Too little power, too much information! Power, narcissism, and adolescents' disclosures on social networking sites

Abstract

From a self-image failure perspective, narcissistic adolescents who feel socially disempowered might engage in exhibitionistic disclosures on Social Networking Sites (SNSs). Two studies investigated this hypothesis regarding normative (day-to-day) and problematic (sexuality, drinking) disclosures. In Study 1, cluster analysis revealed four adolescent classes (N = 471) with relatively higher/lower narcissism and power. Higher-Narcissism adolescents reported more normative SNS disclosures, but only Higher-Narcissism/Lower-Power youths reported more problematic disclosures. Study 2 adolescents (N = 56) received a low- or high-power experimental prime and reported risk perceptions surrounding both disclosure types. Higher-Narcissism youths primed with low power perceived less risk for problematic (but not normative) disclosures. For high-narcissism youths, too little power promotes tendencies to share "too much information" on SNSs.