Analysis Essay
Brynlee Faulkner
English 101
“How We Watch”
October 18, 2017
Presidential-Sized Narcissism
The American mentality has shifted from “we” to “#me.” Narcissism has been on the rise for the past twenty years. John Paul Titlow, author of “#Me: Instagram Narcissism and the Scourge of the Selfie,” believes that social media has caused a culture of digital narcissism. This narcissism gives Americans the ability to look into others’ lives and see private aspects while also allowing an attractive person to become famous for being attractive (Titlow 122-124). In this essay, Titlow writes, “The third most used hashtag on Instagram is #Me” (122). Millions of social media users post selfies, which inadvertently adds to their narcissistic ways. The current President of the United States Donald Trump exemplifies this narcissistic mentality Titlow refers to because even though Trump does not post selfies, his tweets portray his conceitedness. Rather than trying to fix political issues, Trump uses his time and power to tweet on his Twitter account. He has posted on his account, @realDonaldTrump, 166 times since October 1. In his plethora of tweets, Donald Trump takes credit away from soldiers, states Americans are inferior to himself, and places unjustified blame on the media for being “fake.”
Donald Trump believes in the gratification of himself by taking ownership of the done by our military. On October 9, Trump tweeted a video about all the work soldiers have done in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. This video also highlighted President Trump shaking hands with the victims and thanking American soldiers. The video would have been positive had it not been for the accompanying message; Trump added, “Nobody could have done what I’ve done for #PuertoRico with so little appreciation. So much work.” This post cancels out any good the video made because Trump implied he did the work; in reality, American soldiers helped the Puerto Ricans. Trump took all the credit when he did little to aid the people in crisis. Trump emphasized the “I” when he tweeted that “he” did all this work for the Puerto Ricans, and that no one gave him credit; instead, he could have emphasized the group effort and bravery commending the soldiers that was conveyed in the video. Trump missed an opportunity to thank the men and women who serve the United States and ensure Americans to keep their freedoms. He took the “we” out of American aid and made the crisis about himself, proving Titlow’s theory of digital narcissism.
Not only does Trump complement himself when he should be complementing the American military, but he also believes most Americans are beneath him. Following the National Anthem kneeling controversy, Trump tweeted, “I asked @VP Pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled, disrespecting our country. I am proud of him and @SecondLady Karen.” He took the credit that he was the one who told Pence to leave, even though Pence had the ability to leave anytime he chose, regardless of what Trump said. In this tweet, Trump acts as though Vice-President Pence is a brainless puppet who bends his will to serve the Trump Administration. Trump has no respect for Pence and no respect for the American people; he sees them as incompetent as he stated in this tweet: “Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest-and you all know it! Please don't feel so stupid or insecure, it's not your fault.” The President of the United States made a disgusting remark pertaining to his constituents. The American people are not the only ones being “called out” by Trump on Twitter; he has also given the American news media grief.
The liberal market dominates the American news, and no one is more aware than Donald Trump. He tweeted, “People are just now starting to find out how dishonest and disgusting (Fake News) @NBCNews is. Viewers beware. May be worse than even @CNN!” This is one of many tweets Trump has written about “Fake News.” Many of the major news networks are liberal; however, that alone is not justification for the media being corrupt. Trump has a numerous amount of Tweets regarding “fake news”; in fact, he has talked about the news more than any other singular subject in October on his Twitter account. His biased opinion in his tweet not only shows his narcissism of always being correct but also his incompetence in understanding a position he does not support.
American society has shifted from a group mindset to an individual one. This “#Me” phenomenon was written about by John Paul Titlow in “#Me: Instagram Narcissism and the Scourge of the Selfie” where he explains that selfies have caused a digital narcissism inadvertently ingrained into social media users (122-124). No one is a better example of this shift in societal mentality than Donald Trump, who believes he is more important than the military, his constituents, and the news.
Works Cited
@realDonaldTrump. “I asked @VP Pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled, disrespecting our country. I am proud of him and @SecondLady Karen.” Twitter, 8 Oct. 2017, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/917091286607433728
@realDonaldTrump. “Nobody could have done what I’ve done for #PuertoRico with so little Oct. appreciation. So much work!” Twitter, 8 Oct. 2017, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/917172144710103040
@realDonaldTrump. “People are just now starting to find out how dishonest and disgusting (FakeNews) @NBCNews is. Viewers beware. May be worse than even @CNN!” Twitter, 12 Oct. 2017, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/918630610167529472
@realDonaldTrump. “Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest-and you all know it! Please don't feel so stupid or insecure, it's not your fault.” Twitter, 8 May 2013, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/332308211321425920
Titlow, John Paul. “#Me: Instagram Narcissism and the Scourge of the Selfie.” Acting out Culture, 3rd ed., Bedford St. Martin's, 2015, p. 122-124.
