Narcissistic Night Sweats

Review of: The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement by Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell Ph.D. Free Press Publishing. 352 Pages. $26.00

As Americans fight off the swine flu, social researchers Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell have taken aim at a different kind of bug. In their new book, The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement, they argue that "the relentless rise in narcissism" in one way or another "has touched every American."

The authors begin by identifying five root causes of the epidemic: "self-admiration; child centered parenting; celebrity glorification and media encouragement; attention seeking on the internet; and easy credit." The symptoms are vanity, materialism, uniqueness, anti-social behavior, relationship troubles, entitlement and (oddly) religion and volunteering, and The Narcissism Epidemic concludes with a discussion of the prognosis and suggested treatment.

Like its poster child for the cultural crisis, Paris Hilton, the book's body is appealing but thin. Identified thirty years ago by the historian Christopher Lasch, the culture of narcissism is by all accounts a problem in modern America. But narcissism is an imprecise concept. Twenge and Campbell deserve credit for citing the best available empirical studies measuring the phenomenon, but the science is squishy and the analysis which flows from it is more than a bit shaky.

Twenge and Campbell see narcissism under every rock, from cheating on tests to cheating on spouses. Sometimes they're flat out wrong. They claim, for example, that narcissism is "the missing ingredient" responsible for the housing bubble. They don't realize that millions of Americans these days are petrified of debt. Nor are today's borrowers in any sense unique in reaching for the main chance. Even in the pre-credit card age of the Conestoga wagon, inner-directed rock-ribbed Republicans from Indiana would have grabbed a subprime loan to buy a home for their families. Although they might have been willing to stretch beyond their means --"on the come," so to speak - no one would have or should have adjudged them narcissists.

All too often, moreover, The Narcissism Epidemic seems like a self-help manual, long on harangues about MySpace and YouTube - and bromides. Don't be narcissistic, the authors keep saying. Teach your kids not to be narcissistic. Don't get married to or make friends with narcissists.

There are a few fine suggestions: don't give your kid an X-Box, Twenge and Campbell advise parents; design something yourself, like a poem written in crayon on construction paper. Far more often, however, they simplify a complex problem. For example, they think giving trophies to every kid in Little League at the end of the season sows the seeds of narcissism. Are they right? It seems to us that triumphant trophies for tots don't always send the same message as do meritorious medals for mid-teens. Self-esteem doesn't always lead to narcissism.

The authors sometimes have a thesis in search of corroborating evidence. They acknowledge that voluntarism is up among America's youth, but try to explain it away as a self-centered exercise in resume building, an argument that rings hollow - and maybe offensive, even for the affluent, whiter than Wonder Bread suburban youngsters who seem to be the "real" subjects and targets of the book. Equally empty are apocalyptic warnings about the nation going to hell in a handbag (designed, we assume, by Gucci) because of American Idol, tummy tucks, MILFS and Baby Einstein videos.

The limitations of the analysis are especially evident when one listens to the dogs that don't bark in this book, including the pervasiveness of fundamentalist religion in the United States and the fact that Americans work harder than their counterparts in other industrialized countries. Are these folks immune to the epidemic? Are they exceptions that somehow prove the rule? And, if you say, as the authors do, be less like Paris Hilton and more like George Clooney, aren't you endorsing the celebrity culture you've just indicted?

As Twenge and Campbell note, there are nervous-making developments in American culture on many fronts: vacuous "reality television" shows, declines in reading rates among young adults, and so forth. But, we believe that a transformation in American attitudes and behavior will not come from exhortation and hortatory comments, but from systemic change.

Plopped down in the middle of the Obama recalibration of the economy, society, and culture of the United States, Twenge and Campbell's narcissism narrative seems, well, so five minutes ago. Is it possible, we wonder, that the book is appearing at the very moment the epidemic has peaked? Or is such optimism the product of our fevered imaginations?

Comments

[Roseberry]

Tried to watch a show about this on C-SPAN book TV last weekend and missed it,so am very grateful for your book review. Sounds to me like the authors did not dig deep enough into the well to come up with their thoughts.
And if they were so adamant about telling readers not to hang with narcissists, i sure hope they gave some info about how to tell if somebody is one..

[clyde55]

With the softball coach above, I agree- whether it's sports or scholastics, you can't affirm little ones too much. Then to the comment about a garage full of useless trophies- some truth to that. SO I liked the precedent on the peewee football league I coached in last fall- and probably will this year because- every boy got a regulation football in league colors, then we gave the kids time to autograph each others' footballs. My grandson, who is my reason for coaching, actually plays with his frequently, but also recognizes it as a valuable memory of his teammates from fall 08. Much cooler than giving out 20 "Best Player" trophies.

[Mixpixlix]

I've long had an issue with the cult of self-esteem. It is a wonderful, life enchancing concept, BUT it was must be earned it can't be given.

No, I don't see a problem recognizing every child's achievement on a T-ball field. But a "much improved" award is just as self esteeem generating as "best batter" For too long parts of our culture have been willing to make praise mountains out of molehole accomplishments and that's the rub.

Kids get all kinds of rewards and praise just for being kids. And, while they should be raised with love and care, they also need to know that how they feel about themselves comes in large part in how they're able to handle the world and all it's trials and tribulations. I've seen teenagers throw hissy fits because they were out of sox. However, doing laundry was a foreign concept. Parents fault!

Being selfsufficient is the foundation of self esteem.

[pm247]

At the core of narcissism is self doubt. So if narcissism is exploding (and it is), there must be something dysfunctional in the culture creating those doubts.

For my money the dysfunction gets traced to education, or the lack thereof; the great majority of students grow up in an apalling fog of ignorance. There is no self-esteem program that can take the place of an education.

[elmerfude]

You make a good review that raises a lot of questions about the book. I doubt if I will drop the money to buy it. But having grown up in WWII times and the Eisenhower period, I do think there was a different culture. (Where was Dr. Phil when I needed him--my parents took the no pain, no gain approach to socialization using a willow switch as the preferred instrument.) There was a sense of shared sacrifice and everyone was expected to contribute to the war effort in some way--even kids. There was much less disparity of wealth and more of a community spirit. I just can't imagine going through WWII with the current generation, but maybe they would rise to the task. I think a great deal of the disfunction of the age begins and ends in institutional religion and I would think that professors like yourselves would team up with a Jungian psychologist and experts on mythology and figure it out. You could start with a book by Jerome Berstein called Living in the Borderland. Of course I understand that religion is a sacred cow which is probably why it is at the root of the problem.

[babaann]

The people living during the WWII era were raised during the depression and probable raising their children in the 50's. They had a TOTAL different set of VALUES.

I think the issue is about a persons VALUES and behavior follows accordingly.

[PatA]

I wonder if either one of them has children? I coached a softball team and there is nothing wrong with honoring every child that comes out, sweats and plays to the best of his/her ability.

[LitDr2B]

Then reward them with something besides a trophy. In my community, every year the AYSO teams want to reward their players with a trophy--whether or not they actually "did" anything to earn it.

By the time these kids are in high school, they'll have a garage filled with meaningless trophies, and the ones that are really indicative of accomplishment will disappear among that tarnished weight.