An ego epidemic?

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A study from the University of San Diego suggests that narcissism is on the increase. Symptoms that define the condition include an inflated sense of one’s own importance, a sense of entitlement (eg: to fame, good looks, or a particular job), vanity, overconfidence, materialism, an inability to empathise with others, and difficulty accepting criticism.

The study looked at over 35,000 people and found that six percent of them had experienced a clinically diagnosed narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Interestingly, the condition was three times more likely to occur in younger, university-aged women.

The researchers attribute this to a wide variety of cultural influences, such as growing up with the “girl power” trend started by the Spice Girls in the mid-’90s; the increase in consumerism and available credit; the “dumbing down” of the education system where children are constantly given the message that they are special when they are, in fact, average; celebrity worship; the boom in plastic surgery; the proliferation of networking sites like Facebook; and the rise of reality TV, where ordinary people can achieve extraordinary fame for doing very little.