Review article
#Selfie or Virtual Mirror to New Narcissus
Tatjana Milivojević
; Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Faculty of Culture and Media, Megatrend University, Goce Delčeva 8, Belgrade, Serbia, +381 69 1615 381,
Abstract
The selfie phenomenon can be viewed as a symptom and forewarning indication of a deeper globally spreading trend. The somewhat unforeseen development of the Internet toward one of most important phenomenon of the 21st century – social networking (like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Foursquare and other online communities) – raises some serious questions about its connection to the formation of individual personality. The article will present some psychological aspects and problems of virtual networking. A short review of positive sides to this phenomenon will be given, but the focus will be on critical approaches to potential and real risks and dangers for the personal psychological balance and integrity. It seems that individualistic self-reference and self-promotion, that are usually encouraged by the consumer, competitive and marketing culture of contemporary societies, are taking some new dimensions in the virtual world of hyper-exposure. Thus, the issue whether the Internet encourages, supports and enhances the already present self-centered, infantileregressive and narcissistic tendencies and phenomena will be discussed. Does the available, fast and easy digital interaction without physical presence and validation, as well as the possibility of hiding or taking a false identity, affect the disinhibition from social and ethical constraints and rules, and reduce empathy and the sense of responsibility? Also, could digital literacy, if primarily understood as learning techniques and skills, become inversely proportional to emotional literacy? In order to prevent that, media literacy should be placed in a broader educational perspective, which encompasses psychology of media related to psychology of personality. That’s why it is proposed to use the term “media education” instead of or at least along with “media literacy”.
Keywords
Media education; emotional literacy; media psychology; social networks; narcissism
Hrčak ID:
133879
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2014.
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