Why Do Some Obsess Over The Yo Brand?

The I is the new protagonist of these times . It seems that with the new technologies a significant dose of narcissism has also been inserted into the culture. Social networks are a good example of how the SELF has become the focus of attention, sometimes unique, in the lives of many people.

There is a certain need to emphasize that self to its ultimate consequences. That is why Facebook pages are full of people who show themselves in all forms and in all kinds of circumstances, with the purpose of being looked at and admired. Obviously they want to show only those facets of themselves in which they look successful, happy and successful.

This trend is also seen in excessive concern with body image. You will find thousands of ads that offer you to improve any element of your physical appearance: the skin, the eyebrows, the nose, the abdomen, whatever. And there are hundreds of thousands of people around the world who panic and feel full of guilt for eating something with too many calories, due to the belly that can grow.

It seems as if the watchword is to design a perfect self. An ideal self. But more than designing it, show it. Let others witness how wonderful that self is. It is almost a marketing strategy, which seeks to promote the YO brand. Where does this obsession come from?

Narcissism and the Yo brand

Narcissism in and of itself is not bad. It is defined as a feeling of personal pride for who you are. When this element is healthy, it can be called self-love. When it is exaggerated or built on artificial foundations, it becomes vanity and banality.

During the first years of life that self-esteem is formed. Because you are so small, you cannot come up with clear ideas or concepts about yourself. Rather, what happens is that you are impregnated with sensations in front of who you are and the world that surrounds you. Basically, you learn to feel a certain nervousness in front of yourself and the world, or to feel calm in front of the same.

If you receive affection, caresses and acceptance, you will feel confident of who you are and what you can expect from others. If, on the contrary, indifference or rejection prevails, you form a feeling that something bad may happen, or that there is something wrong with you. In the first case, you will probably always feel good about yourself, even if you are not very well groomed or have a kilo of more or less. In the second case, a latent dissatisfaction will accompany you all the time.

Wounds in self-esteem often generate negative narcissism. This happens especially when the person lived their childhood in an ambiguous environment: sometimes they had great displays of affection, which later alternated with abandonment or rejection. Negative narcissism is typical of people who have been pampered and, at the same time, abandoned.

The different facets of the Yo Brand

Narcissism is of different types and has different facets. There are at least three types of harmful narcissism. They are all the fruit of a distorted self-love, or a lack of real self-love. They are as follows:

• Empowered narcissism. It corresponds to people who have developed a strong I. They are usually successful and admired for some talent or power. They keep a certain entourage of admirers by their side, but are rarely able to establish deep and intimate bonds with people.
• Manipulative narcissism. They are people who see in others instruments for their own enhancement. They know how to read the needs of others, their weaknesses, and that is why it is not uncommon for them to be a sea of ​​compliments or professional “saviors”. However, deep down they seek to establish relationships of dependence and servility. They feel very vulnerable when they are alone and that is why they use others to feel strong.

• Powerless narcissism. In this type of narcissism the eternal discontent with everything are located. No matter what they achieve, they will always feel that it is very little. They want to have a better job, more attractive, better health, etc. They victimize themselves because it is very difficult for them to understand that the world goes beyond their own self and their eternal unsatisfied desire.

In all these cases, narcissism makes the center of the universe the self. People who fall within these characterizations have a hard time understanding the reality of others. Their life is a permanent attempt to exalt themselves and their achievements, their misfortunes and their emptiness.

Their great contradiction is that they can never build true affection, nor true acceptance. That is why they do not stop trying to impose their own self on others, failing again and again.

Images courtesy Paulo Arbeltlo, Art Study-MS