywish.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 2
Socialnetworkingtookagiantleapforwardin2004whenMarkZuckerberg
designedFacebook.com,whichoriginallywasthespawnofasimplewebsite
Facemash.com,aratingswebsitegivingstudentsathisIvyLeagueinstitutionthe
abilitytotransformtheironlinepersonasbyclicking“yes”or“no”onwhetherthey
thoughttheimageofafellowclassmatewasphysicallyattractiveornot.Overtime
Facemash.comevolvedintoFacebook.com,oneofthemostsuccessfulSocial
NetworkingSitesavailabletothepublic.Withover800millionregisteredaccounts
onFacebook(LATimes,2011),thiswebsiteissomethingthathasbecomea
commonuseforthegeneralpublic.Itisestimatedthat41.6%oftheAmerican
populationcurrentlyhasaFacebookaccount(SocialMediaToday,2011).
Thesefourwebsiteshaveallbeenmonumentalinthegrowthofsociety’s
opportunitytoarticulateandcommunicatewithoneanother,andexpressthoughts
andopinionstomillionsoffellowusersacrosstheglobe.Thiscanbeseenbythe
massivegrowthinusersofFacebookoveritshistory.AsofAugust2008,Facebook
hadjustover100millionusers(Zuckerberg,2008).Ayearandahalflater,that
numberhadquadrupledinsizetoover400millionusers(Facebook,2010).Thisis
justoneexampleofhowprevalentandwidespreadsocialnetworkinghasbecome.
Thesefourwebsiteshavemonopolizedonayoungerdemographic’shungerfora
simplerandlessobstructedwaytointeractonline.Thiscanbeseenbyoffshoot
socialnetworkingsitesthathavebeenintroducedtothegeneralpublicinrecent
years.WebsitessuchasFoursquare,LinkedIn,Gowalla,andGooglePlus,are
consideredemergingtrendswithdifferentspinsonsocialnetworkingsuchasGPS‐
locationupdatesbymobilephonesandgroupmessagingservicestothosewhoarea
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 3
partofthesamesocialnetworkorwebsite.Thesefourwebsitesmayhavealso
engineeredasubconsciousgrowthofnarcissisticegosthatkeepsfuelingthematan
alarmingrate.Arecentsurveyin2011,showedthat47%ofallAmericansareapart
ofatleastoneormoresocialnetworkingwebsites(SocialMediaToday,2011).
Thebirthofsocialmediaintoourcultureissomethingthathasdrastically
alteredthecommunicationpatternsofhumanbehavior.Fifteenyearsago,welived
inaworldthatlimitedtheamountofhumaninteractionsthatcouldoccuronadaily,
weekly,monthly,andannualbasis.Thoselimitswereinstilledpriortothebirthof
suchtoolsascellulartelephones,textmessaging,andtheInternet,whichovernight
increasedthenumberofinteractionsthatwecouldhavewithanotherhumanbeing.
Priortothisdigitalcommunicationoverload,thepeoplethatwecouldsurround
ourselveswithonaninterpersonallevelwereintheorytheonlyoutletsthatwehad
forhumaninteraction.Thesporadiclong‐distancetelephonecalltoaremote
relativeorahighschoolassociateseemedtobetheextentofourfurthest
communication.However,oncedigitalcommunicationbecamemoreprevalent,and
moreandmorepeoplebegantoownsmartphones,textmessagingservices,IM
usernamesandFacebookaccounts,thosebarswereliftedandcommunication
begantoflourishdigitally.
ThedevelopmentoftheInternetmayhavehadaninfluenceinour
interpersonalbehaviorsbecauseoftheremovalofboundaries,suchasdistance,that
weremadeforourgeneralcommunicationpatterns.However,online
communicationforasubstantialperiodoftimewasheadedonlyinonedirection.
BarbaraKaye(2005)pointsthisoutinheranalysisoftheInternet:“Althoughsome
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 4
Webpagesmaycontaininteractivecomponents,suchase‐mailandonlinepolls,the
Webislargelyaone‐waysourceofinformation”(p.75).Thisideastemmedfrom
priorresearchdonebyLinandJeffres(1998)discussinghowInternetusersdonot
havethecapabilitytointeractwithasiteontheWeb,however,theoptionofbeing
abletopostlinksfromonesitetoanothergivestheuserstheabilitytoconnectwith
oneanother,givingthemaslightformoftwo‐wayInternetcommunication.
Theadoptionofelectronicmail,Internetchatrooms,bulletinboards,and
onlineforumsbegantopavethewayfortheconceptoftwo‐waycommunication
amongusers,withtheabilitytointeractwithindividualsthousandsofmilesaway
bytheclickofamousecombinedwithafewquickstrikesuponakeyboard.The
developmentanduseofonlinechatroomsandinstantmessagingassistedthe
streamliningoftwo‐waycommunicationthroughoutthelate90’s.Software
programssuchasYahooIMandMSNMessengerarestilloperatedbyover330
millionactiveusers(WLMT,2009).
Two‐wayInternetcommunicationcontinuedtoflourishwiththeinfluxof
socialmediawebsitessuchasMyspace,FacebookandTwittergivingusersthe
abilitytoconnectandcommunicateaboutpeoplewhotheyarefollowingandvice
versa.Weblogging,wherevoicedopinionsaretransposedinto1’sand0’sgiving
authorstheopportunitytobeheardbyusersandonlineparticipantshasfolloweda
similarpatternwiththedimensionsoftwo‐wayonlinecommunication,byallowing
participantsthechancetoprovidetheirownpersonalfeedbackaboutablogpost
thattheyhavejustreadorseen.Auniquenessaboutbloggingthatdiffersfromthe
abovementionedsocialnetworkingsitesisthatthelayoutisnotinthefashion
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 5
whereitisapublicforumwhereeveryonewitnessesallofthethoughts,status
updatesandtweetsthatareposted.Bloggerstendtohaveaparticularnumberof
readerstotheirindividualsites,andifsomeonegoestoaspecificblog,morethan
likelyitwillnothavebeenfoundbychance.Theusersmayinfactbespecific
subscriberstotheauthorofthatblog,andareconsistentlyfollowingthepostsof
thatblog.Theyinturnmayormaynotgivetheirownpersonalfeedbacktoanyof
theblogpoststhattheyread,orchestratingboundariesandlimitsbetween
themselvestheaudience,andtheblogger.
Theinclinationsthatcontrolourbehaviorsareself‐imposedrefusalsto
respondtoatextmessage,ortonotrespondnegativelyorpositivelytoaperson’s
FacebookstatusorTweet.Thoselimitationsallowbloggingtobeviewedinboth
dimensionsofonlinediscussion.Kaye(2005)supportsthisideathatweblogshave
theversatilityofbeingbothone‐wayandtwo‐waystylesofcommunication.
Attimes,socialnetworkingisaconstantbarrageofopinionsandideasbeing
formulatedontheWorldWideWebthatinturntriggersanaturalresponseof
feedbackfromaviewer.Thiscanbedoneinanattempttogainpopularityand
attentionfromthepeoplethatweinteractwithonline.Aperson’sself‐esteemcould
beboostedordepreciatedbytheamountofattentionthattheirdigitalpersonais
receivingonaconsistentbasis.Thismaybealteredbytheamountofpeoplethat
arefollowingtheirblog,orbythenumberofcommentsthattheyhaveontheir
latesttweet.Thesurplusofsocialnetworkingmayinfacthaveledustofollowa
patternofapotentiallyegotisticalsocietythatisfueledbyattentionfromothers.
Dye(2007)suggeststhattheintroductionofthesesocialmediadeviceshascreated
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 6
agenerationwhocreatetheiridentitiesbytheamountofInternetconnectionsthey
haveandonlinecontenttheyareabletoaccess.ThisSNS‐dictatedgenerationcould
possiblybevictimsofinducedNarcissisticPersonalityDisorder(NPD)becauseof
thoseconnectionsandcontent.
Buffardi(2008)lookedintothedimensionsofhownarcissismandsocial
networkingmayinfactbeconnected.Threedistinctassociationsofnarcissismare
discussed:First,thepositiveassociationthatnarcissismhaswiththeformationof
relationships.Itisnotedthatnarcissiststendtobeactivelyengagedinestablishing
connectionswithpeoplethattheycomeincontactwithonaconsistentbasis.
Second,thenegativeassociationthatnarcissismhaswiththedevelopmentofthose
relationshipsthathavelong‐termpotential,orthathave“qualitiesofcloseness,
empathy,oremotionalwarmth”(p.1304).ThosewhosufferfromNPDare
distinguishedtohavenumerouscontacts,butthatthoserelationshipsremain
shallowandimmaturelydeveloped.Finally,thereistheassociationthatan
individualwithNPDwillusetheirrelationshipsasachancetobuilduponself‐
enhancementstrategies.Thisisseenasthereasoningforanykindofrelationship,
forthebettermentandself‐preservationofone’scharacterintheirowneyes.
Thosethreespecifictraitsofnarcissismcanbecorrelatedwiththefeatures
ofsocialnetworking.Socialnetworkingcanbepositivelyassociatedwiththe
formationofonlinerelationships.Individualsmayseekoutpastassociatesonline,
andtryandmakenewfriendsthroughtheInternet,meanwhiletheirSNSkeeps
trackofhowmanycontactsthattheyhave.Socialnetworkingcanalsobenegatively
associatedwiththedevelopmentofthosespecificrelationships.Thereasoning
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 7
behindthisisbecausethemajorityofcontactsarefrequentedonlybyonline
connections,leavingverylittleorifanyinterpersonalandemotionalqualitiesto
develop,itisdifficultforsomeonetohaveaonlinerelationshipmatureand
progress.Finally,socialnetworkingcanbeassociatedwiththeopportunityforself‐
enhancementstrategies.Thiscanbeseenbystatusupdatesaboutminor
achievements,blogpostsaskingforaudiencefeedbackaboutlifestylesituations,or
tweetsaboutthebeautificationofone’sphysicaloremotionalcharacter.
Buffardisupportsthecomparisonbetweennarcissismandsocialnetworking
beinganenvironmentforpeopletoinstitutenumeroussuperficialrelationshipsthat
arecalculatedandnumberedonaperson’sprofile.Shealsopointsouthowsocial
networkingwebsitesarevery“controlled”settings.Shewrites,“Ownershave
completepoweroverself‐presentationonWebpages,unlikemostothersocial
contexts.Inparticular,onecanusepersonalWebpagestoselectattractive
photographsofoneselforwriteself‐descriptionsthatareself‐promoting”(p.1304).
Today,bloggingmayevenbelookedatasanopportunityforthedevelopment
ofNPDamongsocialnetworkingparticipants.Amajorityofauser’sfollowersof
theirweblogstendtobepersonalfriendsandacquaintancesthathaveknownthem
beforethepublicationoftheirblogs,andarefollowingthembecausethey
appreciatethevalueoftheirpostings,orforsimplecommoncourtesy.Therehave
howeverbeenstrategiesandtechniquesinthebloggingatmosphereputtouseso
thatthenumberoffollowersofanindividual’sblogwillincreasedramaticallymore
thanjusttheirnormalnumberoffriends.
Forexample,therehasbeentheconstructionofindependentblogawards,
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 8
whereanunknownuserwillpostalinktoaperson’sblogabouthowtheyvalueand
appreciatethatblogpost,andthattheyfeeltheyaredeservingofablogaward.The
usermaythenfollowthelinkandretrievethatbadgetopostontheirpersonalblog.
Insomeinstances,therecipientmayonlybeabletoreceivetheawardifthey
formallyfollowtheperson’sblogwhoawardedittothem,whichinsomeinstances
canbeseenasatactictogeneratetraffictoasite.
Anothertechniquethatisusedbybloggerstoattainfollowersisthe
followingofrandomandunknownblogsofusersacrosstheInternet.Ifonefollows
anotherperson’sblog,itisassumedthattheyinturnwillfollowtheblogthatyou
aretheauthorof,almosttoshowsignsofrespectandconsiderationforthediligence
thatonehadinbeingapartofthebloggingworld.Ultimately,theendresultof
thesetechniquesistohaveanincreaseintheamountoftrafficthatgoestoa
person’sblog.Thiscouldbeformonetaryvaluethatisgeneratedbycompanies
suchasAdSense,whichreturnsearningstoanindividualbyallowing
advertisementsupontheirblog.Themoretrafficandhitsthataperson’sblog
receives,themorerevenuetheyarethenlikelytoreceiveaswell.Thesetechniques
mayinfactalsobecarriedoutbecauseoftheneedformorefollowersofaperson’s
blogtosatisfytheirNPDcharacteristics.Theincreaseinself‐enhancementand
numerousshallowrelationshipscanbeassociatedwithtechniquesthatwilldrive
traffictoaperson’sblog,thusgrowingthepsychologicalgratifications.
Theintentofthisstudyistoanalyzespecificweblogsandidentifyparticular
traitsandfeaturesofanindividualwhomayinfactsufferfromNPD,andthenin
turnportraythosefeaturesontheirblogs.Theintentofthisstudywillalsobe
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 9
lookingtoseeiftherehasbeenadevelopmentinthetypeofNPDtraitsthathave
existedfromtheprimarycreationofablog,tothemostrecentandupdated
blogpost.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 10
Chapter2:LiteratureReview
Therearethreedifferenttopicsthatwillbereviewedthatarepertinentto
thestudyitself:Thedevelopmentandinfluenceofsocialnetworking,thespecific
socialnetworkingchannelofblogging,andthedefinitionsandtraitsofnarcissism.
SocialNetworking
Socialnetworkinghastakenovertheonlinecommunicationrealm,notonly
fromageneralentertainmentperspective,butalsofromabusiness,publicrelations,
marketing,andadvertisingperspectiveaswell.Vorvoreanu(2009)discussedhow
Facebook.comhasbecomeanaturalpartoftheonlineculture.Ellis(2010)backed
the“natural”ideaofFacebookbydiscussinghowFacebookplaysakeyroleinthe
constructionofsocialcharacter,lookingatthesheervolumeofdigitalidentitiesand
Facebookprofilesthathaverisenannually.
Howpeopleusethesedigitalpersonalitiestoconducttheirlivesissomething
thatSelwyn(2009)analyzedwhenhemonitoredthelivesof909studentsinthe
U.K.toseehowmuchoftheirFacebookwall‐timewasspentfocusingstrictlyon
academicandeducationalpurposes.Bosch(2009)dovetailedthepurposesof
Facebookintotheeducationalspherebydoingananalysisonprofessorsand
studentsattheUniversityofCapeTown,andhowtheywereabletoexchange
information,andfurthertheireducationalexperienceusingthissocialnetwork.She
didfindthattherewasadifficultyinachievingsomeofthehighestresults,because
ofthedeficiencyofinformationandcommunicationtechnology(ICT)intelligence
andtheamountofaccesstimethatbothteacherandstudenthadtoFacebookitself,
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 11
meaningthatthedatacouldnothavebeenlookedatproperlybecauseofthelackof
monitoringoftimeandcontent.
