It’s All About You! November is Narcissism Awareness Month!

"What I find most annoying about self-absorbed narcissists is they don’t spend nearly enough time thinking about me." Taz Mopula

In the fascinating world of mental illness and mental health one can always fan the flames of debate by throwing down this challenge: Can what we call “mental disorder” be the response of a healthy mind to a society that is, itself, not sane?

Recent decades have seen an alarming increase in the incidence of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). This leads the medical community to wonder - What were these folks called before the ADD diagnosis? Did the disorder even exist a century ago? Or, is ADD a mass response to cultural shifts de-emphasizing thoughtful deliberation in favor of superficial, trivial and constantly changing entertainment?

But Enough About Me, What Do You Think About Me?

Since November is Narcissism Awareness Month, it seems appropriate to review how this highly unpleasant disorder illustrates the concept. For example, is pathological narcissism on the rise or are people simply evolving in response to a society that rewards obsessively selfish behavior and discourages kindness?

Let’s have a look at a few pop-phenomena and see how they apply.

Facebook: Facebook is a swamp where people drown in a revolting mélange of amateur photography, water-skiing squirrels, and sloppily constructed statements cataloging the detritus of superficial lives. Score one for Narcissism. [Hey! Check me out on Facebook! Just search Alistair McHarg and friend me. I post lots of cool music and funny cartoons!]

twitter: Twitter was designed for individuals who find Facebook too cerebral, challenging, and intellectually demanding. On twitter, an announcement like – I am about to blink – is considered “content rich” – and misquoting Zig Zigler elevates you to the status of philosopher. Score another for Narcissism. [Hey! Check me out on twitter! Follow me at @TazMopula – my tweets are totally for your benefit and not remotely self-promotional.]

Website: The homeless may not have websites yet, but your local gas station, deli, and convenience store sure do. Today, everybody gets a website for the same reason they buy a Hummer, the neighbors have one. Score one more for Narcissism. [Hey! Check out my personal website www.alistairmcharg.com - It’s bodaciously snazzmatic!]

Google: We all love to be validated by learning we exist in the minds of others; search engines have made the entire world our mirror. Nothing says – it’s all about me – like Googling yourself. Google-ooglers enjoy how the twaddle they’ve spread over various sites comes back neatly formatted into one attractive, credible display. Score one more for Narcissism, making it a clean sweep. [Hey! Check it out! When I Googled Alistair McHarg I got 5,760 hits! When I Googled Invisible Driving, my bipolar memoir, I got 19,300!]

Reviewing this blog prior to publishing, I am coming to understand that perhaps Narcissism is actually a more severe problem than I realized at first. Oh well, as we say in the program, “I may not be much, but I’m all I ever think about.”