Are You a Facebook Narcissist? Take the Quiz

You’re so vain, you probably think this article is about you…

Regularly updating your Facebook and Twitter may just be part of your daily routine but this overt online self-love may indicate a deeper issue. Are you a Social Network Narcissist?

Like millions of others, you probably spend a decent amount of time each day on social networks, too, but new research questions if it’s emotionally healthy to spend so much time talking about your life in such great detail. According to a study by Jean Twenge, a San Diego State University psychologist and coauthor of The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement, almost 60 percent of college students agreed with the statement “People in my generation use social networking sites for self-promotion, narcissism, and attention-seeking.”

Not only that but they’re likely dealing with both narcissism and low self-esteem, says a York University psychologist Soraya Mehdizadeh. Mehdizadeh’s study, which looked at the effects of narcissism on online social activity, found a “strong relationship between narcissism and lower self esteem with greater facebook activity as well as more promotional self content.”

Researchers point out that updating your Facebook daily doesn’t make your a raging egomaniac. So what are the key traits of of a narcissistic Facebook profile? That sexy photo may reveal more than you might think…

- High number of social interactions and wallposts

- Overtly sexy profile photos

-Self-promoting status updates

-Shockingly high number of Facebook friends, as narcissists focus on quantity over quality

Experts say that social networks aren’t to blame for narcissism, defined as excessive love or admiration for oneself, they’re merely a reflection of it. Sites like Facebook and Twitter just feed off the egocentrism of recent generations that’s been cultivated from years of being told by parents that they’re special — children born after the 1980′s are more prone to social network narcissism.

A small amount of narcissism can be healthy and help in the short term, like if you need the overconfidence to take a risk, but it can hinder one’s ability to form healthy relationships. Says one expert, ”They hurt the people around them and they hurt themselves in the long run.”

But as social networks grow in popularity, so do the number of users who want to talk about themselves, each and every detail no matter how embarrassing or truly mundane.

And as The Daily Mail‘s Cosmo Landesman notes, “Perhaps this narcissistic self-preoccupation doesn’t make us more selfish or less caring but by God it does makes us more boring.”

Are you a Facebook Narcissist?

Take the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, a widely used screening tool used by Dr. Drew Pinsky and S. Mark Young, a professor of entertainment business at the University of Southern California, co-authors of The Mirror Effect, a look at how celebrity culture is making the average American more narcissistic. (This test also appears in the book.)

Print this out or track your choices of which statements best match you in a single sitting, without asking for help or clarification:

1. A. I have a natural talent for influencing people.
B. I am not good at influencing people.

2. A. Modesty doesn’t become me.
B. I am essentially a modest person.

3. A. I would do almost anything on a dare.
B. I tend to be a fairly cautious person.

4. A. When people compliment me I sometimes get embarrassed.
B. I know that I am good because everybody keeps telling me so.

5. A. The thought of ruling the world frightens the hell out of me.
B. If I ruled the world it would be a better place.

6. A. I can usually talk my way out of anything.
B. I try to accept the consequences of my behavior.

7. A. I prefer to blend in with the crowd.
B. I like to be the center of attention.

8. A. I will be a success.
B. I am not too concerned about success.

9. A. I am no better or worse than most people.
B. I think I am a special person.

10. A. I am not sure if I would make a good leader.
B. I see myself as a good leader.

11. A. I am assertive.
B. I wish I were more assertive.

12. A. I like to have authority over other people.
B. I don’t mind following orders.

13. A. I find it easy to manipulate people.
B. I don’t like it when I find myself manipulating people.

14. A. I insist upon getting the respect that is due me.
B. I usually get the respect that I deserve.

15. A. I don’t particularly like to show off my body.
B. I like to show off my body.

16. A. I can read people like a book.
B. People are sometimes hard to understand.

17. A. If I feel competent I am willing to take responsibility for making decisions.
B. I like to take responsibility for making decisions.

18. A. I just want to be reasonably happy.
B. I want to amount to something in the eyes of the world.

19. A. My body is nothing special.
B. I like to look at my body.

20. A. I try not to be a show off.
B. I will usually show off if I get the chance.

21. A. I always know what I am doing.
B. Sometimes I am not sure of what I am doing.

22. A. I sometimes depend on people to get things done.
B. I rarely depend on anyone else to get things done.

23. A. Sometimes I tell good stories.
B. Everybody likes to hear my stories.

24. A. I expect a great deal from other people.
B. I like to do things for other people.

25. A. I will never be satisfied until I get all that I deserve.
B. I take my satisfactions as they come.

26. A. Compliments embarrass me.
B. I like to be complimented.

27. A. I have a strong will to power.
B. Power for its own sake doesn’t interest me.

28. A. I don’t care about new fads and fashions.
B. I like to start new fads and fashions.

29. A. I like to look at myself in the mirror.
B. I am not particularly interested in looking at myself in the mirror.

30. A. I really like to be the center of attention.
B. It makes me uncomfortable to be the center of attention.

31. A. I can live my life in any way I want to.
B. People can’t always live their lives in terms of what they want.

32. A. Being an authority doesn’t mean that much to me.
B. People always seem to recognize my authority.

33. A. I would prefer to be a leader.
B. It makes little difference to me whether I am a leader or not.

34. A. I am going to be a great person.
B. I hope I am going to be successful.

35. A. People sometimes believe what I tell them.
B. I can make anybody believe anything I want them to.

36. A. I am a born leader.
B. Leadership is a quality that takes a long time to develop.

37. A. I wish somebody would someday write my biography.
B. I don’t like people to pry into my life for any reason.

38. A. I get upset when people don’t notice how I look when I go out in public.
B. I don’t mind blending into the crowd when I go out in public.

39. A. I am more capable than other people.
B. There is a lot that I can learn from other people.

40. A. I am much like everybody else.
B. I am an extraordinary person.

SCORING KEY
Assign one point for each response that matches the key.

1, 2 and 3: A

4, 5: B

6: A

7: B

8: A

9, 10: B

11, 12, 13, 14: A

15: B

16: A

17, 18, 19, 20: B

21: A

22, 23: B

24, 25: A

26: B

27: A

28: B

29, 30, 31: A

32: B

33, 34: A

35. B

36, 37, 38, 39: A

40: B

The average score for the general population is 15.3. The average score for celebrities is 17.8.

It is important to consider which traits are dominant. For example, an overall score that reflects more points on vanity, entitlement, exhibitionism and exploitiveness is more cause for concern than someone who scores high on authority, self-sufficiency and superiority, according to Young.

The seven component traits by question:

• Authority: 1, 8, 10, 11, 12, 32, 33, 36

• Self-sufficiency: 17, 21, 22, 31, 34, 39

• Superiority: 4, 9, 26, 37, 40

• Exhibitionism: 2, 3, 7, 20, 28, 30, 38

• Exploitativeness: 6, 13, 16, 23, 35

• Vanity: 15, 19, 29

• Entitlement: 5, 14, 18, 24, 25, 27

So… how’d you score?

geekGLOSS’ Jennifer Latkiewicz isn’t nearly as cool as her Facebook self. Reach her via e-mail at geekgloss@mygloss.com or on Twitter at @gloss and @geekgloss.