I'm not so sure.
Rather do I see a massive attack of social insecurity, with people terrified of being left "out of the loop", as it were. Personally, I see a loop more as symbolic of the noose.
I suppose it might be argued that yes, it could be a form of reverse narcissism, with a dominant ego replaced by an anxious one.
Perhaps it's an affliction of the young. I think older people might have had the time to take stock, measure their lives against some idea of a yardstick, and come to the realisation that they are no better than, and probably just as bad as their neighbours. At eight minutes past ten in the morning, this seems extremely likely.
A saving grace could be that the selfie allows a form of portraiture in circumstances where no other models are available.
Rob
Rob, the ego is always dominant and narcissist by definition. Nothing changed since the cavemen since the ego is insecure.
Warhol predicted the 15mn of fame for everyone's societies while FB and cellphones didn't exist yet.
But he knew it by investigating the idiosyncracie of post-industrial's societies.
Give a caveman a phone and you'll quickly see selfies next to the killed mammouth, war trophees, how to make proper fire,
My cave is better than yours...it's all about fetishes, social status, conditionned beleifs and adquired cultural codes, competition and appearances, needs, desires, lacks, fears and all the opposites.
It's only a question of available tools at one point of the "timeline" but the very same collective ego remains.
The phone didn't change anything and it goes with social network. They are linked.