Narcissism, activity on Facebook, and conspicuous consumption among young adults

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study was to explore relationships between narcissistic strategies, self-oriented activity on Facebook, and conspicuous consumption. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: The sample consisted of 323 young Polish adults. Participants completed the Conspicuous Consumption Scale (CCS), the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ), and questions regarding Facebook use. RESULTS: Empirical support was found for the assumption that conspicuous consumption was predicted by narcissistic rivalry. Although the direct impact of narcissistic admiration on conspicuous consumption was non-significant, this strategy influenced status consumption through self-verified behaviours on social media, the strongest predictor of conspicuous consumption. CONCLUSIONS: This shows that narcissistic rivalry directly affects the propensity to conspicuous consumption and narcissistic admiration is related to self-verified activity on Facebook. The involvement of Facebook usage in this manner increases the acquisition and display of expensive, glamorous products as external signals of status.