Adolescents as the Vulnerable Users of Digital Technologies- Relationship Between Vulnerable Narcissism and Community Sense

Abstract

Vulnerable narcissism is an aspect of narcissistic personality disorder characterized by low self-esteem, an inadequate sense of community, and heavy use of social media that leads to immediate gratification in adolescents (Appel, 2018). The use of social networks provides users with a privileged platform to express themselves through indirect communication methods to satisfy their needs (Ozimek et al. 2017). The present study investigates whether adolescents with high emotional sensitivity and strong demand for approval from others are subject to passive social media use, relying on social feedback to self-regulate. It is also hypothesized that this way of enjoying it correlates inversely with the sense of community and willingness to invest in social relationships in real-life contexts. The research involved 381 students of the 3rd and 4th grade of secondary school in Palermo and the province, with an average age between 15 and 22 years (M=16.81), who were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire. divided into 5 sections: Socio-personal data sheet; Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (Fossati et al., 2009); Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Prezza, et al., 1997); Short Scale of Sense of Community in Adolescents (Chiessi et al., 2010); Survival Utilization Scale (Liu et al., 2017; Tandoc et al., 2015). In the preliminary results, vulnerable narcissism was above the normative average, self-esteem fell in the medium-low level, and the passive way of using social media to obtain self-confirmation was highly above average. The research findings confirm a relationship between vulnerable narcissism, social media use, and withdrawal from community relationships.