Facebook: Where Narcissists Connect?
Facebook can be used to spot narcissism, a new study says.
Sept. 26, 2008 — -- Some Facebook members don't even have 100 friends. Scott Bradley once made that many in a day.
The recent college graduate's personal page boasts 2,100 friends, thousands of wall posts, dozens of homemade videos and links to eight personal Web sites.
In addition to a personal blog, a quote blog and a networking advice blog, he also maintains a YouTube channel and a Twitter account.
Bradley says that he's a "social media evangelist."
But the findings of a new University of Georgia psychology study suggest that he might fit the profile of a narcissist.
Study Says Narcissism Can Be Detected on Facebook
"Simply put, narcissists are people who think they're pretty great. ... They think they're more attractive, more intelligent, more unique and entitled to special treatment," said Lauren Buffardi, a University of Georgia graduate student and lead author of a study that will be published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin next month.
"They're well-liked upon initial meetings, but have more difficulty maintaining warm and intimate relationships," she said.
By surveying 130 Facebook users, analyzing their pages and asking untrained strangers to assess the users' pages, Buffardi and associate professor W. Keith Campbell found that the number of Facebook friends and wall posts that people have on their profile pages correlates with narcissism.
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