Narcissistic behavior is rising, experts say, and social networks such as Facebook are prime contributors. Researchers from Western Illinois University studied two kinds of narcissism (grandiose exhibitionism and entitlement/exploitativeness) in people and found those who sought attention tended to get it—on Facebook. They had more friends and were more active on the site than those who were a bit more demure. That’s a bigger deal than you might expect, given that Facebook users—consciously or not—sometimes compete with one another in terms of who has more online friends or followers. “We suspect part of the rise in narcissism is being driven by Internet tools,” writes Bill Davidow of The Atlantic. “What is clear is that social media platforms are frequently used by those with narcissistic tendencies to feed their egos. These same applications are used by millions of others to build their businesses, coordinate events and maintain close ties with friends and families. Unfortunately, narcissists are setting many of the benchmarks for everyday users. Everyday users get caught up in popularity contests and experience anxieties; some report becoming depressed because they are being out-Twittered and are lacking in thumbs ups.” (The Atlantic)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and two children. Follow him on Twitter.