Narcissism and Internet : an analysis of causes of "the narcissism epidemic" in the light of the Spiral Dynamics theory

Bibliogr. s. 166-167

Christopher Lasch claims that American culture, recognized as a model of other Western culture, after World War II has become pathologically narcissistic. Researches conducted by Jean M. Twenge, W. Keith Campbell and others revealed that narcissism scores have significantly increased among american students during several last decades. Some of researchers and commentators of social life treat the increase of narcissistic tendencies as an adverse effect of widespread usage of Internet. Don Beck and Christopher Cowan's Spiral Dynamics theory allows to analyze these tendencies in the perspective of continual development of human self, personality and consciousness, in their both aspects: individual and humankind. The Spiral Dynamics theory allows to see the Internet as rather a symptom and an effect of narcissistic tendencies than their cause. Furthermore, this theory allows to expect future changes of Internet rules of communication, from one favouring narcissism to one empowering both individual well-being and common wealth.