APA Citation
Lee, J., & Sung, Y. (2016). Hide-and-Seek: Narcissism and "Selfie"-Related Behavior. *Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking*, 19(5), 347-351. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2015.0486
Summary
Researchers Jin-A Lee and Yongjun Sung examined the relationship between narcissism and selfie-related behaviors. They found that narcissism predicted not just taking more selfies but also spending more time editing them before posting. Grandiose narcissists were particularly focused on self-presentation through edited images. The study contributes to understanding how narcissistic traits manifest in digital behavior and how social media may provide new arenas for narcissistic self-presentation.
Why This Matters for Survivors
This research illuminates how narcissism expresses itself in the digital age. The narcissist's need for validation and image management now plays out through social media—carefully curated selfies, edited images, strategic self-presentation. Understanding these patterns helps explain digital behaviors you may have observed in narcissistic relationships and how social media provides new tools for narcissistic supply-seeking.
What This Research Establishes
Narcissism predicts selfie behavior. People higher in narcissism take more selfies and spend more time editing them. Selfies provide platform for the self-presentation and validation-seeking central to narcissistic psychology.
Editing reflects image management. Time spent editing selfies reflects concern with presenting idealized self. Narcissists use digital tools for the image control they’ve always sought through other means.
Digital behavior reflects personality. Social media doesn’t create new personality but provides new arena for existing traits. Narcissistic patterns in offline life appear in digital contexts.
Grandiose narcissism particularly predicts edited self-presentation. Grandiose narcissists, with their focus on projecting an idealized image, were especially likely to engage in selfie editing and strategic self-presentation.
Why This Matters for Survivors
Understanding their digital behavior. If you noticed the narcissist’s extensive selfie-taking, image editing, and social media management, this research validates those observations. These behaviors reflect narcissistic personality patterns, not incidental habits.
The curated image versus reality. You may have experienced the discrepancy between the narcissist’s carefully managed online presence and the private reality you knew. Understanding that this gap is characteristic of narcissistic self-presentation validates your experience.
Digital extension of validation-seeking. The same need for admiration that drove behavior in your relationship plays out on social media. Likes, comments, and followers become new forms of narcissistic supply.
Social media doesn’t change personality. The digital behavior you observed reflected who they are, not who social media made them. These tools revealed existing patterns rather than creating new ones.
Clinical Implications
Consider digital behavior in assessment. Patients’ social media behavior can provide information about narcissistic traits—though online behavior alone doesn’t diagnose personality disorder.
Help patients understand digital dynamics. Survivors may be confused by the narcissist’s social media behavior—the constant selfies, the image management. Explaining the connection to narcissistic patterns helps them understand.
Address social media in recovery. Survivors may need to limit exposure to the narcissist’s social media, which continues the dynamic of curated self-presentation and may trigger comparisons.
Discuss digital narcissism in psychoeducation. Understanding how narcissism manifests digitally helps patients recognize patterns in current and future relationships.
How This Research Is Used in the Book
Lee and Sung’s selfie research appears in chapters on digital narcissism:
“Research confirms what many observers suspected: narcissism predicts not just taking more selfies but spending more time editing them—crafting the idealized image for public consumption. Social media provides new arena for the validation-seeking and image management central to narcissism. The gap between the narcissist’s curated online presence and private reality reflects the same pattern as their in-person self-presentation—the false self now has digital expression.”
Historical Context
This 2016 study contributed to growing research on narcissism and social media behavior. The selfie had become ubiquitous—Google estimated 93 million daily selfies on Android devices alone in 2014—and researchers were examining who takes selfies and why.
Consistent findings emerged: narcissism predicts selfie-taking, editing, and social media self-promotion. While social media doesn’t create narcissism, it provides unprecedented tools for narcissistic self-presentation. The research helps explain behaviors that may have seemed puzzling—the endless selfies, the careful curation, the constant need for digital validation.
Further Reading
- McCain, J.L., & Campbell, W.K. (2018). Narcissism and social media use: A meta-analytic review. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 7(3), 308-327.
- Sorokowski, P., et al. (2015). Selfie posting behaviors are associated with narcissism among men. Personality and Individual Differences, 85, 123-127.
- Weiser, E.B. (2015). #Me: Narcissism and its facets as predictors of selfie-posting frequency. Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 477-481.
- Barry, C.T., et al. (2017). “Let me take a selfie”: Associations between self-photography, narcissism, and self-esteem. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 6(1), 48-60.
About the Author
Jin-A Lee and Yongjun Sung, PhD are researchers at Korea University specializing in consumer psychology and digital behavior. Their work examines how personality traits manifest in online contexts.
This study contributed to growing literature on narcissism and social media, demonstrating specific behavioral markers of narcissistic self-presentation in digital contexts.
Historical Context
This 2016 study appeared as researchers were actively investigating how personality traits manifest in social media behavior. The "selfie" had become ubiquitous (Google estimated 93 million daily selfies on Android devices in 2014). Understanding who posts selfies and why became a research focus, with narcissism emerging as a consistent predictor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. This study and others consistently find that narcissism predicts taking more selfies and spending more time on selfie-related activities. Selfies provide a platform for the self-presentation and validation-seeking central to narcissism.
Narcissists are concerned with presenting an idealized image. Editing tools allow them to craft the self-presentation they want others to see. Spending time editing reflects the importance of image control to narcissistic self-esteem.
No. Many people take selfies for reasons unrelated to narcissism—connection, memory, play. But narcissism does predict more selfie-taking and more investment in editing and presentation. The difference is in motivation and extent.
Social media provides perfect arena for narcissistic needs: controlled self-presentation, quantified validation (likes, comments), broad audience, and constant opportunity for attention. Whether it increases narcissism or just provides new expression is debated.
Grandiose narcissists were more focused on self-presentation through edited images. They seek admiration and use selfies to project their idealized self. Vulnerable narcissists may also use social media but with different motivations (reassurance-seeking).
Research suggests exposure to curated social media can affect viewers' self-esteem and mood. Narcissists' idealized presentations may be particularly impactful because they're designed to impress. This can affect partners who compare themselves to the narcissist's projected image.
Some patterns suggest narcissism: excessive selfies, highly edited images, posts seeking admiration, need for validation through engagement. But social media behavior alone doesn't diagnose personality disorder. Many factors affect online self-presentation.
The narcissist's social media behavior reflects the same dynamics as in-person: image management, validation-seeking, controlled self-presentation. You may have noticed discrepancy between their curated online image and private reality. Social media extends narcissistic supply-seeking.