“在未来，每一个人都能获得15分钟的成功。”任何人只要手中有一部能上网的手机，就可以搞出点名声来。在某种程度上，我们都是自恋的。秉持着数字时代的精神，自我曝光已成为一种极为简单和常用的沟通方式，而自恋的人一般需要来自外界的资源来维持膨胀而微妙的自我。也许社交媒体是时候变成一种治疗手段，好好治治我们的“自恋”了。（
图注：纳喀索斯是希腊神话中的自恋者，为与水中自己的倒影求欢而溺水身亡）
你为什么爱发票圈？可能是太自恋了
作者：
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
译者：泮海伦
校对：王旻彦
导读&笔记：朱小钊
策划： 王旻彦&朱星汉
Sharing the (self) love: the rise of the selfie and digital narcissism
你为什么爱发票圈？可能是太自恋了
本文选自 The Guardian | 取经号原创翻译
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What do Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, and Justin Bieber have in common?
Grandiose
exhibitionism, inflated self-views, superficial personalities and shameless self-promotion. In that sense, they are just like millions of their Facebook and Twitter fans around the world, except successful.
侃爷、金大姐和比伯有什么共同点？喜出风头，言辞
夸大
，肤浅造作，爱自我吹嘘。从这个意义上说，他们和他们全球数百万的Facebook和Twitter粉丝也没什么分别，除了更成功之外。
Grandiose
['græn.di.əʊs] adj. larger and containing more detail than necessary, or intended to seem important or splendid 夸大的，不切实际的；华而不实的
Welcome to the age of digital narcissism, a world of endless ostentation opportunities and unlimited bragging possibilities. Showing-off has never been easier and, ironically, more celebrated.
欢迎来到数字化自恋时代，卖弄的机会唾手可得，无穷无尽。炫耀变得前所未有的容易，讽刺的是，听众也变得前所未有的广泛。
Until the 90s, the media provided an escape from reality by transporting consumers to the fictional universe of sitcoms, soap operas and series. Then came reality TV, which turned our attention back to ourselves by broadcasting the allegedly genuine and ultra-mundane lives of everyday people, upgrading trash TV to a cultural blockbuster: couch potatoes watching couch potatoes. In the past decade, social media has taken us to unchartered territories of egotistic
adulation
by enabling everybody to broadcast their life and be the star of their own 24/7 hour show: consumers became actors and consumable products at once.
一直到90年代，媒体打造出了一个虚拟世界，用情景喜剧、肥皂剧、连续剧帮助观众从现实生活中逃离出来。紧接着真人秀横空出世，播出所谓平凡人极其真实、普通的日常生活，将观众的注意力重新转移到自己身上，并成功把垃圾电视升级为文化大片——电视迷得以在电视里观看自己的生活。过去几十年里，社交媒体大肆宣扬不受约束的自我主义，让每个人都能将自己的生活公之于众，成为24小时不间断的个人专属真人秀中的明星。在此过程中，观众立刻变成了演员和消费品本身。
Adulation
[ˌæd.jʊ'leɪ.ʃən] n. very great admiration or praise for someone, especially when it is more than is deserved （尤指名不副实的）称赞，吹捧，恭维，奉承
It is noteworthy that digital exhibitionism and inappropriate self-disclosure have been at the core of every mega-successful app and website. It all begun with MySpace, a directory for
wannabe
pop stars and DJ's. Then came Facebook, the encyclopaedia of common people. YouTube gave everybody their own TV channel, Blogger and Tumblr made us all creative writers. Twitter brought in tons of followers and LinkedIn positive endorsements – because who cares about our faults? Instagram made selfie the word of the year, while Tinder – the ultimate dating tool for narcissists – and Snapchat – the
bastion
of
ephemeral
sexting – make Facebook look intellectual. And if your concern is to remain connected after death, there is a whole movement, the digital afterlife industry, dedicated to the preservation of your narcissistic social media activity after you die. As Liveson's slogan puts it, "when your heart stops beating, just keep tweeting".
