Narcissism and bad decisions are perils of social media for teenagers, expert says

Psychologist says teenagers brains are not fully developed yet and that can lead to poor decision-making.

DUBAI // Social media is breeding a narcissistic society and poses particular risk to teenagers as they lack proper decision-making skills, a psychologist has said.

Elena Andrioti, of the Psychology Centre of the Carbone Clinic, said that people between the ages of 16 and 22 are only emerging into adulthood and are not yet adults.

“It’s a phase in which you have a lack of decision-making skills,” she said. “The brain is not developed enough to have the executive functioning that you develop when you become an adult.

“Most teenagers and young adults in this transition phase don’t make good decisions, and it’s not really their fault.”

Social media platforms such as YouNow, Facebook and Snapchat are places where teenagers could easily make bad judgement calls, such as happened this week when a Saudi Arabian teenager was arrested for making "enticing videos" with an American girl on YouNow.

Wassim El Sabeh, a social media expert at 1000heads, said that YouNow, a broadcasting platform, was similar but not as popular in the region as Periscope and Facebook Live.

“YouNow is a platform a person uses to live stream to a public audience, and people can jump in and watch,” he said. “The viewers can also contact and write to the broadcaster, who can answer them back live.”

Ms Andrioti said broadcasting oneself on social media has become a trend that, if you are not doing it, you are “not cool”.

“If you’re not posting about your personal life and wearing that ‘double mask’ and posting about the ‘amazing’ things in your life, then you’re considered ‘not cool’ or ‘missing out’,” she said. “People are looking for fame and social networking is feeding this narcissism and nursing the development of a narcissistic society.

“What we’re noticing, even with songs and TV shows, there’s much less empathy in the traits and characters of actors, and they are just there for themselves and to show how they live and the luxurious lifestyles they have.”

Ms Andrioti said social media also affects confidence.

“There is a correlation between those, and it can go either way, either low self-esteem or high self-esteem,” she said.

Mr El Sabeh said that social media platforms that are used to broadcast live are gaining popularity in the region.

“YouNow should not be more of a concern than any other such platform,” he said. “The social media guidelines in the UAE are clear and are for people to abide by.”