English 101
“How We Watch”
October 18, 2017
Presidential-Sized Narcissism
The American mentality has shifted from “we” to “#me.” Narcissism has been on the rise for the past twenty years. John Paul Titlow, author of “#Me: Instagram Narcissism and the Scourge of the Selfie,” believes that social media has caused a culture of digital narcissism. This narcissism gives Americans the ability to look into others’ lives and see private aspects while also allowing an attractive person to become famous for being attractive (Titlow 122-124). In this essay, Titlow writes, “The third most used hashtag on Instagram is #Me” (122). Millions of social media users post selfies, which inadvertently adds to their narcissistic ways. The current President of the United States Donald Trump exemplifies this narcissistic mentality Titlow refers to because even though Trump does not post selfies, his tweets portray his conceitedness. Rather than trying to fix political issues, Trump uses his time and power to tweet on his Twitter account. He has posted on his account, @realDonaldTrump, 166 times since October 1. In his plethora of tweets, Donald Trump takes credit away from soldiers, states Americans are inferior to himself, and places unjustified blame on the media for being “fake.”
Donald Trump believes in the gratification of himself by taking ownership of the done by our military. On October 9, Trump tweeted a video about all the work soldiers have done in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. This video also highlighted President Trump shaking hands with the victims and thanking American soldiers. The video would have been positive had it not been for the accompanying message; Trump added, “Nobody could have done what I’ve done for #PuertoRico with so little appreciation. So much work.” This post cancels out any good the video made because Trump implied he did the work; in reality, American soldiers helped the Puerto Ricans. Trump took all the credit when he did little to aid the people in crisis. Trump emphasized the “I” when he tweeted that “he” did all this work for the Puerto Ricans, and that no one gave him credit; instead, he could have emphasized the group effort and bravery commending the soldiers that was conveyed in the video. Trump missed an opportunity to thank the men and women who serve the United States and ensure Americans to keep their freedoms. He took the “we” out of American aid and made the crisis about himself, proving Titlow’s theory of digital narcissism.
Not only does Trump complement himself when he should be complementing the American military, but he also believes most Americans are beneath him. Following the National Anthem kneeling controversy, Trump tweeted, “I asked @VP Pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled, disrespecting our country. I am proud of him and @SecondLady Karen.” He took the credit that he was the one who told Pence to leave, even though Pence had the ability to leave anytime he chose, regardless of what Trump said. In this tweet, Trump acts as though Vice-President Pence is a brainless puppet who bends his will to serve the Trump Administration. Trump has no respect for Pence and no respect for the American people; he sees them as incompetent as he stated in this tweet: “Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest-and you all know it! Please don't feel so stupid or insecure, it's not your fault.” The President of the United States made a disgusting remark pertaining to his constituents. The American people are not the only ones being “called out” by Trump on Twitter; he has also given the American news media grief.
The liberal market dominates the American news, and no one is more aware than Donald Trump. He tweeted, “People are just now starting to find out how dishonest and disgusting (Fake News) @NBCNews is. Viewers beware. May be worse than even @CNN!” This is one of many tweets Trump has written about “Fake News.” Many of the major news networks are liberal; however, that alone is not justification for the media being corrupt. Trump has a numerous amount of Tweets regarding “fake news”; in fact, he has talked about the news more than any other singular subject in October on his Twitter account. His biased opinion in his tweet not only shows his narcissism of always being correct but also his incompetence in understanding a position he does not support.
American society has shifted from a group mindset to an individual one. This “#Me” phenomenon was written about by John Paul Titlow in “#Me: Instagram Narcissism and the Scourge of the Selfie” where he explains that selfies have caused a digital narcissism inadvertently ingrained into social media users (122-124). No one is a better example of this shift in societal mentality than Donald Trump, who believes he is more important than the military, his constituents, and the news.
Works Cited
@realDonaldTrump. “I asked @VP Pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled, disrespecting our country. I am proud of him and @SecondLady Karen.” Twitter, 8 Oct. 2017, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/917091286607433728
@realDonaldTrump. “Nobody could have done what I’ve done for #PuertoRico with so little Oct. appreciation. So much work!” Twitter, 8 Oct. 2017, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/917172144710103040
@realDonaldTrump. “People are just now starting to find out how dishonest and disgusting (FakeNews) @NBCNews is. Viewers beware. May be worse than even @CNN!” Twitter, 12 Oct. 2017, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/918630610167529472
@realDonaldTrump. “Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest-and you all know it! Please don't feel so stupid or insecure, it's not your fault.” Twitter, 8 May 2013, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/332308211321425920
Titlow, John Paul. “#Me: Instagram Narcissism and the Scourge of the Selfie.” Acting out Culture, 3rd ed., Bedford St. Martin's, 2015, p. 122-124.