Social media has grown in popularity over the past twenty years and, indeed, narcissistic behavior has increased within society (particularly in American society) since the 1980s (Jayson 1). Studies show that the more inclined an individual is to narcissistic behavior; this results in an increase in their activity on online social networks (Mehdizadeh 357). Social networking sites or "SNS" are defined as: "A web service that allows individuals to (1) create a public or semi-public profile within a limited system, (2) articulate a list of others users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and browse their list of connections and those established by others within the system” (Boyd, Ellison 1). Narcissism may play a role in the decision to create a profile page on a website such as Facebook although it is not a necessary personality trait to do so as some people simply want to stay in touch with their family and their close friends. The word “Narcissistic” comes from the story of Narcissus, who was punished by Aphrodite, causing Narcissus to fall in love with his reflection in a water fountain wasting away and dying (Berens 163). In popular research on narcissism, it is defined as “a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, a need for admiration, and an exaggerated sense of self-importance” (Oltmanns 387). I was born before the Internet, so one day when I have kids, I will. blew their minds by telling them that when I was a teenager, social media didn't exist. In fact, I'm going to explain that the Internet was just starting to become useful to the public and websites didn't exist. I guess the look they'll give me will be like I'm ancient, followed by all sorts of questions like, how did I stay in middle of paper......logy. 5th ed. Np: Prentice Hall, 2006. 387-88. Print.Boyd, Danah M. and Nicole B. Ellison. “Social Networking Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship.” » Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13.11 (2011): 1-9. Internet. December 3, 2011. Valkenburg, Patti M., Jochen Peter and Alexander P. Schouten. “Friend Networking Sites and Their Relationship to Adolescent Well-Being and Social Self-Esteem.” Cyberpsychology and behavior 9.5. October 11 (2006): 584-85. Print.Lima, Elizabeth N. The association between narcissism and implicit self-esteem: A test of the fragile self-esteem hypothesis. Florida: 2007, 2007. 1-2. Print.Jayson, Sharon. “Does social media make students more narcissistic?” USA TODAY August 25, 2009: 1. Web. December 3. 2011. .