Mazer,MurphyandSimonds(2009),conductedaquantitativeanalysistosee
howstudentsperceivetheirteacherscomparedtotheamountofself‐disclosurethat
occursonFacebook.Thecommunicationskillsthatareseenbetweenateacherand
astudentarejustoneofthedimensionswhenitcomestothecommunicationinany
interpersonalrelationship.SheldonandHoneycutt(2009)conductedananalysisof
studentswhohaveadifficulttimecommunicatingoffline.TheyfoundthatFacebook
hasbecomeanoutletforthosewhoarelookingtojust“passtime.”
Communicationinthesocialnetworkingworld,morespecificallyinthe
aspectofrelationshipformationandmaintenanceissomethingthatwasstudiedby
SteinfeldandLampe(2009),intheirquantitativeanalysisquestioningthereasoning
behindpeople’susageofFacebookandothersocialnetworks.Theirconclusionwas
thatSocialNetworkingSites(SNS)allowstudentsandyouthtoformfriendshipsand
relationshipsdespitethelackofnonverbalcommunication.
Blogging
AlongwithFacebookandonlineinteraction,anotherdimensionofSocial
NetworkingSitesistheconceptofblogging.Initially,whenblogs,orWeblogswere
firstcreated,therewerequestionsabouttheirpurpose,andwhatdrovepeopletobe
activelyengagedinreadingandwritingthem.Kaye(2005)wasoneofthefrontier
investigatorstofindthereasoningbehindthem,andpioneeredtheideathatthere
weresixmainmotivesforblogusage:informationseeking,personalconvenience,
personalfulfillment,politicalsurveillance,socialsurveillance,aswellasthe
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 12
expressionandaffiliationtoaspecifictopic.Kayealsofoundthatdemographically,
themainusersandrecordersofblogs,werewhitemaleswithahigherincome.
Thosedemographicswereinsimilarcognitionwithpreviousstudiesdoneon
Weblogusage(Greenspan,2003;Levy,2002;Rainie,Fox,andFallows,2003;Seipp,
2002).
Nelson(2006)lookedattheblogpublishingindustryincomparisontothe
historicallycommonbookpublishingindustryandfoundthenumberswere
overwhelminglyinfavorofonlinediatribesandrhetoricbeingpublishedonline
eachyear.Nelsoncalledthosewhoblog,“influencers”whohavethecapabilityof
spreadingavastamountofinformationacrossthewavesoftheInternetwithout
needingalegalpublishinglicenseandjumpthroughallofthehoopstogettheir
wordsintheearsandmindsoftheirreaders.Docter(2010)alsodiscussedthelegal
issuesandboundariesthatexistwhenapersonisblogging,orcoveringastoryfrom
ajournalisticperspective.Argumentsastowhetherjournalismprivilegesshouldbe
giventopersonalbloggershavebeenarguedbackandforthpertainingtothe
disclosureofinformation.
Ekdale,Kang,Fung,andPerlmutter,(2010)questionedthemotivesforour
societytouseblogstocommunicatefromapersonallevel,aswellasapoliticallevel
also.Thesemotiveswerealsoquestionedwhenvariousotherresearchersactively
studiedthelogisticsandreasoningbehindblogusageinmanydifferentfieldsof
study.Marken(2005)wrote“Blogsprovidemanagementafast,effective,and
economicmeansofcarryingouttwo‐waycommunicationwithmanyaudiences.”(p.
31).Tola(2008)agreed,advocatingtheusageofblogsinthecurrentworldstating
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 13
that“bloggingisnotthefutureanymore,itisthepresent”(p.1).Allofthesestudies
anddiscussions,whetherpolitical,orscientific,oreconomicallyfocusedagreedthat
blogsweretheupandcomingwayforpeopletocommunicate‐viatheInternet.
Fromaninterpersonalcommunicationpointofview,StefanoneandChyng‐
Yang,(2007)lookedattheusageofblogsandhowtheyrelatedtomotivatinggoals
thataresetbybloggers.Samplingagroupofstudents,theyquestionedtheamount
ofextraversionandself‐disclosurethattookplaceamongtheminordertogain
popularityandinterpersonalrelationshipswiththegroupofpeoplewho“followed”
theirrespectiveblogs.Bortree(2005)analyzedelementsofself‐disclosureby
comparingthegender‐basedaverageamountofinformationthatwasrevealedfrom
anindependentbloggertotheiraudience.Ellis(2010)alsocomparedthelevelsof
apprehensionbetweenthegenders,inmoreofanacademiclightinherstudyofthe
amountofpersonalinformationdisclosedinblogs.
Buechler(2010)studiedtheacademicpurposeofblogusagebothinandout
oftheclassroom,discussinghowtheyhelpedhimcommunicateanddiscuss
academictopicswithhisstudentsmuchmoreeffectively.Intheclassroom,blog
usagewasseenasapositiveaidasBuechlerstatedthatblogsservedasanexcellent
tooltofacilitategroupdecision‐making(p.442).Smith(2010)alsoexaminedthe
blogcontentofhisstudentsconcludingthatpeopledescribetheirownindividual
selvesandpersonalitiestoaworldthattheyaresemi‐unfamiliarwith,thatworld
beingtheforumofInternetblogging.
Fromaculturalperspective,Chen(2010)analyzedthepresentationofone’s
selfinablog,comparingTaiwanandJapaneseblogsandtheamountofinformation
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 14
thatwasself‐disclosedtotheiraudiencesaswell.Lövheim(2011)observedthe
popularityofblogusage,studyingthecommercialandprofessionalinfluxofcontent
onthemostpopularblogs,comparedtothepersonalblogsthathadbeengaining
momentumandmuchpopularitythroughtheyearssinceblogginghadbecomeso
prevalentamongusersoftheInternet.
Alongwiththepresentationofone’sself,HongandSheehy(2010)examined
blogcontentandtheprofessionalismofbloggingoverall,astheyanalyzedthe
contentofblogpostsnationwidetodiscussthepossibilityofpeoplethinkingintheir
ownmindsthattheywereactualjournalists.Thiswassupportedbyastudydoneby
Matheson(2004)whenhefound“that34percentofU.S.bloggersconsideredtheir
workaformofjournalism,and35percentreportedtheyoftenpracticedtraditional
journalisticactivitiesofverifyingfactsandincludinglinkstooriginalsources”(p.
39).ChildandAgyeman‐Budu(2009)analyzedthefrequencyofindividualblogging
amongjournal‐basedpersonalblogwritersandfoundthatbloggerswhohaveor
practicehigherself‐monitoringskillsappliedthosesameconceptstotheirself‐
disclosureontheirpersonalblogsfortheirownaudiences.
Motivationsforstartingandkeepingablogrunninghasbeenresearchedand
studiedsincetheoriginalinceptionofWeblogsinthemid1990’s.Li(2005)found
thatsevenofthemainfactorscouldbeclassifiedasself‐expression,passingtime,
improvingwritingskills,socialization,mediumappeal,self‐documentation,and
information.SimilarcategorieswerewhittleddownbyNardi,Schiano,Gumbrecht,
andSwartz(2004)astheynarrowedthemotivationstofive;expressionofdeeply
feltemotions,articulationofideasthroughwriting,documentationofone’spersonal
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 15
life,formationandmaintenanceofcommunityforums,andtheproviding
commentaryandopinionsonissues.Trevino(2005)wentevenfurthertodiscuss
themotivationsforcollegestudentstoblog,thereasonsbeingtheirindividual
poweroverthepersonalwebsite,theabilityfortheiraudiencetoactivelyaccess
theircontent,andthepositivefeedbackthattheywouldreceivemainlyontheir
personalsubjectsthattheyusedastopicsfortheirblogposts.
ThosemotivationswerebroughtintoconsiderationasLiuandLaRoseused
bothsocialcognitivetheory,andself‐efficacyasaframeworktouncoverthe
perceivedaudienceperceptionsthatbloggershavewhentheyupdateandposton
theirownpersonalblogs.Lampa(2004)formulatedtheideathatbloggersgettheir
personalaudienceinteractionbytheamountofconstantposting,commenting,and
linkedcontentontootherpeople’sblogs,lookingforthesamedesiredeffectson
theirown.AfuturesuccesspatternwaspredictedusingthatideaasLampastated
“thecontinuedcoherenceofthisonlinecommunityisdependentuponthe
strengtheningofsharedexperienceandafortificationofwhatitmeanstobea
blogger”(p.1).Viegas(2005)mirroredasimilarstudyofbloggingmotivations
findingthattherelationshipthatbloggershavewiththeirreaderscouldbea
primaryreasonfortheinvestigationandcontinuedupdates.
Narcissism
TheoverloadandcompressionofSocialNetworkingSites,aswellasthe
influxofbloggingintotheonlinesocialmedia,raisequestionsastothebehavioral
patternsofhumanbeingswhothriveina“me‐first”forum.Thatmentalityseemsto
followsimilarpatternswiththementaldisorderknownasnarcissism.Overthe
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 16
years,narcissism,hasbeenheavilydiscussedandanalyzedinthepsychologyfield.It
wasnotformallyclassifiedandrecognizedasanofficialdisorderuntiltheAmerican
PsychiatricAssociation(1980)broughtitforthintheDiagnosticandStatistical
ManualofDisorders(DSM‐III).NarcissisticPersonalityDisorder(NPD)iscurrently
definedbytheAmericanPsychiatricAssociation(1994)asa“pervasivepatternof
grandiosity,needforadmiration,andlackofempathy”(p.714).TheDSM‐IVdenotes
thatnarcissistsare“verysensitivetoinjury”thattheirself‐esteem“isalmost
invariablyveryfragile”andthattheyare“preoccupiedwithfantasiesofunlimited
success”and“requireexcessiveadmiration”(pp.714‐717).
Developmentofnarcissismcanbesomethingthatiscausedbysocial
interactions,ormayalsobeinstigatedbycertainparentingtechniquesand
behaviors.Millon,Grossman,Millon,Meagher,andRamnath(2004)discussedhow
narcissismcanbenurturedandgrownbyanovervaluingofachild’saccoladesand
accomplishments,andthattheyinturngivereinforcementthatisnotactuallybased
uponthechild’sbehaviors,andtheirconsequences.Capron(2004)compared
narcissismwithdifferentparentingstyles,andbrokedownfourcategoriesfrom
whichnarcissistictraitscanemergeamongyouth;overindulgence,
overdomineering,overprotection,andoverpermissiveness.Twenge(2006)went
evenfurtherashestudiedtheparentingandculturalinfluenceontoday’syouth,
whenhelabeledAmericanswhowereborninthe1970’s,80’s,and90’s,asthose
whoareapartof“GenerationMe”,andinessencefeltmoreentitled,more
egotistical,andmoreconfidentthanthepreviousgenerationbeforethem.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 17
Oneofthemostwidelyusedandacclaimedfoundationsofnarcissism
evaluationcomesfromRaskinandTerry(1988)whodevelopedtheNarcissistic
PersonalityInventory(NPI)whichisa40‐itemassessmentthatmeasuresthe
amountofcharacteristicsandtraitsthatareself‐reportedbyanindividual.Heavily
usedinthecomparisonofthefieldofsocialpersonalityandbehavioralresearch,the
NPIhasbeenusedastheframeworkformanyresearchersregardingNPD.Miller
andCampbell(2008)comparedtheNPIwiththePersonalityDiagnostic
Questionnaire(PDQ‐4)toseehownarcissismdifferedamongindividuals.Pincus,
Pimentel,Ansell,Cain,Wright,andLevy(2009)compiledacrossingmore
pathologicalexamination,thePathologicalNarcissismInventory(PNI).
Fromanonlinesocialnetworkingsitestandpoint,Mendelson,and
Papacharissi(2010)lookedattheincreasingtrendsofnarcissismdevelopingamong
adolescentsfromavisualpointofview,andhowtheamountofnarcissisticqualities
andtraitswereincreasingduetoSNSusersdisplayofpersonalphotographson
theirhomepages.Buffardi(2008)complimentedthatstudybyanalyzingself‐
narcissismevaluationsfromSNSusers.Othernarcissismqualitiesandtraitsthrough
socialnetworkingwerefound,asBuffardiwrote,“Narcissismisrelatedtoahigher
numberofsocialrelationships,self‐promotingself‐presentation,andtheperception
ofhavingalargenumberofagenticcharacteristics”(p.1310).
MalikhaoandServaes(2011)sawthosecharacteristicsandbehaviors
developingintoanattitudeofhighindividualismbytheyoungergeneration,which
wouldinturndevelopintooverconfidentnarcissism.Overall,Mehdizadehdefined
narcissismasa“pervasivepatternofgrandiosity,needforadmiration,andan
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 18
exaggeratedsenseofself‐importanceforpossibleselftobeexpressed”(p.358).
Addingthatnarcissistsdonotfocusoninterpersonalintimacy,warmth,orother
positiveaspectsofrelationaloutcomes.Instead,theyuserelationshipsto“appear
popularandsuccessful,andtheyseekattractive,highstatus”(p.358).
Wright,O’Leary,andBalkin(1989)lookedintothecontinuedsocial
developmentofNPD,leadingthemtobelievethatthereareverynegativeside
effectsandoutcomesfromNPD,mainlydepression.Researchwasdoneto
categorizethatdepression,withBlattandZuroff(1992)concludingthatthereare
twomajorclassesofdepression;introverted,anddependent.Introverted
depressionisassociatedwithfeelingsofself‐judgment,inferiority,feelingsof
worthlessness,guiltandfailure.Introverteddepressionisalsomostclosely
associatedwithnarcissismandegotisticalbehaviorbecauseofpeople’scontinual
striveforperfectionandaccomplishmentintheeyesofothers,andthattheywould
inturnbejudgmentalandaggressivetothosewhosurroundthem.
Anastasopolous(2007)notedthatadolescents"oftenseethehedonistic,self‐
destructivecharacteristicsthattheirnarcissistictypeofdepressionmighttakeon.
