Millennials, narcissism, and social networking: What narcissists do on social networking sites and why

The rise in levels of narcissism among Millennials together with the increased usage of social networking sites (SNSs) raises the question of whether there is a connection between the two. The current study examined the link between narcissism and both SNS activities and motivation for SNSs activities. Results indicated that narcissism did not relate to the amount of time spent on SNS, frequency of status updates, posting picture of others, or checking up on SNS friends. However, narcissism predicted reasons why Millennials use SNSs, such as having as many SNS friends as possible, wanting their SNS friends to know what they were doing, believing their SNS friends were interested in what they are doing, and having their SNS profiles project a positive image. Findings suggest that Millennials' general usage of SNSs is a sign of the times. While narcissists in the Millennial generation do not appear to use SNSs more often than non-narcissists, their reasons for doing so are different. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.