Under a Friendly Spell

How friends influence us, for better and for worse, throughout life.

by Carlin Flora

Self-Portraits on Speed

Today's youth are a bunch of narcissistic exhibitionists.

Published on February 5, 2008 by Carlin Flora in Under a Friendly Spell

We all know today's youth are a bunch of narcissistic exhibitionists. Well, maybe not quite. The strongest evidence in support of the rise in narcissism is taking a beating, and the verdict isn't in yet.

Scholars such as Jean Twenge argue that widespread self-obsession is linked to the upsurge in depression and anxiety among young people. But a few of these navel-gazers should at least get points for creativity: Meet Noah, who took a picture of himself every day for six years and condensed all the life and growth therein into a five-minute whirlwind.

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Most striking is how little Noah changes physically, an argument against obsessive visual self-documentation. It's a point lost on the throngs of marathoning scrapbookers—members of an older generation who also fetishize autobiography. Somehow, they've escaped the "narcissist" label and are heralded simply as glitter-loving sentimentalists.