01 Is Social Media Making Us More Narcissistic? Do you spend too much time trying to be attractive and interesting to others? Are you just a little too in love with your own Instagram feed? As the generation who grew up with social media, a reflection1 on narcissism2 is of critical3 importance to teenagers Over 1,200 Articles for IELTS Self-learners What are the psychological and ethical4 implications5 of constant engagement with or obsession6 over social media? How does it change our relationship with others and how we see ourselves? Technology Social Media “Narcissism Is Increasing So You’re Not So Special.” begins: My teenage son recently informed me that there is an Internet quiz to test oneself for narcissism His friend had just taken it “How did it turn out?” I asked “He says he did great!” my son responded “He got the maximum score!” When I was a child, no one outside the mental health profession talked about narcissism; people were more concerned with inadequate7 self-esteem, which at the time was believed to lurk8 behind nearly every difficulty Like so many excesses of the [Khanh Nhu - Director of ICA | CrushIELTS | ECPE C2 | IELTS 8.5+] | Simply an English Coach 1970s, the self-love cult9 spun out of control10 and is now rampaging through our culture like Godzilla through Tokyo A 2010 study in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science found that the percentage of college students exhibiting narcissistic2 personality traits11, based on their scores on [Hoang Le - IELTS 8.5 Overall] - your source of help and inspiration to achieve your best in your IELTS test the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, a widely used diagnostic12 test, has increased by more than half since the early 1980s, to 30 percent In their book “Narcissism Epidemic13,” the psychology Word collected by nhgiangg - Let's smile professors Jean M Twenge and W Keith Campbell show that narcissism has increased as quickly as obesity has since the 1980s Even our egos14 are getting fat Layout by Tigerho It has even infected15 our political debate Donald Trump? “Remarkably narcissistic,” the developmental psychologist Source: The New Work Times Howard Gardner told Vanity Fair magazine I can’t say whether Mr Trump is or isn’t a narcissist2 But I dispute16 the assertion17 that if he is, it is somehow remarkable This is a costly problem While full-blown18 narcissists often report high levels of personal satisfaction, they create havoc19 and misery20 around them There is overwhelming21 evidence linking narcissism with lower honesty and raised aggression It’s notable for Valentine’s Day that narcissists struggle to stay committed to romantic partners, in no small part because they consider themselves superior22 The full-blown narcissist might reply, “So what?” But narcissism isn’t an either-or23 characteristic It’s more of a set of progressive symptoms (like alcoholism) than an identifiable state (like diabetes24) Millions of Americans exhibit symptoms, but still have a conscience25 and a hunger for moral improvement At the very least, they really don’t want to be terrible people Questions: Comments: Do you recognize yourself or your Some of the real narcissistic people or full- friends or family in any of the blown narcissists I have come across use descriptions in this article? Are you very little or no social media at all sometimes too fixated26 on collecting “likes” and thinking about how others see Social media does make us less emphatic or you? more individualistic in a long term but Do you think social media is causing us to be more narcissistic? narcissism is something much stronger than that What’s the line between “healthy selflove” that “requires being fully alive at I wouldn't put too much pressure on making this moment, as opposed to being my point as I don't have any scientific virtually alive while wondering what knowledge on this topic but based on my others think,” and unhealthy narcissism? own experience and observations I don't How can you stay on the healthy side of believe social media is responsible for the line27? narcissistic behavior, I think it is almost Did you take the test? What did it tell you about yourself? opposite of that It is just my opinion based on my personal experience and What about Instagram, Facebook, observations Snapchat and other social media feeds makes them so hard to put down? Do you think this writer’s proposal28 of a “social media fast” is a viable29 way to combat30 narcissism? For those who aren’t as attached to social media, challenges from an overinflated31 sense of self still arise? If so, from where? If everyone is becoming more narcissistic, does that make narcissism necessarily a bad thing? Useful Vocabulary: reflection (n) 11 trait (n) 21 overwhelming (a) /rɪˈflek.