Thesearethemomentswhen,throughactingout,theyfeeltheybecomegrandiose,
tragicheroesbecausetheycannotbetheheroesthattheego‐idealispressingthem
tobe”(p.349).AcomparisonwithresearchdonebyLadame(1987)foundthat
depressiveandnarcissisticadolescentsdonothaveanevenbalanceofselfand
objectrepresentation,whichinturnwouldaidthemintheregulationoftheir
interpersonalrelationshipswithactualexternalobjectsintheirownlives.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 19
Millon(2006)researchedthedifferenttypesofpsychologicalissuesthatwe
asasocietydealwithconsistently.Heexplainsthisbybreakingeachofthe
psychologicaldisordersinto15separatecategories:Schizoid,Schizotypal,Avoidant,
Dependent,Hypomanic,Histrionic,Masochistic,Melancholic,Sadistic,Anti‐Social,
Negativistic,Borderline,Compulsive,Paranoid,andNarcissistic.Hesuggeststhat
therearevaryingformsofpsychologicalproblemsthatexistbyeithera“true”form
ofasingularpersonalitydisorder,aswellasoffshootsofthosedisordersbya
combinationofmultipleextremes.
Millon’sfocusonNarcissismbroughtintofocusfourdifferenttypesof
NarcissisticPersonalityDisorder(NPD).ThereisthetrueformofNPD,followedby
threedifferentsub‐types,whicharecombinationsofotherdisordersonhischart.
Theelitist,orpureformofnarcissismstatesthattheindividual“feelsprivilegedand
empoweredbyvirtueofspecialchildhoodstatusandpseudoachievements,entitled
façadebearslittlerelationtoreality,seeksfavoredandgoodlife,isupwardly
mobile,cultivatesspecialstatusandadvantagesbyassociation.”
Thethreeothersubtypesare:Compensatory,whichisacombinationof
narcissism,negativism,andavoidantcharacteristics;Amorous,whichisa
combinationofhistrionicandnarcissismcharacteristics;andUnprincipled,whichis
acombinationofanti‐socialandnarcissismcharacteristics.Eachofthesehastheir
ownnicheinMillon’sresearchofspecificpersonalitydisorders,andthereare
individualswhohesuggestscanbeclassifiedintooneofthefoursub‐types.
TherehavebeenbreakthroughsinthecomparisonbetweenNPDandsocial
networking,asindicatedbyresearchdonebyMendelson,Papacharissi,and
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 20
Buffardi,howevertheresearchconductedwasstrictlydonefocusingonwebsites
suchasFacebook.com.Furtherstudiesonthecorrelationbetweennarcissismand
blogcontentwerenotavailableforreview.Likewise,Ekdale,Kang,Fung,and
Perlmutterresearchedthemotivatingfactorsthattriggerapersontoconsistently
updatetheirblogs,howevertheirresearchwasdonestrictlyfromacommunication
perspective,notfromapsychologicalperspectivetoincludecharacteristicsofthose
whosufferfromNPD.
Thisstudy’sfocuswillbenarroweddowntotwospecifictopicsinbothfields
ofpsychologyandcommunication.Ratherthanlookingatsocialmediaasawhole,
thepreciseformofwebloggingwillbeanalyzed.Thiswillbedonewiththe
combinationoflookingataprecisepsychologicaldisorder,NPDtoseeifthereis
evidenceonaweblog,ofsomeonewhohascharacteristicsofthatdisorder.
Thereforethecombinationoftheinformationgivenintheliteraturereview
mergedwiththelimitationsinconductedcomparisonsbetweennarcissismand
socialnetworking,leadstothefollowingresearchquestion:
RQ1:WhatcharacteristicsthatdefineNPDcanbelocatedonthe
individualblogsofthosewhocouldbeclassifiedaselitists?
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 21
Chapter3:Method
ContentAnalysis
Therearemultipleperspectivesandopinionsforwhatdefinesacontent
analysis.Weber(1990)wrote“contentanalysisisaresearchmethodthatusesaset
ofprocedurestomakevalidinferencesfromtext”(p.9).Holsti(1969)made
referencetohowcontentanalysisallowstheresearcherstodrawjudgments“by
objectivelyandsystematically”classifyingthematerialthatispresentedtothem(p.
14).Krippendorff(2004)describeditasa“researchtechniqueformaking
replicableandvalidinferencesfromtexts(orothermeaningfulmatter)tothe
contextsoftheiruse”(p.18).Stempel(2003)hadaveryuniquepointofviewashe
suggestedthatcontentanalysisissomethingthatisinstilledinourmindsearlyon,
andanactionthatwesubconsciouslydowitheverythingthatsurroundsusinour
dailylives.Asweareexposedtomultipleformsofcommunicationwithourpeers
andacquaintances,wedrawconclusionsandjudgewhatisbeingcommunicatedto
usalmostinstinctively.Hewrotethatthistypeofanalysisissomethingthat“weall
doinformallyandratherfrequently‐drawconclusionsfromobservationsofcontent”
(p.209).
Theprocesstowhichthoseconclusionsaredrawnissomethingthatisvery
detailedandprecisetobeabletoachievethebestpossibleresults.Krippendorff
(2004)wrotethat“contentanalystsinferanswerstoparticularresearchquestions
fromtheirtexts.Theirinferencesaremerelymoresystematic,explicitlyinformed,
and(ideally)verifiablethanwhatordinaryreadersdowithtexts”(p.25).Fico,Lacy
andRiffe(2008)identifiedthefive‐stepprocessthatmakesupacontentanalysis:
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 22
Unitization,Sampling,Operationalization,Reliability,andValidity.Theunitization,
sampling,andoperationalizationforthisanalysiswillbediscussedmoreindepth
throughouttheremainderofthissection.Thereliabilityofthisstudywillbethe
frameworkofthecodingprocessthathasbeenorganizedbyTheodoreMillon.The
validityliesintheinterpretationofthedataitselfbeingtakenfromtheweblogsthat
havebeenselected.Allfiveofthestepsarekeystocompletingasuccessfulcontent
analysisandmustbedesignedandstructuredtofittheresearchaccordingly.As
Fico,Lacy,andRiffewrote,“Eachofthesestepsiscriticaltothequalityofthe
research,andthedecisionsmadeateachstepmustbedefended”(p.119).
CodingProcess
Throughoutthecodingprocess,thereareprecisemethodsthatareusedto
identifyandtargetthecontentthatisbeinganalyzed.Aresearchermustlayouta
specificframeworkofcategoriestobeusedthatwillbeabletoclassifythetext.For
thisresearch,thosecategoriescamefromthesubcategoriesthatTheodoreMillon
usedtoidentifyNarcissisticPersonalityDisorder.
Inhisanalysisofpersonalitysubtypes,TheodoreMillondefinedthe
characteristicsthatmakeupthepureformofNPD,orthe“Elitist”classification.An
NPD‐Elitistissomeonewho“feelsprivilegedandempoweredbyvirtueofspecial
childhoodstatusandpseudoachievements,entitledfaçadebearslittlerelationto
reality,seekstofavoredandgoodlife,isupwardlymobile,cultivatesspecialstatus
andadvantagesbyassociation”(Millon,2006).
FromMillon’sdefinition,therewillbefivecategoriescreatedforthecoding
process:CelebrityStatus,High‐ProfileRelationships,Mobility,Self‐Praise,and
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 23
UniqueInterpretationofReality.CelebrityStatuswillbeclassifiedbyanyreference
toafavoredand/oraboveaveragelifestylebaseduponprioraccomplishmentsor
achievements,orreferencetothemonetaryvalueoftheirphysicalproperties.High‐
ProfileRelationshipswillbeclassifiedbyanyreferencetoassociationsor
connectionsthattheyhavewithacquaintanceswhocanbeviewedasatypeof
popularpublicfigure.Mobilitywillbeclassifiedbyanyreferencetolongvacations
orbusinesstripsacrossthecountryortheworldthatareafocusintheirlife.Self‐
Praisewillbeclassifiedbyanyreferencetoanaccomplishmentintheirlifethatthey
openlyacknowledgetotheiraudienceforcompleting.Thismayalsobeseenbyany
rhetoricalquestionsaskingtheiraudiencetovalidatetheirsuccess.Unique
InterpretationofRealitywillbeclassifiedbyanyreferencetoanexperienceof
personalconflictintheirlives,showinganextremeamountofemotionaldivergence
inregardstoasituationthatappearstobeadailyorregularoccurrence.
Eachofthesecategorieswillbeusedtoclassifyandanalyzethecontentfrom
theselectedblogposts.Ifthecontentmaybeclassifiedintomultiplecodes,(i.e.a
requestforareadertovalidatetheremarkablefive‐starhoteltheystayedinwhile
vacationingwithfellowactors;Self‐Praise,Mobility,CelebrityStatus)thecontent
willbeanalyzedtoseewhatisthemostdominantofthetraitsthatcanbe
recognized.Ifthereappearstobenotafavoringonewayoranothertoaspecific
trait,thenthefirstreferencetoaspecificcodewillbeusedfortheanalysis.
Thesubject’sblogswillbelookedatandcomparedtoseethedifferenttraits
ofNPDthattheymayormaynotexemplifyintheirblogpostings.Acomparison
betweenthesubjects’blogswillbedonetoseehowNPDhasbeendevelopingover
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 24
theirblogginghistory,aswellaswhattraitstheybothshow,andonthecontrary,
whattraitstheydifferon.ThiswillbedoneinrelationwithRQ1.
ParticipantsoftheAnalysis
Therehavebeentwosubjectsthathavebeenselectedforthiscontent
analysis,bothofwhomappeartohavetraitsthatqualifythemassomeonewho
couldsufferfromanelitistformofNPD.Thesetraitshavebeenidentifiedbytheir
bloggingprofile’s“AboutMe”subsectionthatdetailswhotheyare,andwhothey
wanttheirreaderstoviewthemas.Inthebiographicalinfopageontheirsites,both
ofthesubjectshaveexpressedfeelingsofcelebritystatus,high‐profilerelationships,
mobility,self‐praise,andimitationofreality.
Xiaxue
WendyChengYanYan,or“Xiaxue”,isa27‐year‐oldAsianprofessional
bloggerwholivesinSingapore.Hertalentsasawriterhavebeennotedasshehas
receivedmultiplehonorsin2009and2011,fromtheNuffnangAsiaPacificBlog
Awards,includingRegion’sBestBlog,MostInfluentialBlog,andBestOriginalBlog
Design(NAPBAS,2011).ShehasalsoreceivedBestAsianBlogbyTheWeblog
Awardsin2004(Weblog,2004).
Fromasocialnetworkingperspective,Xiaxueisoneofthemostprominent
andpopularonlineicons.Currently,shehas5,638followersofherpersonal
bloggingsite,averagingcloseto300,000hitsperweek.Xiaxuepublishesonaverage
onepostevery2.63days(Xiaxue,2012).Xiaxuealsoreceivesmuchattention
throughotherSNSchannelssuchasFacebookandTwitter.OnherFacebookfan
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 25
pageXiaxuehasover70,000fans,(Facebook,2012)aswellasover92,000followers
onTwitter(Twitter,2012).
Xiaxue’snotorietyhasbecomesoproficientthatsheusesherblog,facebook,
andtwitteraccountstogeneraterevenuefromadvertisements,bothcorporateand
independent.Herpopularityhasbypassedthenormalavenuesofblogmarketing
companiessuchasGoogleAdSense,whichisasoftwareprogramdesignedtoallow
bloggerstheabilitytopostadvertisementsontheirblogsforonlinebusinesses.
Revenueisthengeneratedbytheamountoftrafficthatclicksontheirwebsites.The
morepopularitythatanindividual’sbloggains,themoreexposurethattheaudience
hastothoseadvertisements,whichthengeneratesmorerevenueforthehost
administratorofthatblog.Xiaxuehaselevatedherreputationtothepointwhere
shemanagesherownpersonalmarketing,withpricesrangingfrom$300to$3,500
foradvertisementsonanyofherthreesocialnetworkingsites.Alsoforthecostof
$4,000,Xiaxuewillcreateapersonalizedten‐minuteYouTubevideoforherclients
(Xiaxue,2012).
WilWheaton
WilWheatonisa29‐yearoldactorwhohasembracedthesocialmediaworld
andseenmuchsuccessinhispublications.Wheatonisaformerchildstaractorwho
isknownforhisperformancesinToySoldiers,StandByMe,andStarTrek:TheNext
Generation(iMDB,2012).Hehasusedhiscelebrityaccoladestohelpmarketand
advertisehispublishedbooks,aswellashisblog.
Online,WilWheatonhasbeenanactiveparticipantinthebloggingworld,
withhisfirstwebsite,wilwheaton.nethavingitsfirstpostinginJulyof2001.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 26
Wheatonwasanavidbloggerandstayedconsistentwithhispostingswhenin
September2005,hewouldpublishhissecondblog,wilwheatondotnet:InExile.He
hascontinuedtopublishonasteadypace,withanaverageofonepostevery1.15
days(WWDN,2012).
WheatonhasalsoseensimilarsocialnetworkingsuccessasXiaxuehaswith
bothhisFacebookandTwitterpages,withhisachievementsandfamiliarfaceinthe
actingspherehelpmarkethisonlineidentity.Currently,Wheatonhasover11,600
friendsonhisFacebookpage(Facebook,2012),aswellasover1.9millionfollowers
onTwitter(Twitter,2012).Wheatonhasalsobeenactiveinhispersonalpodcast,
“RadioFreeBurrito”whichhehasbeenproducingsinceOctoberof2008.He
describesthemotivationforhispodcastinitshistoricaldevelopmentwhenhesays,
“EvenwhenIwasattheheightofmyactingsuccess,mydreamofbroadcasting
neverentirelywentaway.Iwasneverabletomakeitintoactualradio,butwhenthe
Internetmadepodcastingpossible,Iseizedtheopportunitytoplaymusic,tell
stories,andfinallysatisfymydelusionsofDJgrandeur”(WWDN,2012).Through
hispodcasts,blog,facebookfanpage,andtwitteraccount,Wheatonhasbeen
consistentlyusingamulti‐prongedapproachinhelpinglaunchhisonlinecharacter
tohisfans.
SelectedTextsusedintheAnalysis BothXiaxue’sandWilWheaton’scurrentblog(WWDN:InExile)havebeen
selectedforthisstudy,andareroughlythesameage,thereforegenerational
differenceswillnotbetakenintoconsideration.Therehavebeensevendifferent
monthsselectedfrombothoftheirblogsrangingfrom2005to2011.Themonths
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 27
havebeenselectedbasedonthesimilarityinthenumberofpostingsthateachofthe
subjectshavepublishedontheirblogforthatmonth.Thespecificmonthshavealso
beenselectedbasedononemonthperyear.
ThefirstmonthselectedisthefirstmonthonthearchivesofWilWheaton:In
Exile,Septemberof2005;alsothefirstmonththathehadadjustedhisblogging
fromwilwheaton.nettohiscurrentblogthatheisusingtoday.InSeptember2005,
Xiaxuehad20posts,Wheatonhadfiveposts.Thenextfivemonthsselectedare
thosewherebothXiaxueandWheatonappeartopublishroughlythesameamount
ofposts,thereforemakingitpossibletolookatthecontentasobjectiveaspossible.