值得注意的是，不适当的自我表现与自我披露已经成为了每个成功的大型app和网站的核心。最开始是MySpace，这个网站的主要用户是那些
向往成为巨星
和DJ的群体。接着出现了Facebook，给普通人提供了展示平台。YouTube为个人设置了专属电视频道，Blogger和
Tumblr
（译者注：
轻博客社交网络平台
）让我们都成为了文采飞扬的作家。而之所以Twitter带来了大量粉丝，LinkedIn为我们构建人脉，是因为没人会在意我们犯下的过错。Instagram让自拍成为年度热词，而作为自恋者终极交友软件的Tinder以及作为色情消息
堡垒
的Snapchat，让Facebook都显得理智多了。如果你担心死后没法上社交网络，阴间数字产业会保存你生前发布在社交网络上的那些自恋内容。正如Liveson的标语所说：“当你的心脏停止跳动的时候，只需继续发布推文。”
Wannabe
['wɒn.ə.bi] n./adjective. a person who is trying to achieve success or fame, usually unsuccessfully 梦想成功（或出名）者
Bastion
['bæs.ti.ən] n. something which keeps or defends especially a belief or a way of life that is disappearing or threatened 堡垒
Ephemeral
[ɪ'fem.ər.əl] adj. lasting for only a short time 短暂的，极短的；转瞬即逝的
Unsurprisingly, narcissism levels have been rising for decades. Such increases pre-date social media but they have clearly exacerbated since its emergence. At the same time, there has been a steep decline in
altruism
and empathy levels since the advent of Facebook and Twitter. We are now more connected than ever, but also less interested in other people, except when it comes to finding out what they think about us. It is as if being closer to others made us more antisocial. Freud, who would no doubt have thousands of Twitter followers today (if he could sum-up his views in 140-characters), referred to this as the "hedgehog dilemma". That is, humans are like hedgehogs in the winter: they need to get close to each other to cope with the cold, but they cannot get too close without hurting each other with their spines.
可以想见，过去几十年以来自恋的程度一直在加深。这种现象使早期社交媒体的数量大大增加，但它的出现也显然令社交媒体走向歧路。同时，自从Facebook和Twitter出现之后，社会中“
利他主义
”的思潮褪去，人们的同理心被削弱了。我们通过网络达到了前所未有的紧密联系，对他人的关心却荡然无存，唯一关心的仅是他们对自己的看法。与人亲近仿佛是反社会的一种表现。弗洛伊德如果生活在当代，一定能在推特上收获大批粉丝（若是他能把自己的观点总结在140字以内）。他把这种现象称为“豪猪困境”，人们就如同冬日里的豪猪：为了抵御严寒，他们必须紧靠在一起取暖，但靠得太近又会被彼此刺伤。
Altruism
['æl.tru.ɪ.zəm] n. willingness to do things which bring advantages to other people, even if it results in disadvantage for yourself 利他主义；无私
Needless to say, most social media users are not narcissistic. Yet, social media is to narcissists what crack is to crack addicts: the more narcissistic you are, the heavier your social media use is. Indeed, scientific studies have shown that the number of status updates, attractive selfies, check-ins, followers and friends, are all positively correlated with narcissism, as is the tendency to accept invites from strangers, particularly when they are attractive. The reason for these correlations is that narcissistic individuals are much more likely to use social media to portray a desirable, albeit unrealistic, self-image, accumulate virtual friends and broadcast their life to an audience. Klout is a better measure of narcissism than of social reach.
显而易见，大多数社交媒体用户并不自恋。然而社交媒体之于自恋者就如毒品之于瘾君子：你越自恋，就越爱使用社交媒体。据科学研究显示，许多因素如状态更新数量、自拍数、签到数、粉丝和朋友数量都与自恋程度呈正相关，在社交媒体上活跃也意味着更有可能接受来自陌生人，尤其是富有魅力的陌生人的邀请。这些联系背后的原因是自恋者更可能用社交媒体描绘出一个理想而不切实际的自我形象，他们积累虚拟世界里的朋友，并向这些观众展示自己的生活。与其说Klout（译者注：社交影响力评分系统，分数值在1-100之间）是社交影响力的评分，不如说它是自恋程度的评分。
Sure, there's nothing wrong with seeking others' approval – a healthy identity actually depends on paying careful attention to what others think of us. Furthermore, the need to be appreciated is a cornerstone of both psychological wellbeing and living in civilisation. When taken too far, however, the desire to be accepted
morphs into
a relentless quest for status, which undermines other people and impairs our ability to build and maintain happy relationships and successful careers.
当然，想要获取他人的认可，这无可非议——毕竟一个健全人格的形成免不了以他人对自己的看法为鉴。此外，被他人欣赏的诉求构成了心理健康与文明生活的基石。但这种愿望如果过了火，就会
沦落成
对地位无止尽的追求，不仅有损其他个体，还不利于建立、维持愉快的社交关系，甚至将成为事业上的绊脚石。
Morph
[mɔːf] v. If one thing morphs into another thing, especially something very different, the first thing changes into the second. 变化，改变
The big problem with the rise of digital narcissism is that it puts enormous pressure on people to achieve unfeasible goals, without making them hungrier. Wanting to be Beyoncé or Jay Z is hard enough already, but when you are not prepared to work hard to achieve it, you are better off just lowering your aspirations. Few things are more self-destructive than a combination of high entitlement and a lazy work ethic. Ultimately, online manifestations of narcissism may be little more than a self-presentational strategy to compensate for a low and fragile self-esteem. Yet when these efforts are reinforced and rewarded by others, they perpetuate the distortion of reality and consolidate narcissistic delusions.