ʃən/ /treɪt/ /ˌəʊ.vəˈwel.mɪŋ/ a reflection on something A particular characteristic C1 : very great or strong C1: a sign or result of that can produce a => overwhelming evidence : something particular type of behavior chứng rõ ràng/mạnh mẽ => dấu hiệu/kết => đặc điểm narcissism (n) => personality trait: đặc 22 superior (a) điểm tính cách /suːˈpɪə.ri.ər/ /ˈnɑː.sɪ.sɪ.zəm/ C2 : A superior person Too much interest in and believes that or acts as if they admiration for your own are better than other people => tự cao / hống hách physical appearance 12 diagnostic (a) 23 either-or (a) and/or own abilities /ˌdaɪ.əɡˈnɒs.tɪk/ /ˌaɪ.ðərˈɔːr/ or /ˌiː.ðərˈɔːr/ => tự yêu thân diagnostic test presenting an unavoidable -> narcissistic (adj) Identifying a particular need to choose between two /ˌnɑː.sɪˈsɪs.tɪk/ illness using a alternatives -> narcissist (n) người tự combination of signs and => – (chỉ chọn yêu thân symptoms 2, rạch ròi trắng đen) /ˈnɑː.sɪ.sɪst/ => chuẩn đoán => narcissism isn’t an eitheror23 characteristic nghĩa critical (adj) 13 Epidemic (n) không rõ ràng trắng đen /ˈkrɪt.ɪ.kəl/ /ˌep.ɪˈdem.ɪk/ (giống từ non-binary) be critical to something The appearance of a B2: of the greatest particular disease in a 24 diabetes (n) importance to the way large number of people at /ˌdaɪ.əˈbiː.tiːz/ things might happen the same time a disease in which the body => quan trọng => Đại dịch cannot control the level of sugar in the blood ethical (a) 14 ego (n) /ˈeθ.ɪ.kəl/ /ˈiː.ɡəʊ / C2: relating to beliefs your idea or opinion of 25 conscience (n) about what is morally yourself, especially your /ˈkɒn.ʃəns/ right and wrong feeling of your own C2 : the part of you that => đạo đức importance and ability judges how moral your own => (cá nhân) actions are and makes you implication (n) => bệnh tiểu đường feel guilty about bad things /ˌɪm.plɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ 15 infect (v) that you have done or things C2 : a suggestion of /ɪnˈfekt/ you feel responsible for something that is made C1: to pass a disease to a => lương tâm without saying it directly person animal, or plant => ẩn ý / hàm ý => lây nhiễm (truyền bệnh) obsession (n) 16 dispute (n) 26 fixated (a) /əbˈseʃ.ən/ /dɪˈspjuːt/ or /ˈdɪs.pjuːt/ /fɪkˈseɪ.tɪd/ an obsession with / over C2: an argument/ be fixated on/with something sth disagreement unable to stop thinking about Something or someone => tranh cãi something that you think about all => không ngừng suy nghĩ the time 17 assertion (n) => ám ảnh (trong ý /əˈsɜː.ʃən/ xuất nhiều a statement that you 27 stay on the sidelines (idm) phương tiện strongly believe is true /ˈsaɪd.laɪn/ truyền thông dẫn đến => lời khẳng định If you stay on the sidelines, nghiện/lúc nghĩ nó) chuyện you are not an important part 18 full-blown (adj) of what is happening /ˈfʊlˈbloʊn/ => đứng bên lề inadequate (a) completely developed /ɪˈnỉd.ɪ.kwət/ => hồn tồn phát triển Not good enough/in low 28 proposal (n) /prəˈpəʊ.zəl/ quality 19 havoc (n) a suggestion, sometimes a => không đủ /ˈhæv·ək/ written one => inadequate self- confusion and lack of => đề xuất esteem: thiếu tự trọng order that result in lurk (v) damage or trouble 29 viable (a) => tàn phá /ˈvaɪ.ə.bəl/ /lɜːk/ C2 : able to work as intended To wait or move in a 20 misery (n) or able to succeed secret way so that you /ˈmɪz.ər.i/ => khả thi cannot be seen B2 : great unhappiness => ẩn nấp => nỗi đau khổ/thống khổ 30 combat (v) /kəmˈbæt/ cult (n) C2 : to try to stop something /kʌlt/ unpleasant or harmful from Something that has happening or increasing become very popular with a particular group of => đấu tranh (để chống lại people (~trend) chuyện xấu) => self-love cult: xu hướng/chủ nghĩa yêu 31 overinflated thân /ˈəʊ.vər ɪnˈfleɪ.tɪd/ higher than they should be or 10 spin out of control higher than people think is Change very quickly and reasonable in an uncontrolled way => cao mức =>(thay đổi) vượt tầm kiểm soát This material is collected by ICA | CrushIELTS | 24/7 IELTS Homestay and not intended for any commercial purpose The material is solely for IELTS Self-learners ✺ Join either One-on-One courses (both Offline and Online) with IELTS 8.0+ teachers or classes with no more than 06 students (Offline) or 04 students (Online) ✺ Cosis Building – R.403, 4th Fl – 54A , No Trang Long Street, Ward 14, Binh Thanh district, HCMC ✺ Phone: (028) 6675 3305 Hotline: 0989 025 962 (Viber & Zalo), Skype: anhnguica Website: anhnguica.com ✺ https://www.facebook.com/CrushIELTS | https://www.facebook.com/groups/ieltshomestay ... how others see Social media does make us less emphatic or you? more individualistic in a long term but Do you think social media is causing us to be more narcissistic? narcissism is something much... he is, it is somehow remarkable This is a costly problem While full-blown18 narcissists often report high levels of personal satisfaction, they create havoc19 and misery20 around them There is. .. Some of the real narcissistic people or full- friends or family in any of the blown narcissists I have come across use descriptions in this article? Are you very little or no social media at all