Is Facebook Linked to Selfishness? Investigating the Relationships among Social Media Use, Empathy, and Narcissism

TLDR

Social networking sites have altered social relationships and self‑presentation. This study examined how Facebook use relates to empathy and narcissism in adults. Results showed that Facebook activities such as chatting and photo sharing were associated with increased empathy (perspective taking in men, fictional empathy in general) and narcissism, while video viewing predicted distress identification in women, but overall the platform mainly serves as a connection tool rather than self‑promotion.

Abstract

The rise of social networking sites have led to changes in the nature of our social relationships, as well as how we present and perceive ourselves. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship among the following in adults: use of a highly popular social networking site—Facebook, empathy, and narcissism. The findings indicated that some Facebook activities, such as chatting, were linked to aspects of empathic concern, such as higher levels of Perspective Taking in males. The Photo feature in Facebook was also linked to better ability to place themselves in fictional situations. For only the females, viewing videos was associated with the extent to which they could identify with someone's distress. The data also indicated that certain aspects of Facebook use, such as the photo feature, were linked to narcissism. However, the overall pattern of findings suggests that social media is primarily a tool for staying connected, than for self-promotion.