Name: Magdalene Lim's review of The Narcissism Epidemic by Jean M. Twenge
Item: The Narcissism Epidemic
Rating: 3
Author: Magdalene Lim

Jean M. Twenge

W. Keith Campbell

Narcissism -- a very positive and inflated view of the self -- is everywhere. It's what you have if you're a politician and you've strayed from your wife, and it's whyÊfive times as many Americans undergo plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures today than did just ten years ago. It's the value that parents teach their children with song lyrics like "I am special. Look at me," the skill teenagers and young adults obsessively hone on Facebook and MySpace, and the reason high school students physically beat classmates and then broadcast their violence on YouTube for all to see. It's the message preached by prosperity gospel and the vacuous ethos spread by celebrity newsmakers. And it's what's making people depressed, lonely, and buried under piles of debt. Jean M. Twenge's influential and controversial first book, Generation Me, generated a national debate with its trenchant depiction of the challenges twenty- and thirtysomethings face emotionally and professionally in today's world -- and the fallout these issues create for older generations as well as employers. Now, Dr. Twenge is on to a new incendiary topic that has repercussions for every age-group and class: the pernicious spread of narcissism in today's culture and its catastrophic effects. Dr. Twenge joins forces with W. Keith Campbell, Ph.D., a nationally recognized expert on narcissism, for The Narcissism Epidemic, their eye-opening exposition of the alarming rise of narcissism -- and they show how to stop it. Every day, you encounter the real costs of narcissism: in your relationships and family, in the workplace and the economy at large, in schools that fail to teach necessary skills, in culture, and in politics. Even the world economy has been damaged by risky, unrealistic overconfidence. Filled with arresting anecdotes that illustrate the hold narcissism has on us today -- from people hiring fake paparazzi in order to experience feeling famous to college students who won't leave a professor's office until their B+ becomes an A -- The Narcissism Epidemic is at once a riveting window into the consequences of narcissism, a probing analysis of the culture at large, and a prescription to combat the widespread problems caused by narcissism. As a society, we have a chance to slow the epidemic of narcissism once we learn to identify it, minimize the forces that sustain and transmit it, and treat it where we find it. Drawing on their own extensive research as well as decades of other experts' studies, Drs. Twenge and Campbell show us how.

Living in the Age of Entitlement

The Narcissism Epidemic

Magdalene Lim

Citing a rise in such factors as cosmetic surgery, status-related debt and misrepresented Facebook profiles, a cautionary report on the increase of unhealthy ego-related behaviors examines its actual cost to families, organizations and societies. By the author of Generation Me.

"You're special."
"Love yourself before you can love others."
"I want to do charity because I want to make a difference in the world."
Statements that are socially accepted and preached in our world today but are also signs of narcissism. 

I have to agree that there is "too much self-expression and too much self-centredness" today. Manifested in the way children are brought up today (Yes, you're Daddy's little princess) and our values, there are many statements in the book that I did not realise were contributors to the narcissism epidemic till I read it. 

At a time where "every minute of (our) lives is a photo-op, (we) always want to look like (we're) ready for (our) 15 minutes of fame," says Edina Sultanik-Silver, the owner of a men's fashion PR company. Aye! With Instagram, Facebook and CAMERA PHONES, these are just one of the contributing factors to the need to look good. Peer pressure (everyone's getting botox/their teeth whitened!) and images from the media probably constitute to the desire to look good even more.

This book definitely gives you food for thought, encouraging readers to perhaps nod their head in agreement but more importantly, it calls for one to reflect on our actions because whether you realise it or not, there's probably a bit of narcissism in you.

I.m. ruzz

so far, they seem like soothsayers but i'm willing to ignore that to hear the argument in full.

Magdalene Lim &
The Narcissism Epidemic by Jean M. Twenge

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Magdalene Lim &The Narcissism Epidemic by Jean M. Twenge

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Magdalene Lim &
The Narcissism Epidemic by Jean M. Twenge