ThenextfivemonthsthathavebeenselectedareJanuaryof2006,Xiaxue:16posts,
Wheaton:20posts;Marchof2007,Xiaxue:nineposts,Wheaton:40posts;Julyof
2008,Xiaxue:11posts,Wheaton:26posts;Juneof2009,Xiaxue:10posts,Wheaton:
16posts;andOctoberof2010,Xiaxue:nineposts,Wheaton:eightposts.Thelast
monthselectedforthestudyisthemostrecentcompletemonthoftheirblogging,
Decemberof2011,Xiaxue:11posts,Wheaton:sevenposts.Thismonthhasalso
beenselectedforananalysisoftheincreaseordecreaseofNPDcontentontheir
blogs.
Variablesinthestudythatwillnotbeaccountedforarethegender
differencesthatexistbetweenWheatonandXiaxue,aswellasthecultural
differenceswithWheatonbeingaresidentoftheU.S.A.,andXiaxuebeingaresident
ofSingapore.
Thisstudywillbeamorequalitativecontentanalysis.Thecontentanalysis
willbedonefromthecodingofdatathatisinterpretedtobeNPDcontent.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 28
However,thedatawillnotbeanalyzedfromaquantitativeperspective.The
statisticalanalysisoftheNPDcontentwillnotbetakenintoconsideration.This
studywillbedonefromamorequalitativeperspective,withtheintentbeingto
understandthereasoningbehindthepostingofNPDcontentonanindividual’s
weblog.Thereasoningforthistypeofanalysisisfortwomaincauses.First,the
textsusedforthisstudyareuniquebecauseoftheprecisetypeofcommunication
methodsbeinganalyzed,inthiscase,weblogs.Second,thiswillbeanexploratory
applicationoftheory,withthedatabeinganalyzedinasemi‐rhetoricalcriticism
fashion,thatbeingthelengthyblogpoststhathavebeenpublishedonline.However,
thedatabeinganalyzedwillbelinkingtheirreasoningofcommunicationwiththat
ofsomeonewhomaypotentiallysufferfromapsychologicalpersonalitydisorder.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 29
Chapter4:Results
Theresultsofthisstudywereacompilationofthesevenmonthsthatwere
selected,andwerecodedinthefollowingcategories:self‐praise,celebritystatus,
high‐profilerelationships,mobility,anduniqueinterpretationofreality.Primary
andgeneralexampleswereselectedfrombothWheatonandXiaxue’sblogs.
Self‐Praise
Self‐Praisewasclassifiedbyanyreferencetoanaccomplishmentintheirlife
thattheyopenlyacknowledgetotheiraudience.Thiswasalsoseenbyany
rhetoricalquestionsaskingtheiraudiencetovalidatetheirsuccess.Outofthefive
categoriesthatwerelistedforthisstudy,thiswasbyfarthemostcommoncontent
foundonbothWheatonandXiaxue’sblogs.
OneofthemostcommonwaysthatXiaxueexhibitedthiscodewasbyher
descriptionandpraisingofheroutwardphysicalappearance.Thisseemedtobe
somethingthatXiaxuedidmultipletimesthroughouteverymonththatwas
selected.Sheoftenpraisedcertainfeaturesofherphysicalappearancesuchasher
hair,orhercomplexion,andwouldthentieherself‐approvalwiththeapprovalof
othersaroundherthatadmiredherbeauty.Inonepost,shemadethestatements:
“Youknow,I'vethoughtthatIhaveareallycutebutt.”and“Mygorgeouspinkhair
thankstoMosche!!”towhichshecompletedtheapprovalwiththereferenceto
anotherperson’sadmirationinwhichshewrote,“Nattotallycheckedmeoutyears
ago!!Hahaha!!I'mhot!”(June,2009).Xiaxue’sadmirationwasarticulatedasshe
statedthatherbeautywasanaccomplishmentinherownlife.Shethenpointedthis
outtoheraudiencethatathirdpartyalsorecognizedherphysicalaccomplishments
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 30
bytheadmirationthattheyexpressedinlookingather.
Asummationofherthoughtsaboutherphysicalappearancewasbest
expressedwhensherespondedtoareader’scommentaboutablogpostthatshehad
previouslywrittenaboutherpersonalbeauty.Inherreplytothefanshewrote:
IimagineImusthavelookeddamncrazyanddefinitelywouldnothavesex
withmyself if Iweren'tme. I'd have sexwithmyselfwhen I amnot crazy
though.I'mprettyhot(March,2007).
Wheatonshowedthathealsohadfeelingsofself‐praise,buthisweremore
relatedtooutsideachievementsthathehadworkedfor,andwerenotnecessarily
associatedwithhisphysicalappearance.Therewereinstancesinwhichhe
advocatedtohisfansaboutthelatestreleaseofhisself‐producedpodcast,Radio
Free‐Burrito(January,2006).Healsomentionedtheworkthathedidfortelevision
showssuchasCSIorLeverage,askingfanstocomeandsupporttheworkthathedid
andbefansoftheshow(January,2006).Wheatonalsotalkedaboutthepublicity
thatsomeofhisworkwasreceivingonline.Inoneinstance,hewrotehowa
publicationofhis,Wheaton’sBooksintheWild,wasgainingattentiononFlickrand
hadanincreaseinmembership(July,2008).
Xiaxuealsodemonstratedthisdegreeofself‐praisewhenshedisplayedthe
significanceofherownwork.Oneofthemainexampleswasherblogforwhichshe
hadreceivedmultipleawards.Shewouldthenannouncetheawardtoherreaders.
Forexampleinoneinstanceshewrote,“Ifyoufollowmytweetsyou'dalreadyknow
IwonfortheMostInfluentialBlogandRegion'sBestBlog(again:p)”(December,
2011).Anotherinstancewaswhenshewasinterviewedaboutwhatshethought
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 31
wasthebestblogonlineinwhichshereplied,“Ilovemyownblogthemost,andI
thinkIamlikethemostfabulousbloggerinthewholewideworld,winningother
peoplebyleapsandbounds”(September,2005).
Thesewerecodedasexamplesofself‐praisebecauseofthereferencetotheir
achievements.Wheatonofcoursereferencedhisactingandcareer
accomplishments,andXiaxuereferencedheronlineblogrecognition.Thesewere
directlyplacedintheirblogsfortheviewerstotakeinandpossiblyoffer
congratulatoryremarksintheirfeedback.
Xiaxuealsotookaveryuniqueapproachtoself‐praisewhenshebegan
postingonherblogverylargequantitiesofpicturesthatshehadtakenofherself.
Thistechniqueshedescribedtoheraudiencewascalled“cam‐whoring”.Inmany
instances,whethershewaspostinganadvertorialforaproduct,orbloggingabouta
vacationthatshewastaking,shewouldpostupwardsof50photographsofherself,
atcloserangeonarepeatedbasis.Xiaxuealsomadementionthatshespenthours
ofherowntimepersonallyphotoshoppingthepicturesthatshehadtakenofherself,
sothatheraudiencewouldnotbedispleasedwithherpictures.Inoneblogpost,she
explainedtoherreadersthereasoningforthisprocess.Shewrote,“Ilovecam‐
whoring!Whynot?Onlyyoungoncesomuchtakemore,more,morephotos!Andif
thosephotosare‘chio’[associatedwiththeword“bu”,ishokkienslangfor“pretty
female”]it'sagreatwaytogetattentiononline!”(October,2010).
Cam‐whoringwasadifferentwaythatXiaxueusedtogainattentiononher
blog,andalsoanexampleofself‐praiseforhercontent.Bytakingmultipleimages
ofherselfandpostingthemtoherblog,shewouldalsoaskforreadersapprovalof
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 32
herphotos,whichwasatechniqueofinquiringforpraiseaboutwhosheisasan
individual.
Wheatonalsoshowedauniqueformofself‐praiseinhisbloginwhichhe
wouldrecountaneventthatoccurredinhislife,andthenwouldrelaythestoryto
hisaudienceandtryandtieahumanitarianprincipleintohispost.Inoneexample
hewrote:
WhenIsawapersonwaitingtomakealeftfromasidestreet,Istoppedtolet
himgoacross in frontofus. See, I try todonice things like that,because I
believetheworldwouldbeamuchbetterplaceifeveryonemadeaneffortto
dolittlethings,likeholddoorsopen,letpeoplewithfeweritemscutinfront
inthecheckout,say‘thankyou’...thingslikethat(January,2006).
Thiswasanexampleofself‐praisebecauseWheatondidnotneedtousean
exampleofhispersonallifeofhowhewashospitabletoanotherpersontoshow
peopleshouldbemoreconsiderateofthosearoundthem.Hecouldhaveleftthat
outofhisblogpost,however,hemadesuretoreferencethekindgesturethathedid
whichwasawaytoaskhisaudiencetoapproveofandpraisehisaction,confirming
thathewasanachievedindividualforthataction.
CelebrityStatus
CelebrityStatuswasclassifiedbyanyreferencetoafavoredand/orabove
averagelifestylebaseduponprioraccomplishmentsorachievements,orreference
tothemonetaryvalueoftheirphysicalproperties.Bothsubjects,Xiaxueand
Wheatonexhibitedcontentintheirblogsthatfellintothiscategory.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 33
Wheatonwouldrepeatedlyreferencethenumberofrelationshipsthathehad
withothercelebrityfiguresintheactingandmusicalindustries.Hewouldoften
dropnamesincasualinstancestoshowthecamaraderieandfriendshipsthatboth
partieshadbetweenthem.Forexample,inMarchof2007,Wheatonwrotea
blogpostabouthisparticipationattheWorldPokerTour,duringwhichhe
mentionedsomeofhisothercelebritycohortsthathehadspenttimewithatthis
event:
TheWorld Poker Tour Invitational was a great event. There were tons of
celebritiesthere,includingsomeactorsIreallyrespectandadmire,likeRon
LivingstonandDonCheadle.Infact,atonepoint,Itotallytookapeebetween
VinceVaughnandTimothyBusfield. JenniferTilly satdown three seats to
myright,makingthetablethatmuchhotterandtwiceastough.Tomorrow,I
willgobacktoCommercefortheWorldPokerTourInvitational, inwhichI
finished 23rd, and was the last celebrity (shh. don't tell anyone, okay?)
standing.
ByhismentioningofthenamesDonCheadle,VinceVaughn,andJennifer
Tilly,Wheatonputhimselfinthesameclassofcelebritythatthethreeactorswere
inaswell.Heconfirmedthiswithhisstatementofbeingthelast“celebrity”
remaininginthePokerTournament,thusestablishingtohisreadersthathewas
alsointhecelebrityrealmaswell.
Thiscelebritymentalitywasalsosupplementedbythenumberofreferences
thatWheatonhadtohispastactingachievementsinboththemotionpicture,and
televisionindustry.InmultipleinstancesWheatonreferredtosomeofthemore
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 34
wellknownactingendeavorsthathehadbeeninvolvedin,includingfilmssuchas
StandByMeandToySoldiers.Wheatonalsohadvariousscreenshotsandimages
postedofhimwhenhewasachildactoronthetelevisionshow,StarTrek:TheNext
Generation.
TherewerealsotimesinWheaton’sblogwhenhewoulddevoteentire
blogpoststosomeofthemoderndayactingjobsthathewasinvolvedinandhelping
produce,includingminorrolesontelevisionshowssuchasLeverage,andCSI.
Wheatonmadeastatementrecentlyinhisblogthatsummeduphiscelebrityand
actingcareerinwhichhesaid,“I’vebeenanactorforjustover30years.I’veworked
innearlyeveryenvironmentpossible,onallkindsofproductions,inallkindsof
roles”(October,2010).
Thisstatementcameattheendofablogpostinwhichhementionedhowhe
wasinthemiddleoffilminganunnamedtelevisionshowthatwouldlaterbe
releasedtothepublic.Wheaton’sstatementthathehadbeenanactorconfirmedto
thereadersthatheinfactwasasignificantlybusyindividualwhohadbeenapartof
multipleproductionsthatmanyothercelebritiesoftenwereinvolvedinaswell.
Thisconfirmedhisbeliefthathetoo,wasalsointheclassificationofacelebrity.
Xiaxue,howeverhadaverydifferentapproachtoherconfirmationof
celebritystatus.Xiaxue’sreputationwasnotbasedonanyentertainment
productionsthatshehadbeeninvolvedinatall,hermainsourceofcelebrity
recognitioncamefromhersuccessonlineasanaccomplishedWeblogger.
OneofXiaxue’smostcommonformsofcelebrityrecognitionwaswhenshe
woulddedicateentireblogpoststowhatshereferredtoasan“advertorial.”An
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 35
advertorialwaswhenXiaxuewouldendorseacertaintypeofcommercialproduct,
inwhichshewouldpostpictures,writepositiveremarksabout,andmaketheeffort
toshowtoherreadershowexcellentthatproduct’sserviceswouldbetothem.In
thesevenmonthsthatwereselectedforthestudy,Xiaxuedidadvertorialsfor
multipleproducts.ShedidadvertorialsforTurodrique,adesignercompany,
KimageHairStudio,andVoxyNailPortions,(September,2005),anadvertorialfor
KotexHairPluckers,(July,2008),anadvertorialforRiceCrisps,(October,2010),
andthenfinallytwoadvertorialsforLieseHairExtensions,andaphonefromNokia.
(December,2011)
AllofthesewereexamplesofhowXiaxuefeltthathercelebritystatusgave
herthegroundstobeanadvertiserforotherproducts.Shedidthisbyimplyingto
companiesthattheactivenumberoffollowersofherblogwouldreadher
advertisementofaspecificproduct,andthatwouldthengeneraterevenuebasedon
thefactthatmorepeoplewerehearingaboutthatproduct.Thiswascombinedwith
theideathatmorepeoplewouldlooktopurchasethatproductbecauseshe,a
celebrity,wasendorsingit.
Xiaxuemadereferenceinmultipleinstancestohowpeoplemaycomein
contactwithhermanageriftheywerelookingforhertopostanadvertorialonher
blog.Inoneexample,shewrotehowiftheywantedanadvertorialfortheir
companyto“PleasecontactmyagencyMunkysuperstar”(March,2007).This
referencetoheragencyreferredtohowshehadtheabilitytocreateadvertisements
thatwouldgenerateanincreaseinthemonetaryvalueoftheirproduct,thus
coincidingwithwhatcouldbecodedas“celebrity”value.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 36
TherewerealsoinstancesinwhichbothXiaxueandWheatonopenly
acknowledgedtheircelebritystatus,whetherbyrecountinganinstanceintheirown
life,orbytheopenrecognitionoftheirpersonalachievements.Wheatonshowed
thisbytellingastoryinwhichastrangerapproachedhimatanairportandpraised
himforhisacting,towhichthefanthenaskedifhewouldtakeapicturewith
himselfandherfriends.Wheatonrecountedhisthoughtsafterthisincidentby
saying:
Itendedupbeingreallycool,andwasamomentthatprofoundlychangedthe
way I dealtwith that "celebrity" thing that Iwas never really comfortable
with:thoughIalwaysthought"celebrity"wasbullsh**,itwasoneofthefirst
times I realized that, even though I didn't think of myself in those terms,
therewere some peoplewho did, andwith that came a certain amount of
responsibility(March2007).
