The 21st century is the full-blown rise of narcissism and destructive hedonistic philosophy in the mass media. The grand promotion and persuasion of these ideas manifested in many ways and have resulted in many composite forms in our time. Holding the minds of some generations (few portions) captive through the efficiency of their emotional and mental technology, these psycho-social institutions are still very successful and efficient in running their machines and spreading their narratives that promote and perpetuate pathological happiness, vanity, thoughtless materialism, and consumerism. Using the intrinsic power of human creativity in arts and storytelling, major media companies impose mental models, in subtle ways, that are encouraging endless selfishness and debauched lifestyles.
The pervasiveness of these ethos can be seen in many of us; among the generations that embraced these media institutions (or have been forced or conditioned by it) and their culture-creating stories. As a person who’s part of the early millennial and the post-millennial generations, I was born within this paradigm and experienced (and later observed, struggled with and partly dismantled) this form of irrational self-love myself and seen how it consumed me in very mesmerizing yet psychologically enervating ways. Until now I still battle with these ghosts of notions, customs, and misguided idealisms within me; superseding with my rational mind and my decisions. Deeply entrenched in insecurities and dissociative emotional dispositions, I grew up captivated by the illusion of these magical propaganda machines promoted by celebrities and other agents of conditioning, running the show in my dreams and fantasies and dictating my wants and choices in life.
But now, given that these toxic ideals dwell in most of us, waking up from a deep sleep, what’s next? Are we ready to dive deep into our core and remove the garbages that hold us back? This is a very important question because if these spectres living inside our heads are not being given serious attention, these will successfully bring us to a fate of depression, disillusionment, social disconnection, and even total nihilism. Being perfect is impossible but being self-critical and reflective does not entail perfection; these are the vital requirements we need to acquire clear and useful introspection for our being and our self-chosen purpose in the society, in connection to our psycho-spiritual realm of existence. If we want to make ourselves and our surroundings better, egocentric characteristics, sense of entitlement, superiority complex, arrogance, greed, impertinence, and other kinds of conceits and delusions are some of these narcissistic traits that we all need to avoid or abandon.
Reference:
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/communication-success/201905/three-signs-highly-sensitive-narcissist?amp
- Featured Photo: npr.org/2016/07/12/485087469/me-me-me-the-rise-of-narcissism-in-the-age-of-the-selfie
