by Tommy Koh

Created on: August 24, 2008

I shall assume that these commentary refers to the youths of this generation, as such being those in the ten to twenties.

Being a youth myself, i do see the sense of narcissism on the rise amongst my peers and even in myself. Could it be good or bad?

I believe the rise of narcissism, specifically amongst the youth this days, owes its dues to the great influence of mass media and popular culture.

Being at its prime, media is everywhere, may it be televised or published, it affects us all. And being the new age youths, we are the most influenced and thus go for the love of loving oneself and explicit showing of ones personal love. Just take a look at how many make-up advertisements we have a day on tv, and how many beauty advertisements we read in the newspapers. I believe such a situation is not seen ten to twenty years back. The range of impact is much larger than ever before. Not only that advertisements affect us, the usage of media to show off pop stars and actors of all sort in their glamourous attires also have an unknowing impact on us.

Though media might be a cause of spread of narcissism amongst the young, haven't you considered the fact that, you as adults out there also get to see such narcissistic acts through the media too? Take the internet, facebook, myspace and friendster allows us a new sphere of communication and inevitably, showmanship of ones love for ones appearance or special acts. Such form of view transfer were not to be seen back in the eighties or nineties and thus the comment on the rise in narcissism in youth culture.

Youths in our generation are also much more aware of the importance of ones image, when it comes to presenting oneself in the general public or even infront of their elders. They put more emphasis on ones outlook, making sure they are at their best, anytime. Such a situation steers them to perform acts like looking into the mirror often, or tidying up unknowingly amongst the crowd, so as to be at their very best. Such acts are not crimes but reflexes in-built through the needs of showing themselves well.

In conclusion, i do not believe that its because the lost of values or the lost of personal humbleness as discussed by many adults, when it comes to narcissism in youth culture. Instead its the media that is blowing up the whole situation of narcissism and thus i believe, as youths we should just carry on the acts and love oneself.

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