Xiaxuereferencedhercelebritystatusinadifferentdirectionhowever,ina
morenegativelight.Forexample,ononeoccasionsherefutedclaimsmadeagainst
herthatherblogwasnotaverypopularonebychoiceforreaderstoread.Xiaxue
devotedanentireblogposttohersuccessasablogger,inwhichshesummedupher
thoughtswiththeclosingphrase,“Anyway,Iam54thinthedamnworld!God,I
thinkIshallgohugmyselforsomething”(September,2005).
AnotherexampleofthiswasseenafewmonthslaterwhenXiaxuedefended
herstanceonanissue,andattackedthecriticismthatshereceivedfromherreaders
aboutapreviousadvertorialshehadposted.Shedegradedheraudience’sposition
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 37
whenshewrote“DonotdemandIchangemywritingforyou‐itwillneverhappen,
becauseyouareinsignificant”(January,2006).
BothoftheseareexampleswhenXiaxuewaslookingforreinforcementsof
herbeingacelebrity,oneofwhichwasbyself‐praisewhensheannouncedthe
statisticsofhercelebritystatusbyherblogrankings,thesecondwhenshelowered
herreadersvalueandelevatedherselfbywhatshefeltwashercelebrityreputation.
ThatreputationthatshereferredtowaswhatWilWheatonfeltthathehadinsome
ofhisfanseyesaswell.
High‐ProfileRelationships
High‐ProfileRelationshipswasclassifiedbyanyreferencetoassociationsor
connectionsthattheyhavewithacquaintancesviewedaspopularpublicfigures.
Thiswasalsoseenbyreferencestonotablegroupsandorganizations.
WilWheatonhadmultipleexamplesofthisinhisblogashewouldoften
mentionthemanydifferentinterpersonalrelationshipsthathehadwithotherhigh‐
profileindividuals.ThisdifferedinthefactfromcelebritystatsinthatWheatonwas
notjustassumingthathisaudiencefeltthathewasacelebrityandwasinthesame
categoryashiscelebrityacquaintances,butthathestatedthedirectpointthathe
haddevelopedseriousrelationshipswithotherhigh‐profileindividuals.
Wheatonoftenreferencedbacktoexperiencesthathehadwithmanyofhis
high‐profilefriends.Manyofthesestoriesthatherecountedhewouldopenupwith
astatementaboutwhatmadethatspecificpersonimportanttotherestoftheworld
bywhattheyhaddoneintheirlifethatcouldbenotedbyeithermonetaryvalue,or
bypopularpublicopinion.Inoneexample,hewrote:“WaybackwhenIwas
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 38
eighteenornineteen,myfriendDamion,whowroteanddirectedNeverland”
(January,2006).Anotherexampleofthiswasseenwhenheopenedablogpostwith
thestatement,“MyfriendPaulyeditsanonlineliterarymagazinecalledTruckin’.
Paulyalwaysinvitesmetocontribute”(March,2007).
HisabovementionedreferencestobothhisfriendsDamionandPaulywere
classifiedashigh‐profilerelationshipcontentbecauseWheatonpointedoutthat
first,hehadfriendsinhislifewhohehadconsistentrelationshipswith,andsecond,
thosefriendshadaccomplishedsignificantachievementsintheirownliveswhether
theybethedirectingofHollywoodfilms,orthemanagingofasuccessfulmagazine.
Xiaxuealsodisplayedthesefeaturesinherblogasshereferencedsignificant
individualsinherownlifethatweremorethanjustacquaintancestoher.Inone
instance,shereferencedapopulartelevisionfigureandhowshehadclose
connectionswiththatpersonbecauseofwhosheis.Shewrote:“Maia[Lee,of
SingaporeIdolfame]invitedmetoattendheralbumlaunchatDXO!Iknewhera
longtimeago,actually,whenshewasstillJune'ssister'ssingingteacher”
(September,2005).Here,XiaxuemadenotethatsheknewtheSingaporeIdolstar
beforeherrisetofame,andshealsostatedhowshestillmaintainedthat
relationshipwithher,thusindicatingthatsheherself,wasahigh‐profileindividual.
AnotherwaythatWheatonshowedthathehadhighprofilerelationshipswas
whenhereferencedthedifferentorganizationsandcompaniesthatheconnected
withineitherapastorpresenttense.Somesignificantonesthathementioned
werewhenhewasinvitedtotheLasVegasStarTrekconventionasajudge(March,
2007),whenhewasonapublishingpanelforthecompanyPocketbooks(July,
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 39
2008),andalsowhenheservedontheboardoftheScreenActorsGuild(June,
2009).
AllofthesecouldbeseenasWheatonhavingarelationshipwithasignificant
andhighprofileorganization,whichthenshowedthevaluethathisreputationhad
tobeapartofthoseorganizations.Themainreasonthatthesecouldbeclassifiedin
high‐profilerelationshipsisthatWheatonstatedthesefactstohisaudienceinthe
samemannerhowhestatedhisrelationshipswithindividualsexisted,thatwas
discussedpreviously.Thehigh‐profilefactsweremadetochronologicallyreference
atwhatpointinhislifehewasat,butatthesametimeweremadetopointouttohis
audiencethetypeofpersonthathewastobeassociatedwith,eitherthosepeople,
orthoseorganizations.
Mobility
Mobilitywasclassifiedbyanyreferencetolongvacationsorbusinesstrips
acrossthecountryortheworldthatwereafocusinbothWheatonandXiaxue’s
lives,oranyreferencetolivingamobilelifestyleinwhichtheysurrounded
themselveswithtechnologythatgavethemmoreaccesstocommunicatingwith
theiraudience.
Wheatonmentionedthisinmultipleinstancesonhisblog,manytimesasa
prefacetowherehewasfilmingatelevisionshow,orworkingonproducingand/or
writingforhiscareer.Inotherinstances,Wheatonusedthistodetailsomeofthe
thingsthathedidinhisownlifethatwenthandinhandwithhissomewhat
extravagantlifestyle,alifestylethatcoincidedwiththeprevioustwocodesofbeing
acelebrity,andbeinghighprofile.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 40
Forwork‐relatedmobility,Wheatonlistedthenamesofthecitieshewas
travelingtoforsomeofhisactingroles.Forexample,hededicatedmultiple
blogpoststohisworkontheshowLeverageinwhichhewouldopenthepostswitha
statementofhislocationinPortland,Oregon(June,2009).Inanotherinstance,he
madethestatementthat“Inacouplehours,I'llbeonmywaybacktoLosAngeles
forafewdays,soIcanworkonTheBigBangTheory…IshootBigBangTheoryon
MondaybeforeIgobacktoVancouvertofinishoutthefourthseasonofEureka
(October,2010).
Inotherinstances,Wheatonreferencedhistravelingexperiencesforpurpose
ofpleasureorentertainment.Inoneexample,hediscussedhowhewastakingared
eyeflighttotheBahamastoparticipateinacelebritypokertournament(June,
2006).Inanotherexample,hementionedhowhewastakingaquickflightdownto
SanDiegoforashortstayatacomicbookconvention(July,2008).Onaspecific
blogpost,herecountedavacationthathetookwithhiswifewhenhewrote:“Anne
andI,longbeforeweweremarried,andhadinfactbeendatingforlessthanayear,
flewtoLondonforahugeStarTrekconvention”(March,2007).
ThesewereallexamplesofhowWheatonportrayedtohisaudiencethe
amountoftravelandtimethathehadspentallovertheworldforhiscareer
purposes,andsomewhatexcessivepersonallifestyle.Thesecouldalsobecodedas
atraitofNPD,someonewhofeelsthattheyareupwardlymobileintheirwayoflife.
Xiaxuefollowedinasimilarpatternwhenshepostedabouthermobility,
however,allofherpostswereunderthesubcategoryofmobilevacationandnotof
workingmeans.ThereweremultipleexampleswhereXiaxuewouldpostabouthow
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 41
shewouldbeleavingonaflighttoLosAngeles,aswellasDallas,foragetaway
(December,2011).Orthatshewentonafour‐dayroadtripwithherfriendsacross
theMalaysiancountryside(March,2007).
Xiaxuealsohadblogpoststhatwereoverlybombardedwithphotographs
thatshehadtakenwhileonvacationorapartofhertravels.Therewasablogpost
dedicatedtoaflashmobthatshewasaparticipantofwhileshewasvacationingin
Singapore(June,2009).Sheusedthissametechniqueasshepostednumerous
photographsofhervacationtoBali(June,2009),aswellaswhenshewastraveling
totheNuffnangAsiaPacificBlogAwardsinSingapore(December,2011).
ThesereferencesweresimilartoWheaton’sinthefactthattheywereall
discussinghowmobileherlifestyleis,asshetraveledacrossSouthernAsia,aswell
ashertripsintotheUnitedStatesforrecreationalpurposes.Theseallcouldbe
classifiedinthecategoryofmobility.
AnotherwaythatmobilitywasshownbyWheatonwaswhenhediscussed
howportablehislifewasashewasontheroadworking.Oneexampleofthiswas
whenhediscussedtheamazementthathehadforbeingabletopostblogsinsucha
timelyfashionwhileonthego.Hewrote,“I'monmylunchbreakrightnow,
marvelingathowweirditistoliveinthefuture,whereIcanposttomyblogfrom
mydressingroom”(June,2009).Hewouldlaterexpoundonthisbyposting,
“Duringproduction,wecouldsendpicturesandupdatesfromthesettoTwitterand
ourblogs,andengagetheaudienceinadirectandintimatewaythatisunlike
anythingI’veeverdonebefore”(June,2009).
Theseoccurrenceshaveappearedtohavelosttheirlustersinceactivities
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 42
suchasthishavebecomeverycommonformostindividuals,however,atthetime,
thiswassomethingthatWheatonexpoundeduponasanadvantagetobeingso
mobile,havingthelifestyleandcapabilitytobeabletorelatetohisaudienceabout
hiscareerandentertainmentactivities.Thisalsowascodedforsomeonewholived
alifethatismobile,andsomeonewhohastraitsofNPD.
UniqueInterpretationofReality
UniqueInterpretationofRealitywasclassifiedbyanyreferencetoan
experienceofpersonalconflictintheirlives,showinganextremeamountof
emotionaldivergenceinregardstoasituationthatappearedtobeadailyor
commonoccurrence.UniqueInterpretationofRealityalsohadsomeofthemost
emotionallychargedandemphaticblogpostsbybothofthesubjectsbecauseofthe
inclusionofconflictwithotherindividualsinbothoftheirlives.
Wheatonshowedthisinsmalldosesonhisbloginwhatappearedtobevery
minuteconflicts.Inoneinstance,hewroteafewparagraphsonthecommunication
issuesthatexistedbetweenhimselfandhismanagerforanactingrolethathewas
lookingtopursue(July,2008).Inanotherreference,heventedhisfrustrationsfor
notbeingabletoblogathisoriginalwebsite,wilwheatondotnet(September,2005).
Thatemotionalreferencewasalsowhatcreatedtheblogthatheiscurrentlyusing,
WWdN:InExile.OneparticularimitationofrealitywaswhenWheatonproclaimed
hisangerattheadvertisementsthathemustwatchbeforeviewingapurchased
DVD.Hewrote:
IreallyhateitwhenIputaDVDintomyDVDplayer,andbeforeIcanactually
gettothefu**ingmovieIpaidtowatch,Ihavetositthroughabigbunchof
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 43
stupid,time‐consuming,not‐the‐moviebullsh**!(March,2007).
Thesecanbeseenasauniqueinterpretationofrealitybecausetheconflicts
thathewasupsetaboutwerenotlife‐alteringissues.Wheatoncomplainedabout
copyrightinfringementmessagesthathewasforcedtowatchbeforeamovie,when
thosearethesamemessagesthateveryoneelsewatchesontheirownpurchased
DVD’saswell.Thereasonthattheseexampleswerecodedasimitationsofrealityis
becausehewassoemotionallychargedaboutsimpleandminuteproblemsinhis
life.Expressingvulgarityaboutmiscommunicationwithamanageraboutanacting
job,orhavingablogmalfunctionwasshowingapolarextremeofwhyhislifeis
moreimportantthaneveryoneelse’sandwhyheshouldnothavehadtodealwith
issuessuchasthose.
Xiaxuefollowedthesesamepatternswhensheexpressedfeelingsof
frustrationforminorconflicts.Oneexamplewaswhenshetoldthestoryof
standinginlineforanalbumreleaseandanelderlygentlemansteppedinlinewitha
friendaheadofher.Shewrote:
HECUTMYQUEUE!BLATANTLY! Inevereverletpeopleoffwhentheydo
thingslikethattome,andIwasabouttoscoldhimbutIwasscaredthathe
boxedmyfragilenosesinceheisalreadysoold(maybe60)andjailtohimis
nothing(March,2007).
OtherexamplesincludedhowXiaxueexpressedsharpwordsaboutnotbeing
abletofindacabinthecityofSingapore(March,2007).Shecomplainedaboutthe
violationofherprivacythatshehadtoendurewhileusingpublictransportationin
andaroundherhomecity.Therewasevenablogpostdedicatedtoherangerabout
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 44
howawaiterwouldnotlookatherintherightfashion,andmainlygaveattentionto
herhusbandwhilethetwoofthemwereouteatinginafancyrestaurant(March,
2007).
Howsheexpressedangeraboutaverysmallsetbackinherlifewascodedin
theuniqueinterpretationofreality,becauseshewasrelatingtoherreadershowshe
didnotdeservetobetreatedinsuchaway.Thiswasanelevationofherpersonal
characteranddegradationofthosearoundher.InMillon’sstudy,hedefinedthree
othersub‐categoriesofpureNPD,oneofwhichisclassifiedas“Compensatory”.
Compensatorybehaviorsincludenegativity,andalackofself‐esteem,creating
illusionsofbeingsuperiortoothers.Xiaxue’spersonalelevationtechniquescould
beclassifiedinthecompensatoryNPDsub‐category.Xiaxuerepeatedlymadesmall
conflictsappearasmajorcatastrophesinherblogposts.Wheninreality,allofthese
conflictswerethingsthateveryoneelsearoundherisforcedtodealwithintheir
ownlives.
