The study conducted by Romanian academics, whose world is one of smartphones replacing a reflective pool for Narcissus, therefore tries out how narcissistic traits are related to mobile phone addiction.
The study was conducted at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iasi, Romania, led by Alexandra Maftei and Acnana-Maria Pătrăușanu. In all, 559 people within the age bracket of 18 to 45 participated in this research.
A comprehensive online survey allowed the subjects to have more understanding of themselves in terms of narcissistic traits and stress levels as well as social media addiction and nomophobia.
According to the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, the term “nomophobia” or “no mobile phone phobia” describes a condition in which individuals feel anxious or scared when they lack access to their mobile phone communication.
Unveiling the Connection Between Nomophobia and Narcissistic Traits
The survey measured the ability of respondents to stay away from their phones for long durations and how this affected their social media usage and academic or professional performance.
Interestingly enough, people who were high in their narcissistic traits also showed greater signs of nomophobia, which is the fear of being away from one’s phone.
The findings in this study indicate that individuals with high narcissistic traits are inclined to seek attention and self-validation by getting likes, comments or any other form of recognition through different social media platforms.
Psychology Today describes narcissists as people who constantly seek admiration, validation, and status in society.
It is important to differentiate between Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) and narcissistic traits.
NPD patients lack empathy as a result they have problems in developing and maintaining personal relationships.
On the other hand, non-disordered narcissism involves attention seeking and recognition without emotional involvement.
Unraveling the Influence
This is a study that was recently published in Journal of Psychology and had the aim of discussing the complex relationships among nomophobia, narcissism, social media addiction and stress.
The main point of it was to explain how they are related to one another and give an explanation on how they influence human behavior as a whole.
Interestingly, regarding social media addiction and nomophobia as crucial independent variables, there is a significant mediating effect where narcissistic features relate to higher levels of anxiety through these two factors.
The critical role played by social media addiction/nomophobia in linking narcissistic traits with stress is the most important finding emphasized by the authors.
These findings have broad implications for understanding how these inter-related variables synergistically contribute to heightened stress levels in individuals who exhibit elevated levels of narcissism in them.
Therefore, this comprehensive study found compelling evidence which confirms that it is social media addiction and nomophobia that tends to strengthen the aforementioned link between narcissism and higher stress levels.
As a result, such persons having strong narcissistic traits are more likely to move into addictive behaviors like this thereby increasing their level of stress.
Addressing the Digital Overload
However, even though narcissism and nomophobia certainly play a part in the acquisition of social media addiction, there are ways to avoid being constantly connected.
Previous reports have indicated that relying entirely on social media for verification is discouraged.
Additionally, while actively involved in social networking sites as well as periods of abstinence from them, it is important to evaluate one’s state of emotions.
Moreover, it is advised that people should be careful about scrolling through highly polished Instagram feeds since online life differs significantly from offline life.
To summarize, the major goal of this research is to highlight the complicated link between narcissism, nomophobia, social media addiction and stress.
When individuals understand and acknowledge the complexities of these connections, they can develop healthy digital behaviors which can help them avoid the harmful effects of excessive phone use on their mental health.