Is social media spawning digital narcissism? : a case study of KwaZulu-Natal digital millennials

Abstract

In 2021, 60.71% of South Africans accessed the Internet, most of them doing so via mobile devices, and a growth to 67.8% is projected for 2026. Given KwaZulu-Natal’s place in South Africa’s socio-political and socioeconomic life, and considering the province’s high population of young Internet-savvy people, it becomes pertinent to understand how the Internet, specifically social media usage, impacts on their propensity to slide, wittingly or unwittingly, into digital narcissism. The aim of the study was to explore social media usage amongst millennials of the Durban University of Technology, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province, to determine the potential impact of social media usage on digital narcissism. For this qualitative study, the researcher adopted the behaviourist research paradigm, which is interpretive. An inductive research approach was followed, and two strategies were employed: case study and survey. The target population comprised four groups: (i) millennials of all races 18–34 years of age in the KwaZulu-Natal Province; (ii) parents of millennials; (iii) social media experts; and (iv) psychology experts using social media tools. Primary data were collected through interviews and secondary data were gathered from existing literature. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Through the lenses of each group of participants, five main themes were derived: (i) the impact of digital technology on millennials; (ii) social media and Internet usage; (iii) the impact of social media on millennials; (iv) the impact of social influencers on their followers; and (v) the impact of Covid-19 on social media. Each of these five themes was sub-divided into sub themes derived from the data analysis. Through colour coding and key concepts/elements derived from findings in the literature review and from the themes/sub-themes that emerged during the data analysis of this study, a Framework for Millennials and Parents on Social Media Usage and Possible Digital Narcissism Detection is proposed to provide visual support to millennials and parents of millennials that enables them to detect potential social media usage problems and then self correct.