Xiaxuehadmoreexamplesofthisintheearlieryearsofherblogposts,in
whichshewouldoftendevoteentireblogpoststothenegativecommentsthatshe
wouldreceivefromherreadersandfollowers.Oftentheseremarkswouldcome
fromreadersbecausetheydisagreedwithherviewpointsoncertainissues,and
wouldsaynegativethingsonherblogabouther.Xiaxuetookthoseremarks
personally,andwroteboldresponsesofbothangerandsympathytoherentire
audience.Inoneexampleshemadeacalltoactionforherreaderstobeonherside
onacertainissuewhenshewrote:
The leastmyblogders (readers) cando forme is todefendmewhen I get
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 45
wrongly accused, or when people get overtly vicious with their words. It
hurts me to see that even stuff like the above get written about me, you
readersseemtobedoingnothingatall(September,2005).
ThiswasseenasauniqueinterpretationofrealitybecauseXiaxuewas
openlyenragedaboutthepublicopinionofherthatwasnegative.Sheexpressed
thatshewasnotsomeonewhodeservedtobeundersuchscrutinyandlookedatin
anegativemanner.Howeverthenegativecommentsfromherfanswereonlybeing
incitedbecauseofblogpoststhatshehadwritteninthepastthathadbeennegative
aboutsomeoneelse.Thiswasholdingpeopletoadoublestandardinthatregard,
wheresheasthebloggerhadtherighttoridiculesomeone,buttheyontheother
handdidnothavetherighttobenegativeabouther.
Amorous
AlongwiththefivesubcategoriesoftheelitistformofNPD,therewasalsoa
largeamountofcontentonXiaxue’sblogthatwasclassifiedintheamorouscategory
ofNPDthatMillondefined.Muchofthiscontentwasshownthroughsexually
descriptivelanguageandextensiveblogpostsdedicatedsolelytopromiscuous
behaviors.
Forexample,earlyoninthefirstmonthsthatwereselectedforthisstudy,
(September,2005andJune,2006)Xiaxueusedanabundanceofsexualreferences
anddialoguetodescribeherlifestyle,aswellaseventsthatshewentthroughon
bothaninterpersonalandasocialmediaperspective.Inoneinstance,she
transcribedanonlineconversationthatshehadwithanotherpersonaboutwanting
tohavesexualintercourse(September,2005).Shealsousedsexuallysuggesting
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 46
wordssuchas“orgasmic”todescribeordinarysituationssuchasthedeliveryofa
high‐classmealthatshewasreceivingatafive‐starrestaurant(January2006).A
primeexampleofthiscontentwasseenwhenshedevotedanentireblogpost
entitled,OfftoJB,inwhichshedescribedtoheraudienceaboutthepeakofa
woman’ssexualexperience.Alongwiththatblogpostshepostedamathematical
equationfortheamountoforgasmsthatawomanshouldhaveexperiencedoverthe
spanofeightyears,provokingtheideathatsheasawoman,aswellasherreaders,
neededtoexperienceamorerewardingwayoflife.Anotherblogpostwasdevoted
solelytoaportionofsexuallysuggestivematerialthatcamewhensherecordedan
entireInstantMessageconversationbetweenherandanothermanonline,their
conversationbeingentirelydevotedtothepossibilityofsexualintercoursebetween
thetwoofthemiftheyweretogether.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 47
Chapter5:Discussion
Thestudy’sresearchquestionaskedwhatcharacteristicsandtraitsthat
defineNPDcouldbelocatedonanindividual’sblog.Thefivemainqualitiesthat
couldbefoundonbothWheatonandXiaxue’sblogwerealsothefivetraitsthat
wereoutlinedbyMillon’sstudy:celebritystatus,high‐profilerelationships,mobility,
self‐praise,anduniqueinterpretationofreality.Eachcategoryforthisstudywas
selectedbecauseofthecharacteristicsofwhatMillondefinedasapureor“elitist”
personalityofsomeonewhodealswithNPD.
Outofthefivecategoriesforthisstudy,bothWheatonandXiaxueexhibited
numerousexamplesofNPDontheirblogsranginginthemonthsselectedfrom2005
to2011.Overwhelmingly,thecategoryofself‐praisewasthemostdominanttrait
shownontheirblogs,withexamplesbeingcodedforeverymonththatwasselected
forthestudy.Onthecontrary,mobilitywastheleastcommontraitrevealedinthe
study,withbothWheatonandXiaxuereferencingaspectsoftheirlivesthatcouldbe
classifiedinthecategoryofmobilitytheleastamountoftimes,incomparisonwith
thefourothercategories.
Self‐praisemayhavebeenthemostcommontraitbecauseitseemedlikeit
wouldbethemostconvenientandsimplestwaytoshowthatonehasnarcissistic
traits.Theotherfourtraitstakemorethanjustpositivewordsfromaperson’s
mouthtoexist.Forexample,toshowthatoneisrecognizedasacelebrity,they
wouldneedvalidationfromanothersource,suchasanothercelebritytoprovethat
theyareinthesamecategory.Thispatternissimilarwithhigh‐profile
relationships.Onewouldneedmultiplesituations,developedfriendships,and/or
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 48
anaffluenceofmonetaryvaluetobeconsideredsomeoneofhigh‐profilequality.
Mobilityfollowsthesametrendsbyneedinganabundanceoffunds,aswellasthe
capabilitytotravelextensively,toshowNPDtraitsinthissubcategory.Finally,the
majorityofthecontentthatwascodedintheuniqueinterpretationofreality
categorywasbecauseofconflictcreatedwithanotherindividual,thuscausing
instabilityinthatsubject’slife,andtheexpressionofnegativeemotionsand
frustrationsintheirblogposts.
WhenshowingcharacteristicsofNPDbyself‐praise,allonewouldneed
essentiallyisthemselvestodoso.Abundanceoffunds,travelopportunities,
celebrityrelationships,andcontrastingsecondpartiesarenotnecessarilyneeded
fornarcissiststoexpressthejoyandvainemotionsthattheyhaveforthemselves.
Allofthesevariablesmayinfactplayapartintheexpressionofself‐praise,butin
essence,subjectscouldexhibitthesetraitsbyjustglancingintoamirrorand
elaboratingonhowtheyviewthemselvesinapleasingmanner.
Forthisstudy,Millon’smaintheoryofthe“elitist”categoryofNPDwasused
tocodethedatathatwasgatheredfromthesubject’sblogs.Therewere,however,
threeotherdistinctgroupsofcharacteristicsthatMillonclassifiedassubtypesof
NPD:compensatory,amorous,andunprincipled.Afascinatingpointthroughoutthe
studywasthewaythatXiaxueexhibitedherNPDtraits.Inamajorityofher
blogposts,shedeliveredcontentthatwascategorizedintooneofthefiveselected
fromthe“elitist”group.However,therewerealsomultipleinstancesinwhichshe
deliveredcontentthatcouldhavebeenclassifiedintooneoftheotherthreeNPD
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 49
sub‐categories.Theothercontentbeingmostfrequentlyreferencedtowouldbe
classifiedintheamorouscategoryofNPD.
HerbehaviorwasanexampleofhowneitherXiaxue,orWheatoncouldbe
classifiedintoasinglesubcategoryofNPD,andthattheymayshowtraitsand
characteristicsofonewhoisofmultiplesubcategoriesofNPD,andcouldhave
possiblydevelopedthoseoverthelifetimeoftheirblogs.Thisstemsfromtheidea
thatsocialmediacouldinfactwarpanindividual’spersonalitybytheamountof
feedbackandresponsesthattheyareexposedtoonacontinualbasis.The
developmentofNPDtraitsthatthesesubjectsshowmayhavealsoevolvedina
similarmannerastheirsocialmediaempiredidaswell.Theevolutionofcharacter
isoneofthemainpointsthatwillbediscussedinthissection.
MillondefinedsomeonewhoisclassifiedintheamorouscategoryofNPDas
anindividualwhois“sexuallyseductive,enticing,beguiling,tantalizing,gliband
clever,disinclinesrealintimacy,indulgeshedonisticdesires;bewitchesand
inveiglestheneedyandnaïve;pathologicallyingandswindling”(Millon,2006).
ThereweremultipleexamplesofXiaxuehavingcontentonherblogthatcouldbe
classifiedintheamorouscategoryasdiscussedintheprevioussection.
TheexamplesusedwerebecauseofthepossibilitythatXiaxuemayinfact
havetraitsthatwerefromboththeamorousandtheelitistcategoriesofNPD.The
wordsthatsheusedinthepreviouslymentionedblogpostsweresexuallyseductive,
enticing,anddisincliningtoactualsexualintimacybecausetheywereinfactbased
foronlinecommunication.Theblogpostswerealsoextremelysexualinnatureand
devotedentirelytoprovokingthoughtsandideasofasexuallifestyle.Shesuggested
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 50
toheraudiencethatshewasaparticipantinthiswayoflife,andhadaveryactive
sexuallife,bothofwhichcouldbeclassifiedintheamorouscategoryofNPD.Inone
blogpostshewrote:“Idon’tbelievethatanyonewon’tbeenticedbymybreasts.
Breastsaresonice”(September,2005).Thiscanbeseenasbothelitistbecauseshe
wasusingself‐praiseaboutherownbreasts,butalsoamorousbecauseshewas
writingaboutherownbodypartsthatcouldbeviewedinasexualperspective.
MultiplecategoryexamplessuchasthiscouldbebecauseXiaxuewasusingadual‐
prongedapproachatgettingreaderstoreadandrespondtoherblog.Thesexual
phrasingcouldbeactingasanenticementforthereaders,followedbytheinvitation
tocommentandgivefeedbackabouttheiragreementwithherstatements.
Itwasnotedthatthemajorityofthesexuallydescriptivewordsandcontent
thatsheusedinherblogwerepostedearlieroninthemonthsthatwereselectedfor
thestudy.From2008topresent,thesexually‐suggestivecontentwasnearabsent
fromherposts,withthemajorityofhercontentbeingclassifiedintheelitist
categoryofNPD,i.e.celebritystatus,high‐profilelifestyle,mobility,self‐praise,
imitationofreality,andnottheamorouscategoryaswell.Thiscouldbebecauseof
multiplereasons,suchasthatshehadoutgrownthetraitsinthatsubcategoryof
NPD,andhadstartedtodevelopacharacterthatwasamore“pure”narcissist.
Xiaxue’spopularityintheWebloggingworldgrewexponentiallyovertheten
yearsthatshehadbeenposting.Shecontinuedtogainalargenumberoffansonan
annualbasis,andreceivedmultipleawardsandrecognitionforherpublishing.As
herblogevolved,hernarcissisticpersonalitytraitsmayhaveevolvedwithitaswell.
Withthethrongofreaderstakinginandcommentingonherblogs,shemayhave
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 51
begantograduallyincreasethecharacteristicsofsomeonewhowouldbeclassified
intheelitistcategoryofNPD.Apersonwhoseblogonlyhas50followerswouldnot
feelthattheywereverypopularorrecognized.However,apersonwhohasover
6,000followersoftheirblogmayfeelthattheyareinfacta“celebrity”.Thatwayof
thinkingiswhatMillonclassifiedasoneofthetruestdefinitionsofanelitist.Thus
hergrowthofNPDtraitscouldhavestemmedfromthegrowthofherblog.
Anideaofhowshegainedsuchrapidpopularityonlineisthatshemayhave
usedsexuallyprovocativewordsandpostsasanadvertisingtactictoattractreaders
toherblogearlyon,inordertoincreasethesizeofheraudience.Theconceptthat
shewas“pushingtheenvelope”onherpersonalblogtogetreaderstokeepchecking
backinwithherpostingsissomethingthatcouldbeusedforfuturestudies.There
is,however,insufficientdatatoassumethatthisissomethingthatshewasdoingon
herblogintentionally,andisnotinaccordancewiththisstudy.
AnotherthemethatwasseeninbothWheatonandXiaxue’sblogwasthe
overabundanceofself‐praiseinthecontent.Asmentionedpreviously,thiswasby
farthemostcommontraitthatwasseenontheirblogs,withalargequantityoftheir
postingsreferencingtheirpersonalaccoladesandachievements.Onecommontrait
thatwentalongwithself‐praisewasaskingrhetoricalquestionstotheiraudienceto
validatetheirpersonalaccomplishmentsdiscussedinpreviousblogposts.
Therearepostsontheirblogsthatcouldbeviewedasobviousexamplesof
self‐praise,however,thereisalsothepossibilitythattheycouldbeclassifiedas
examplesofsomeonewhodealswiththecompensatorytraitsofNPDthatMillon
defined.OneofthekeystatementsinwhichMillondescribedsomeonewhoisapart
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 52
ofthecompensatoryNPDgroupingisthatthey“seektocounteractorcancelout
deepfeelingsofinferiorityandlackofself‐esteem”(Millon,2006).Itissuggested
thattheevidenceofbothWheatonandXiaxuehavingalowself‐esteemcouldbe
seenbytheirsemi‐rhetoricalaudiencequestions.Byaskingforvalidationonan
accomplishmentintheirpersonallives,theymaynothaveconfidenceinthemselves
forwhattheyweredoing,andneededathirdpartytoauthenticatetheirpersonal
existence.Ifareaderweretothenrespondinapositivemannertotheirrhetorical
questions,itwouldthenconfirmintheirownmindsthattheirreadersrecognized
theirbehaviors,andthattheyinfactwouldbeinthesamecategoryofsomeonewho
iselite,orprivileged.Blogpostssuchasthecomicbookscript,andthephotoshoot
aspreviouslymentionedcanbeseenasexamplesofthischaracteristic.
Totakethisideaofself‐praiseinstigationevenfurther,Wheatonprovided
multipleexamplesofwhenhepostedremarksthatwereself‐deprecatingand
seekingsympathyinnature.Forexample,inoneblogposthewrote:
Ifyou'relikeme,andyou'remarriedtoafabulousbabe,doyoueverhave
thosedayswhereyourwifeissoincrediblybeautiful,youfeellikeabigfat
stupiduglypileofsh**?(March,2007).
Inanotherinstance,hemockedhisownself‐praisethathehadpostedabout
hiscelebritystatusbywriting:“IkindoffeellikeI'msaying,‘hey!Iamsogreat!
EveryonelookathowgreatIam!Woo!Woo!Lookatme!Woo!’"(March,2007).
Hisremarksweretakensarcasticintone,butwerealsoviewedasaformof
sympathybecausehewrotethemincontextaskingforreaderstovalidatehis
accomplishments.Thiscouldbeatechniqueinwhichhewasinstigatinghisreaders
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 53
torespondtohisblogpost,listingallofthesuccessthathehadreceivedasachild
actor/moderndaycelebrity.That,initself,couldbecategorizedasabehaviorof
someonewhowouldbeclassifiedintheelitistcategoryofNPD.
