Female grandiose narcissists are willing to post sexualized selfies to garner attention, regardless of self-esteem

Emily Brophy; Malinda Desjarlais

doi:10.29329/jsomer.43

Authors

Emily Brophy Mount Royal University, Canada https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1491-9754
Malinda Desjarlais Mount Royal University, Canada https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5698-9661

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29329/jsomer.43

Keywords:

narcissism, attention-seeking, selfies, self-esteem, social media

Abstract

Many of the sexualized images found on social network sites are selfies posted by the women themselves. To understand the factors associated with these self-presentations, the current study studied attention seeking as a mediating factor in the relation between grandiose narcissistic tendency and willingness to post sexualized selfies, with self-esteem as a moderating factor, within the framework of the Uses and Gratifications theory. An online survey was conducted with a sample of 193 self-identified female, undergraduate students (95% between 17 and 25 years of age) who are active on at least one photo-based social networking site platform. Controlling for willingness to post non-sexualized selfies, grandiose narcissistic tendency was positively associated with the willingness to post sexual selfies, by increasing adoption of an attention seeking motive. Self-esteem did not moderate the indirect effect, suggesting that sexualized selfies may function as a deliberate means of gaining visibility rather than a compensatory strategy for low self-esteem. Potential implications regarding the selfie-posting behaviors of those with grandiose narcissistic tendencies are discussed.

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