RESEARCH PAPER
Narcissism, activity on Facebook, and conspicuous
consumption among young adults
| 1 | Faculty of Education, University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland |
Submission date: 2021-04-13
Final revision date: 2021-07-28
Acceptance date: 2021-07-30
Online publication date: 2021-10-14
Publication date: 2022-03-01
Current Issues in Personality Psychology 2022;10(1):21–31
KEYWORDS
conspicuous consumptionnarcissistic admirationnarcissistic rivalryself-oriented activity on Facebook
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
The purpose of the study was to explore relationships between narcissistic strategies, self-oriented activity on Facebook, and conspicuous consumption.
Material and methods:
The sample consisted of 323 young Polish adults. Participants completed the Conspicuous Consumption Scale (CCS), the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ), and questions regarding Facebook use.
Results:
Empirical support was found for the assumption that conspicuous consumption was predicted by narcissistic rivalry. Although the direct impact of narcissistic admiration on conspicuous consumption was non-significant, this strategy influenced status consumption through self-verified behaviours on social media, the strongest predictor of conspicuous consumption.
Conclusions:
This shows that narcissistic rivalry directly affects the propensity to conspicuous consumption and narcissistic admiration is related to self-verified activity on Facebook. The involvement of Facebook usage in this manner increases the acquisition and display of expensive, glamorous products as external signals of status.
The purpose of the study was to explore relationships between narcissistic strategies, self-oriented activity on Facebook, and conspicuous consumption.
Material and methods:
The sample consisted of 323 young Polish adults. Participants completed the Conspicuous Consumption Scale (CCS), the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ), and questions regarding Facebook use.
Results:
Empirical support was found for the assumption that conspicuous consumption was predicted by narcissistic rivalry. Although the direct impact of narcissistic admiration on conspicuous consumption was non-significant, this strategy influenced status consumption through self-verified behaviours on social media, the strongest predictor of conspicuous consumption.
Conclusions:
This shows that narcissistic rivalry directly affects the propensity to conspicuous consumption and narcissistic admiration is related to self-verified activity on Facebook. The involvement of Facebook usage in this manner increases the acquisition and display of expensive, glamorous products as external signals of status.
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