Pathology On Digital Media

A recent article outlined the not-surprising presence of pathological behavior on social media. The article is titled Dark personalities in the Digital arena: how Psychopathy and Narcissism shape online political participation. It was written by Saifuddin Ahmed and Muhammad Masood and published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Volume 12, Article Number: 1130 (2025).

We define psychopathy as a serious personality disorder marked by persistent antisocial behavior, lack of empathy and remorse, and traits like superficial charm, impulsivity, and deceitfulness.

We define Narcissism as the excessive need for admiration, a grandiose sense of self-importance, and a profound lack of empathy for others.

The objective of the paper was to investigate how psychopathy, Narcissism, and FOMO (fear of missing out) influence online political participation and how cognitive ability moderates those associations in various countries. The findings showed that individuals with high psychopathy and FOMO are consistently more likely to participate in political activity on digital media. Narcissism was also a factor, but present in only three of the eight countries studied.

The researchers also found that higher cognitive ability is associated with lower levels of participation. The level of participation among those with psychopathy was higher when they had lower cognitive ability.

“These dark personality traits have been linked to morally questionable and socially undesirable behaviors, including coercion, manipulation, and aggression. Research on these traits has shown that individuals with these characteristics tend to seek power, dominance, and authority.”

The paper used data from eight countries: China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States. Participants were asked to rate their level of political participation on a scale of 1 to 5. Using a similar method, their narcissistic, psychopathic, and FOMO characteristics were evaluated. Lastly, their cognitive ability was measured using the Wordsum Test, which approximates IQ.

The results of the study demonstrated that Narcissism is positively correlated with online participation only in the US, Philippines, and Thailand. Psychopathy is associated with online participation in all countries. FOMO was positively correlated with online participation in all countries, and cognitive ability was negatively associated with online participation in all countries.

In the paper’s discussion section, the authors analyzed the study’s results.

“The heavy participation of those with psychopathic or narcissistic behaviors is significant because these individuals could influence deviant others through behaviors that are far from normal. In seeking their own gratification, they do not consider how their actions may impact others. Studies have shown that individuals with these traits are more likely to create uncivil discourse and disseminate misinformation.

There are similar problems with FOMO, as it can motivate political engagement online, including among individuals who are not typically engaged in politics but have a high level of FOMO. This phenomenon would lower the barriers to participation among those who have no foundational knowledge of politics. What would the quality of their involvement be? If they become involved in politics because of FOMO, they dilute the value of participation.”

Higher cognitive ability moderates the effect of these personality traits. “Individuals with high cognitive skills tend to excel in critical and analytical thinking, enabling them to critically evaluate political information more effectively. They also put logical principles above emotional responses.” The irrationality they perceive in digital media pushes them away from participation.

We are all aware of two specific forms of social media corruption: the use of influencers and the presence of propaganda generated by political organizations or corporations. The use of influencers is essentially advertising, where companies select individuals with a strong presence on social media and hire them to create product influence.

The hope is that the followers will buy the product. In the pre-Internet era, movie stars hawked mouthwash to generate public interest. Today, influencers with millions of followers have created their own cult-like following of people who identify with their image.

Government and corporate propaganda are more dangerous because they’re more subtle. Rather than say “Vote for Ms. X,” they can place stories about Ms. X’s opponent, Mr. Y, showing that he is engaged in questionable behavior. There will be no error correction if the story is shown to be false. Corporations often employ similar tactics when they attack opponents who criticize their products.

Perhaps the greatest example of this was the misinformation spread about the COVID vaccine, which was an attempt to foster compliance and predict the products of the vaccine manufacturers. Get the shot and protect your family. Stay six feet away from a sick person. Wear a mask. Here, it was the government talking, so we thought that made it credible. The American people will not be fooled next time.

Now we find out that there are people with serious psychological problems haunting social media. They are drawn to participation by the opportunity to exploit others for their own benefit. Moreover, they take joy in the havoc they create. They also happen to be people with low cognitive ability, which means they can’t provide well-thought-out, rational contributions. They pollute social media and exert influence over those who are unaware of their lies. The fact that people with high cognitive ability tend to avoid social media means that there are fewer rational contributions on there.

Anything that man creates can be corrupted if nefarious characters are drawn to utilize it for their own benefit. The fact that social media is ubiquitous and accessible to all makes it a prime target for corruption. Money and power are readily available to those who seek them.

Wrong Speak is a free-expression platform that allows varying viewpoints. All views expressed in this article are the author's own.