IN the NEWS - Rise of Narcissism

For men shall be lovers of their own selves,
covetous,
boasters,
 proud,
disobedient to parents,

unthankful, unholy,

Without natural affection,

2 Timothy 3:2,3

"Why Is Narcissism Increasing Among Young Americans?

Narcissism is a serious social and psychological problem.  The term refers to an inflated view of the self, coupled with relative indifference to others.  People who are high in this trait fail to help others unless there is immediate gain or recognition to themselves for dong so; often think they are above the law and therefore violate it; and readily trample over others in their efforts to rise to the “top,” which is where they think they belong.  A world full of narcissists would be a sad world indeed.  We humans are, by nature, social animals; we absolutely depend upon one another’s good will and care. Narcissism is bad not just for society as a whole, but also for the individual narcissist. 

 The changes are highly significant statistically and sufficiently large that approximately 70 %

Narcissus, falling in love with his own reflection

  of students today score higher on narcissism and lower on empathy than did the average student thirty years ago.

 So, most of the speculation has to do with changes in the world in which young people are growing up.

Some of the speculation has centered on the misguided “self-esteem” movement that began to take shape in the 1980s. Parents, teachers, and others involved with children were advised to build up children’s self-esteem through frequent praise.  Many parents, especially, began telling their children how beautiful, smart, and generally wonderful they are, or began bragging about their kids to others in front of them. Television programs for kids featured songs about being “special” and lessons to the effect that “you can be anything you want to be.”  In competitions, everyone got some kind of trophy.  Perhaps some of that actually got incorporated into the thinking of young people growing up in this era. They may to some degree have grown up believing what they were told. To the degree that they did, they would become narcissists, because the things they were told are exactly the kinds of things that narcissists believe about themselves." PsychologyToday
.....but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Philippians 2:3