Thesewordsmayalsobelookedatascontentonhisblogthatwouldbe
classifiedinthecompensatorycategoryofNPD,becauseofWheaton’sattemptof
counteractinghisownpersonalfeelingsofinferiority,and/orhislowself‐esteem.
Hisreasonsforpostingnegativeremarksabouthimselfcouldbebecausehedoesin
facthavealowself‐esteem,andwaslookingforhisaudiencetovalidatehisown
personalaccomplishmentsintheircommentsabouthisblogpost.
Anideathatcouldbelookedatforfutureresearchistoseethedevelopment
ofasubject’sNPDtraitsandcharacteristicsinonecategory,andtoseehowthey
evolveoverthecourseoftimeintoaseparatecategoryofNPD,withtheincreased
amountoffollowersandreceivedfeedbackontheirblogs.Forexample,wouldWil
Wheaton’scompensatorybehavior,inwhichheloweredhisinterpersonalvalueto
hisaudienceasaploytoreceiveaffirmation,havedecreasedovertimewiththe
increaseinfansandaudienceparticipationthathewasreceiving?Wouldthatthen
inturnhaveincreasedhiselitisttraitsaswell?Thisissimilartothesuggestion
madepreviouslythatXiaxue’samountofsexualcontentonherblogdiminished
becauseoftheamountoffollowersthatshehad,andsheseemedtodevelopmoreof
anelitistformofNPDbehaviors.ThesamesuggestioncouldbemadeaboutWil
Wheaton’stacticsinthisinstanceaswell.
ThisbehaviorcouldalsobeviewedasanexampleofSocialExchangeTheory,
AltmanandTaylor(1973).Twomaincomponentsofthistheoryarethathumans
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 54
areinconstantsearchofrewards.Second,humanshavevaryingstandardsinwhich
theyevaluatethecostsandrewardsinanygivensituation.BeforeWheatonposted
anegativecommentabouthimself,hecouldhavebeenlookingatboththecostsand
therewardsofwhathewasposting.Thecostswouldbethathewouldbeopenly
criticizinghimselfonhisblog,exposinghisflawstothethousandsofpeoplethat
stayedupdatedonhisposts.Therewardwouldthenbetohavehisaudience
respondinacontrastingmannerbywritingpositivecommentsabouthimonhis
blog.Doingsowouldnegatethecriticalwordsthathewroteabouthimself,and
wouldbeaformofself‐enhancement.
Thenegativecommentsthatthesubjectsmadewerenotonlyaimedat
themselves,butwerealsotargetedfortheircriticalreaders.Millonstatedthat
negativefeaturesareoneofthemaincomponentsthatdefinedthecompensatory
NPDcategory.Thecompensatoryclassificationissomethingthatcouldinfactbea
categoryofNPDthatbothWheatonandXiaxuesufferfrom,basedonthecontentof
theirblogs.Thenegativistic,orcompensatoryperspectivewasshownbythe
amountofdisapprovingandbelittlingremarksthatbothofthemmadetowards
theirreadersintheirposts.Inmultiplesituations,theseremarksweremade
becauseofnegativecommentsthattheyhadreceivedaboutblogstheyhadposted
inthepast,andwereadefensemechanismfornotbeingappreciated.
Thisideacouldalsobethattheyexhibitedtraitsinboththeelitistandthe
compensatorysubcategoriesofNPD.Theelitisttraitswouldbethatwhenthey
posted,theywerepursuingtheirreaderstopraisetheiropinionsandideas.
However,whentheywerenotreceivingthepositiveremarksfromtheirreaders,
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 55
feedbackthattheyfeltascelebritiestheyshouldbereceiving,theythenalteredtheir
responsestoamorenegativeandcounteractiveapproach.Thebelittlingcomments
thattheypostedontheirblogswereaformofself‐enhancement,andatacticof
someonewhoshowstraitsofbothanelitist,andacompensatoryindividualwith
NPD.Thecommentsthattheiraudiencemadewerenotmonitoredhowever,and
couldnotbetakenintoconsiderationforthisstudy.
Limitations
Someofthelimitationsthatexistedthroughoutthisstudyweretheprocess
ofcodingtheblogsthatwereselected.Forthisstudy,therewasonlyone
subcategoryofMillon’sNPDpersonalityframeworkselected,elitist.However,it
wasseenintheirblogsthatbothWheatonandXiaxueexhibitedpossibletraitsof
thosewhowouldcouldbeclassifiedintheotherthreesubcategoriesofNPD
(amorous,compensatory,unprincipled).TheothersubcategoriesthatMillonlays
outhavefeaturesthatarecombinationsofotherpersonalitytraits(i.e.
compensatoryhasnegativistic,avoidantfeatures).Theothersubcategorieswere
notfocusedon,andcouldbeforfuturestudies.
Otherlimitationsmayhavebeentheindividualswhowereselectedforthe
studyitself.TheelitistcategorywaschosenbecauseMillondefineditasthemost
pureformofNPD.Hedescribedthetraitsofthosewhosufferedfromtheelitist
formofNPDtobethosewhoseconceptoflifeisanentitledfaçade,bearslittle
relationtoreality,andfeelsempoweredbyvirtueofspecialchildhoodstatusand
pseudoachievements.ThoseweresomeofthekeyfactorsastowhybothWheaton
andXiaxuewereselected.Wheatonwasselectedbecauseofhisprevioussuccessas
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 56
achildactor,withtheentitlementthatwaspotentiallygeneratedbecauseofhis
career.Xiaxuewasselectedbecauseofherpseudoachievementsonherblogwith
thenumberofreaders,aswellasbytheawardsthatshehadreceivedonlineforher
blogitself,thusenablinghertobecalledacelebrity.BothofthemwerewhatIfelt
wereprimeexamplesof“B‐list”celebrities,whopublishedtheirblogsona
consistentbasis,andhadalargeamountoffollowersontheirsocialmediasites.
Therecouldhavebeenotherindividualsselectedforthisnotjustbylooking
attheelitistsubcategory.Wordpress,Blogger,Yahoo,andotherwebsitesranktheir
mostpopularbloggerseachyear,andpostthestatisticsofhowmanypeoplefollow
theirblogs,andhowmanyhitstheyhaveonanannualbasis.Otherbloggerswho
areonthetopoftheirlistscouldhavebeenselectedforthisstudy,andmayhave
beenanalyzedtoseeiftheyalsoexhibitNPDcontentontheirblogsaswell.
TheoreticalContributions
Researchhadbeendoneintheseparatefieldsofcommunicationand
psychology.Aspecificstudywasthepotentialdevelopmentofnarcissisminthe
realmofonlinemedia.MendelsonandPapacharissi(2010),aswellasBuffardiand
Campbell’s(2008)mainfocusintheirresearchwasonNPDtraitsseenonwebsites
suchasFacebook.comandMyspace.com.TherewerealsostudiesdonebyEkdale,
Kang,Fung,andPerlmutter(2010)onthemotivatingfactorsforblogpostingstobe
madebyparticipants,studyingthemotivatingfactorsforcontinualupdates.Their
researchonblogupdateswasdonesolelyfromapsychologicalperspective,andnot
fromacommunicationstandpoint.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 57
Thisstudy,however,wasacombinationofboththepsychologicaland
communicationaspectsofsocialmedia,analyzingagrowingtrendofInternetself‐
publicationanddiscussingthemotivationsfortheirpostings,morespecifically,by
takingaparticularpsychologicaldisorder,NPD,andexaminingthepotential
developmentofitstraitsinanindividualavenueofsocialmedia,weblogging.Other
socialmediasitessuchasFacebookandMyspacecouldalsobesomeofthemain
contributingfactorsinthedevelopmentofpersonalitydisorders,suchasNPD,
howevertheirparticularcontentwasnotanalyzedforthisstudy.
Inhisresearch,Millonlaidout14mainpersonalitydisordersthatanyoneat
anygiventimemaydevelop.ThisstudybrokedownthefundamentalsofNPDand
categorizeditbeingmadeknowninpersonalbehavior.Followingthis,the
behaviorswerethenrecognizedinbloggingitself,andnotjustanalyzedinsocial
mediaasawhole.Webloggingmaybeviewedasamuchmoreintricateformof
personaldisclosurebecauseofthedetailedexplanationsintoapersonsbehavior,
andnotjustaquicktwosentencestatusupdateasshownonFacebook.
Fromacommunicationpointofview,socialmediahasbecomeamainstream
formofrelationshipbuildingandinteraction,withFacebookstatuses,twitter
accounts,andblogsbeingagatewayformassamountsofpeopletostayupdated
aboutdailyoccurrencesinanindividual’slife.Thisstudyanalyzedthecontentthat
thesubjectsusedtocommunicatewiththeiraudience,andalsodiscussedthe
potentialtechniquesandtacticsthatcouldhavepotentiallybeenusedtoattracta
largeraudience.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 58
Psychologically,thisstudybranchedoutfrompreviousreviewsofsocial
mediasitesthatweredesignedmainlyfornetworkingpurposes,suchasFacebook
andMyspace.TheareaofWeblogginghasbeenusedasanextendedformof
publications,aswellasanavenueforpotentialwriterstogainfanbasesand
audiencesbyreadingmaterialthatismorethanjustafewsentenceslong.Because
ofthemorein‐depthcharacterthatcouldbeformedthroughbloggingbylengthy
postsmadebytheauthors,theremayalsobeadeeperreachintopotential
personalitydisorderssuchasNPDthatmaybenoticeableonasubject’swebsite.
Thisstudywasamorein‐depthanalysisbystudyingnotjustthesurfaceofsocial
mediastatusupdates,butbygoingdeeperintowhatcouldbeclassifiedasanonline
journal,andgaveamuchgreaterperspectiveonaperson’sindividualcharacterwith
theirconsistentblogposts.
FutureStudies
TheUsesandGratificationsTheorysuggeststhatusersareengagedinseeking
outthetypesofmediaandnetworkingthatinturngoesontosatisfyourown
particularneeds.Katz,Blumler,andGurevitch(1974)proposedthattheaudienceis
goal‐orientated,andactivelypursuingthosegratifications,whatevertheymaybe.
KayeandJohnson(2004)pointoutthat“peopleactivelysearchoutcertainmedia
andmediacontenttosatisfyparticularneeds”(p.199).Variablesthatcomposethe
theorywereshownbyRubin(1994)wholiststhefactorsas“people’sneedsand
motivestocommunicate,thepsychologicalandsocialenvironment,themassmedia,
functionalalternativestomediause,communicationbehavior,andthe
consequencesofsuchbehavior”(p.419).
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 59
Therecouldinfactbeasimilaritydrawnbythereasoningforapersontouse
bloggingasatooltogratifytheirnarcissisticpersonalityneeds.Insome
circumstances,individualsmayusebloggingtogainfavorintheireyesbytheir
peersandfollowers.Thepotentialgratificationsthattheyareseekingcouldalsobe
thesamemannerismsthatMillonlistsofsomeonewhohasNPD.
Theremayalsobefuturestudiesthatbringmoresubjectsintocontext,than
justtwoindividualswhowereclassifiedasB‐listcelebrities.Thereisanabundance
oftrademarkedbloggersforspecificsubjectsandtopics.Researchcouldbefocused
onalargersamplingofbloggerswhofocustheirpostingsonspecifictopics.By
studyingmorethanjusttheB‐listcelebritiesthatwereselectedforthisstudy,
attentioncouldalsobefocusedontheothersub‐categoriesofNPD,unprincipled,
amorous,andcompensatory.
WheatonandXiaxuewereselectedforthisstudybecausetheircharacter
traitsappearedtocloselymatchthetraitslistedbyMillonforsomeonewhosuffers
fromtheelitistformofNPD.However,thisisnotsomethingthatsignifiedthemas
uniquefromotherbloggersaswell.Multiplecategoriesofa“celebrity”couldbe
takenintoconsiderationforfuturestudies.Acelebritywouldnotjusthavetobe
someonewhogainedsuccessasachildactor,orreceivedmultipleWeblogawards.
Theycouldinfactbeclassifiedasanindividualwhohasgainedasubstantialamount
ofpopularityonline,orintheentertainmentbusiness.WheatonandXiaxue’s
personalitiesarenotexpresslydifferentfromotherB‐Listcelebrities,therefore
theirbehaviorsarenotexclusivecomparedtootherpotentialsubjectsforfuture
analysis.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 60
Theintentofthisstudywastogainabetterunderstandingofhowsocial
networkinghasinfluencedoursocietytodevelopstrongertraitsandcharacteristics
thatareassociatedwithnarcissism.Takingonlinecommunicationtoolsthatare
mademoreandmoreaccessibletousonaconstantbasishasaidedourabilityto
connectwithpeopleallacrosstheglobe.However,havethestridesthatouronline
culturehasmadecrippledthehumilityanddown‐to‐earthdemeanorthatweonce
hadadecadeago?ItcanbeseenfrombothaB‐listHollywoodcelebrity,andbyan
onlinebloggingdiva,thatnarcissismmayinfactbeadevelopingproblemamong
individualswhoselivescateraroundacomputerscreen,andtallytheupvotes,
comments,andreceptionthattheyreceivefromahiddenaudienceoffollowers.
WhetherornotdisorderssuchasNPDcanbeestablishedanddevelopedovertime
iscontingentonthemotivationalreasoningbehindwhyanindividualiseven
writingabloginthefirstplace.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 61
ReferencesAlexa.com.(2012,January28).RetrievedJanuary19,2012,from http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/blogspot.comAltman,I.andTaylor,D.A.(1973).SocialPenetration:Thedevelopmentof interpersonalrelationships.NewYork:Holt,Rinehart&Winston.
AmericanPsychiatricAssociation.(1980).Diagnosticandstatisticalmanualof mentaldisorders(3rded.).Washington,DC:Author.AmericanPsychiatricAssociation.(1994).Diagnosticandstatisticalmanualof mentaldisorders(4thed.).Washington,DC:Author.Anastasopoulos,D.(2007).Thenarcissismofdepressionorthedepressionof narcissismandadolescence.JournalOfChildPsychotherapy,33(3),345‐362. doi:10.1080/00754170701667197BestAsianBlog.(2004).TheWeblogAwards2004.RetrievedJanuary 25,2012,fromhttp://weblogawards.org/20Blatt,S.andZuroff,D.(1992)‘Interpersonalrelatednessandself‐definition:two prototypesfordepression’.ClinicalPsychologyReview,12:527–62.Bortree,D.S.(2005).PresentationofselfontheWeb:Anethnographicstudyof teenagegirls’weblogs.EducationCommunication&Information,5(1),25– 39.Bosch,T.(2009).Usingonlinesocialnetworkingforteachingandlearning: FacebookuseattheUniversityofCapeTown.Communication:SouthAfrican JournalforCommunicationTheory&Research,35(2),185‐200.Buechler,S.(2010).UsingWeb2.0toCollaborate.BusinessCommunication
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 62
Quarterly,73(4),439‐443.doi:10.1177/1080569910385381Buffardi,L.E.,&Campbell,W.(2008).Narcissismandsocialnetworkingwebsites. PersonalityAndSocialPsychologyBulletin,34(10),1303‐1314. doi:10.1177/0146167208320061Capron,E.W.(2004).TypesofPamperingandtheNarcissisticPersonalityTrait. JournalOfIndividualPsychology,60(1),76‐93.Chen,Y.(2010).Examiningthepresentationofselfinpopularblogs:acultural perspective.ChineseJournalOfCommunication,3(1),28‐41. doi:10.1080/17544750903528773Cheng,W.(2005,September).TheBlogofXiaxue.RetrievedJanuary25,2012,from http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/Cheng,W.(2006,January).TheBlogofXiaxue.RetrievedJanuary25,2012,from http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/Cheng,W.(2007,March).TheBlogofXiaxue.RetrievedJanuary25,2012,from http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/Cheng,W.(2008,July).TheBlogofXiaxue.RetrievedJanuary25,2012,from http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/Cheng,W.(2009,June).TheBlogofXiaxue.RetrievedJanuary25,2012,from http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/Cheng,W.(2010,October).TheBlogofXiaxue.RetrievedJanuary25,2012,from http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/Cheng,W.(2011,December).TheBlogofXiaxue.RetrievedJanuary25,2012,from http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 63
Cheng,W.(2012,January).TheBlogofXiaxue.RetrievedJanuary25,2012,from http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/Cheng,W.(2012,January25).Xiaxue'sFacebookFanPage.RetrievedJanuary25, 2012,fromhttps://www.facebook.com/Xiaxue.sgCheng,W.(2012,January25).Xiaxue'sTwitterFeed.Retrieved January25,2012,fromhttps://twitter.com/xiaxueChild,J.,&Agyeman‐Budu,E.(2009).BloggingPrivacyManagementRule Development:TheImpactofSelf‐MonitoringSkills,Concernfor Appropriateness,andBloggingFrequency.ConferencePapers– InternationalCommunicationAssociation,1‐28.Docter,S.(2010).BloggingandJournalism:ExtendingShieldLawProtectiontoNew MediaForms.JournalOfBroadcasting&ElectronicMedia,54(4),588‐602. doi:10.1080/08838151.2010.519809Dye,J.(2007).MeetGenerationC:Creativelyconnectingthroughcontent. EContent.RetrievedJanuary20,2011,fromEBSCOHostDatabase.Ekdale,B.,Kang,N.,Fung,T.F.,&Perlmutter,D.D.(2010).Whyblog?(thenand now):exploringthemotivationsforbloggingbypopularAmericanpolitical bloggers.NewMedia&Society,12(2),217‐234. doi:10.1177/1461444809341440Ellis,J.(2010).Studentwritingblogs:Apprehension,ambivalenceorappreciation?. CommunicationJournalOfNewZealand,11(2),7‐29.Ellis,K.(2010).Bewhoyouwanttobe:ThephilosophyofFacebookandthe constructionofidentity.ScreenEducation,(58),36‐41.Retrievedfrom
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 64
Communication&MassMediaCompletedatabase.Fico,F.G.,Lacy,S.,&Riffe,D.(2008).AContentAnalysisGuideforMediaEconomics Scholars.JournalOfMediaEconomics,21(2),114‐130.Greenspan,R.(2003).Bloggingbythenumbers.CyberAtlas,X.RetrievedSeptember 252011,fromhttp://internetnews.com/stats/article.php/2238831Holsti,O.R.(1969).Contentanalysisforthesocialsciencesandhumanities.Reading, MA:Addison‐Wesley.Hong,J.,&Sheehy,M.(2010).GrowingNumberofBloggersSeeTheirWorkas Journalism.NewspaperResearchJournal,31(4),38‐47.IMDB.com/WilWheaton.(2012).InternetMovieDatabase.com.Retrieved January25,2012,fromhttp://www.imdb.com04/Journalingatoolforwriters.(2007,August13).TheWashingtonTimes.Retrieved January11,2012,from http://blogs.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/aug/13/journaling‐32a‐tool‐ for‐writers/?page=all#pagebreakKatz,E.,Blumler,J.G.&Gurevitch,M.(1974).Utilizationofmasscommunicationby theindividual.InJ.G.Blumler&E.Katz(Eds.),Theusesofmass communication:Currentperspectivesongratificationsresearch(pp.19‐32). BeverlyHills,CA:Sage.Kaye,B.K.(2005).It'saBlog,Blog,BlogWorld:UsersandUsesofWeblogs.Atlantic JournalOfCommunication,13(2),73‐95.doi:10.1207/s15456889ajc1302_2Kaye,B.K.,&Johnson,T.J.(2004).AWebforallreasons:Usesandgratificationsof Internetresourcesforpoliticalinformation.TelematicsandInformatics,21,
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 65
197–223.Krippendorf,K.(2004).Contentanalysis:Anintroductiontoitsmethodology(2nd ed.).BeverlyHills,CA:Sage.Ladame,F.(1987)‘Depressiveadolescents,pathologicalnarcissismandtherapeutic failures’.InFeinstein,S.,Esman,A.H.,Looney,J.G.andOrvin,G.H.(eds) AdolescentPsychiatry14.ChicagoandLondon:TheUniversityofChicago Press.Lampa,G.(2004).ImaginingtheBlogosphere:AnIntroductiontotheImagined CommunityofInstantPublishing.Intotheblogosphere:Rhetoric,community, andcultureofweblogs.RetrievedSeptember22,2011from http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/imagining_the_blogosphere.htmlLevy,S.(2002,August26).Livingintheblog‐osphere.Newsweek,140,42–52.Li,D.(2005).WhydoyouBlog:AUsesandGratificationInquiryintoBloggers's Motivations.MarquetteUniversity,Milwaukee,Wisconsin.Lin,C.A.,&Jeffres,L.(1998).Predictingadoptionofmultimediacableservice. Journalism&MassCommunicationQuarterly,75,251–275.Liu,X.,&LaRose,R.(2008).TheImpactofPerceivedAudiencesonBlogging. ConferencePapers‐‐NationalCommunicationAssociation,1.LiveJournal.com.(2012,January28).RetrievedJanuary18,2012,from http://www.livejournal.com/stats.bmlLoughnane,E.(2005).NetSuccessInterviews.Lulu.com.ISBN1411626982Lövheim,M.(2011).PersonalandPopular.NORDICOMReview,32(1),3‐16.Malikhao,P.,&Servaes,J.(2011,May).ThemediauseofAmericanyoungstersinthe
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 66
ageofnarcissism:Survivingina24/7mediashockandawe–distractedby everything.Telematics&Informatics.pp.66‐76. doi:10.1016/j.tele.2010.09.005Marken,G.(2005).ToBlogorNottoBlog,ThatIstheQuestion?,PublicRelations Quarterly,50(3),31‐33.Matheson,D.NegotiatingClaimstoJournalism:Webloggers’OrientationtoNews Genres,”Convergence10,(4)winter2004:33.Mazer,J.,Murphy,R.,&Simonds,C.(2009).Theeffectsofteacherself‐disclosurevia Facebookonteachercredibility.Learning,Media,&Technology,34(2),175‐ 183.Mehdizadeh,S.(2010).Self‐presentation2.0:Narcissismandself‐esteemon Facebook.Cyberpsychology,Behavior,AndSocialNetworking,13(4),357‐ 364.doi:10.1089/cyber.2009.0257Mendelson,A.,&Papacharissi,Z.(2010).LookatUs:CollectiveNarcissisminCollege StudentFacebookPhotoGalleries.ConferencePapers‐‐International CommunicationAssociation,1.Miller,J.(2008).ComparingClinicalandSocial‐PersonalityConceptualizationsof Narcissism.JournalOfPersonality,76(3),449‐476.Millon,T.,Grossman,S.,Millon,C.,Meagher,S.,&Ramnath,R.(2004). Personalitydisordersinmodernlife(2nded.).Hoboken,NJ:Wiley& Sons.NAPBAS.(2011).NuffnangAsiaPacificBlogAwards.Retrieved January25,2012,fromhttp://awards.nuffnang.com/2011/
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 67
Nardi,B.A.,Schiano,D.J.,Gumbrecht,M.,&Swartz,L.(2004).Whyweblog? CommunicationsoftheACM,47(12),41‐46.Nelson,M.(2006).TheBlogPhenomenonandtheBookPublishingIndustry. PublishingResearchQuarterly,22(2),3‐26.Pincus,A.L.,Pimentel,C.A.,Ansell,E.B.,Cain,n.M.,Wright,A.G.,&Levy,K.n. (2009).Initialderivationandvalidationofthepathologicalnarcissism inventory.PsychologicalAssessment,21,365‐379.Rainie,L.,Fox,S.,&Fallows,D.(2003).PewInternetandAmericanlifeproject. RetrievedSeptember29,2011,fromhttp://www.pewinternet.orgRaskin,R.,&Terry,H.(1988).Aprinciple‐componentsanalysisoftheNarcissistic PersonalityInventoryandfurtherevidenceofitsconstructvalidity.Journal ofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,54,890–902.Rubin,A.(1994).Mediausesandeffects:Auses‐and‐gratificationsperspective.InJ. Bryant&D.ZiIImann(Eds.),Mediaeffects:Advancesintheoryandresearch (pp.417‐436).Hillsdale,NJ:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates,Inc.Seipp,C.(2002).Onlineuprising.AmericanJournalismReview,24,42Selwyn,N.(2009)Faceworking:exploringstudents'education‐relateduseof Facebook.Learning,Media,&Technology,Vol.34Issue2,p157‐174Sheldon,P.,&Honeycutt,J.(2009).UnwillingnesstoCommunicateImpacton MotivesforFacebookUse.ConferencePapers‐‐InternationalCommunication Association,1‐27.RetrievedfromCommunication&MassMediaComplete databaseSmith,G.(2010).Bloggingandthecreativeprocess.JournalOfMediaPractice,11(3),
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 68
281‐287.doi:10.1386/jmpr.11.3.281_3Stafford,T.,&Gonier,D.(2004).WhatAmericanslikeaboutbeingonline. CommunicationsoftheACM,47(11),107‐112Stefanone,M.A.,&Chyng‐Yang,J.(2007).WritingforFriendsandFamily:The InterpersonalNatureofBlogs.JournalOfComputer‐Mediated Communication,13(1),123‐140.doi:10.1111/j.1083‐6101.2007.00389.x Steinfield,C.,&Lampe,C.(2009).ConnectionStrategies:RelationshipFormation andMaintenanceonSocialNetworkSites.ConferencePapers‐‐International CommunicationAssociation,1‐39.RetrievedfromCommunication&Mass MediaCompletedatabase.Stempel,G.H.(2003).Contentanalysis.InG.H.Stempel,III,D.H.Weaver,&G.C. Wilhoit(Eds.),Masscommunicationresearchandtheory(pp.209–219).Boston, MA:Allyn&Bacon.Tola,E.(2008).Toblogornottoblog,notarealchoicethere.JCOM:Journalof ScienceCommunication,7(2),1‐3.Trevino,E.M.(2005).BloggerMotivations:Power,Pull,andPositiveFeedback. RetrievedSeptember8th2011,fromEBSCOhostTwenge,J.M.(2006).GenerationMe:Whytoday’syoungAmericansare moreconfident,assertive,entitled—andmoremiserablethanever before.NewYork:FreePressUrista,M.A.,Qingwen,D.,&Day,K.D.(2009).ExplainingWhyYoungAdultsUse MySpaceandFacebookThroughUsesandGratificationsTheory.Human Communication,12(2),215‐229.
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 69
Viegas,F.B.(2005).Bloggers'expectationsofprivacyandaccountability:Aninitial survey.JournalofComputer‐MediatedCommunication,10(3).Vovoreanu,M.(2009)PerceptionsofCorporationsonFacebook:AnAnalysisof FacebookSocialNorms.JournalofNewCommunicationsResearch,4(1),p67‐ 86Weber,R.P.(1990).Basiccontentanalysis(2nded.).NewburyPark,CA:Sage.Wheaton,W.(2005,September).retrievedJanuary25,2012,fromWWdN:InExile WebSite:http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/Wheaton,W.(2006,January).retrievedJanuary25,2012,fromWWdN:InExile WebSite:http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/Wheaton,W.(2007,March).retrievedJanuary25,2012,fromWWdN:InExile WebSite:http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/Wheaton,W.(2008,July).retrievedJanuary25,2012,fromWWdN:InExile WebSite:http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/Wheaton,W.(2009,June).retrievedJanuary25,2012,fromWWdN:InExile WebSite:http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/Wheaton,W.(2010,October).retrievedJanuary25,2012,fromWWdN:InExile WebSite:http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/Wheaton,W.(2011,December).retrievedJanuary25,2012,fromWWdN:InExile WebSite:http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/Wheaton,W.(2012,January).retrievedJanuary25,2012,fromWWdN:InExile WebSite:http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/Wikipedia,(2011).SocialNetworkingService.retrievedJanuary,24,2012,
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 70
fromWikipediaWebSite:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networkingWLMT,(2009).ShareyourfavoritepersonalWindowsLiveMessengerstory withtheworld!.retrievedJanuary252012,fromInsideWindowsLive MessengerArchiveWebSite: http://messengerarchiveblog.wordpress.com/2009/06/15/share‐your‐ favorite‐personal‐windows‐live‐messenger‐story‐with‐the‐world/Wright,F.,O’Leary,J.andBalkin,J.(1989)‘Shame,guilt,narcissismand depression’.PsychoanalyticPsychology,6:217–30.Zuckerberg,M.(2010).OurFirst100Million.retrievedJanuary10,2012,fromThe FacebookBlog.WebSite: https://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=28111272130Zuckerberg,M.(2010).Newnavigationforusersand400millionactiveusers announcement.retrievedJanuary18,2012fromFacebook.com.Website: https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook‐ads/new‐naviation‐for‐users‐ and‐400‐million‐active‐users‐announcement/326050130129
SOCIALMEDIANARCISSISM 71
AppendixAPostsfromthefollowingblogsanddaterangeswereselectedastextsofanalysis. WWdN:InExile(September2005–December2011) Xiaxue(September2005–December2011)
Recommended