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Social media rewards narcissistic and histrionic personalities among influencers—and thus shapes an entire generation. How influencers transform psychological deficits into power that keeps their followers trapped in parasocial relationships, and what the consequences are for self-esteem, identity, and society.

Influencers as idols: Real or virtual influencers – the narcissistic machinery behind the virtual seduction to make purchasing decisions by brands in influencer marketing

Millions of young people spend hours every day following influencers on Instagram and other social media platforms who, in reality, display specific personality disorders. This article analyses the psychological mechanisms through which narcissistic, histrionic and extroverted personality types manipulate their followers and why these pathological traits are rewarded in the social media ecosystem. Research shows that the desire to become an influencer correlates strongly with problematic personality traits – and it is precisely these personalities that are now shaping a generation that blindly emulates them.

What it's about:

·         The brutal truth behind the glittering influencer façade and

·         The consequences for a generation trapped in parasocial relationships with digital narcissists.

Why do narcissists and histrionics become influencers?

The answer is frighteningly simple: because social media platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat systematically reward precisely these personality types. A study of 773 young people from Poland and the UK has empirically confirmed what every critical observer already suspected – people with narcissistic and histrionic personality traits are disproportionately drawn to influencer roles. These are not harmless entertainers, but individuals with pathological needs for admiration and attention. Psychological deficits from the outset thus characterise the profile of an influencer.

The mechanism is insidious: the platform works on the principle of continuous reinforcement. Likes, follower count, and engagement rates are quantifiable indicators of narcissistic grandiosity. A narcissist posts a selfie and receives hundreds of likes within minutes – their exaggerated self-image is confirmed. A histrionic creator stages a dramatic relationship drama, and the algorithm pushes it viral—the craving for attention is rewarded. The platform becomes a drug that caters precisely to the psychological deficits that drive these personalities. The personality of an influencer is thus successful not despite, but because of their pathology.

What does this mean for the millions of followers who consume these influencers? Every day, they are confronted with behaviours that are problematic from a clinical perspective but are presented as desirable. The narcissistic influencer demonstrates that self-aggrandisement leads to success. The histrionic creator shows that dramatic self-promotion attracts attention. Extroverted influencers sell social hyperactivity as the norm. The number of followers becomes the yardstick for human worth. Young people, who are still malleable in their identity development, adopt these pathological patterns as a recipe for success. They learn performance rather than competence through social media.

Influencers as role models: How does parasocial manipulation by narcissistic influencers work?

Parasocial relationships are one-sided emotional bonds in which followers feel they know the influencer personally, even though no real relationship exists. Narcissistic influencers are masters of this manipulation. They share seemingly intimate details of their lives across every channel, creating an illusion of closeness and authenticity while, at the same time, using every interaction for self-aggrandisement. Followers become objects that serve the narcissistic need for admiration. The narcissistic pattern is so perfectly attuned to the mechanisms of Instagram and the like that it is hardly recognised as pathological.

The study shows that narcissism – especially in Poland – is the strongest predictor of influencer aspirations. What does that mean specifically? Narcissistic individuals have a grandiose self-image, a lack of empathy and a constant craving for validation. They use their followers not as a community, but as an audience for their ongoing self-promotion. Every post, every video on TikTok serves primarily to boost the ego. Product recommendations, sponsored content, personal stories – everything revolves around the central message: "I am special, I am superior, you should be like me." The fame they achieve is not a by-product of their talent, but the goal of their pathological structure.

The psychological effect on followers is devastating. Studies show that intensive use of social media with narcissistic role models leads to reduced self-esteem, increased depression and anxiety. Young people compare their ordinary lives with the perfectly staged reality and virtuality of influencers and feel inferior. They measure their worth by the number of followers they themselves have. The narcissistic value system – status, appearance, admiration – is internalised. The ability to feel genuine empathy and form authentic relationships withers away because the idol demonstrates that other people are primarily a means of self-expression. Children and young people orient themselves towards precisely these dysfunctional patterns.

How does the histrionic self-presentation of influencers affect the psychological development of their followers?

Histrionic personality traits are characterised by excessive attention-seeking, dramatisation and superficial, unstable emotionality. The study found that histrionics – especially in the UK – correlate significantly with the desire to become an influencer. These creators feel uncomfortable when they are not the centre of attention. Every moment must be staged, every emotion exaggerated. Self-promotion becomes a means of survival rather than a form of artistic expression.

The problem is that TikTok and other social media platforms reward precisely this pathological behaviour. The algorithm favours content that triggers strong emotional reactions. Those who shout the loudest, cry the most dramatically, and react the most achieve substantially the most significant reach. Histrionic influencers are perfect for this system. They constantly produce content that demands attention through provocation, scandals and staged dramas. The boundary between authentic and genuine, manipulative and staged, is systematically dissolved. What is sold as authenticity is, in reality, calculated performance.

For adolescent followers, this means a normalisation of emotional dysfunction. They learn that normal, moderate emotional reactions are worthless. Only the extreme is seen, only drama generates resonance. This promotes a group of people who can no longer distinguish between genuine emotions and performative exaggeration. The ability to regulate emotions – essential for mental health – is undermined. Instead, they learn to stage themselves, dramatise and exaggerate. Histrionic logic infiltrates identity development – with consequences that manifest themselves in rising rates of borderline symptoms, emotional instability and attention deficits among young people. Those who regularly consume content from histrionic influencers train themselves to adopt dysfunctional emotional patterns.

Why is extraversion no longer a harmless trait in the digital context of influencer marketing?

Extraversion is traditionally considered a healthy personality trait—sociable, energetic, and communicative. The study shows that extroverted people are highly motivated to become influencers. At first glance, this seems unproblematic. But in the context of social media, extraversion mutates into something else: permanent performance, the impossibility of silence, an addiction to social stimulation. The extroverted creator becomes a multiplier of an unhealthy level of activity.

Extroverted influencers are constantly "on". They stream their lives live, share every moment and are available to their community 24/7. What begins as natural social energy becomes a compulsive necessity. Social interaction is quantified—measured by comments, engagement rates, and reactions. The extroverted influencer needs constant validation through social resonance to feel alive. This is no longer healthy extroversion, but digital hyperactivity that knows no rest. The vast reach they build becomes a burden that requires permanent availability.

This establishes an exhausting behavioural model for followers. Adolescents see influencers as role models who seem to maintain a permanent social high effortlessly. They learn that introversion is a weakness, that being alone is failure, and that every moment must be shared—the ability to reflect in silence withers away. FOMO (fear of missing out) becomes an existential fear. You have to be everywhere, see everything, interact constantly – otherwise you miss something, become irrelevant and disappear. The extroverted influencer culture is creating a generation that is no longer able to be alone with itself, that views every moment through the lens of potential likes and comments. Influencers demonstrate a psychologically unsustainable way of life.

How does influencer marketing commercially exploit the pathological structures of creators?

Brands that work with influencers are not uninvolved observers, but active beneficiaries of these psychological mechanisms. When a brand cooperates with narcissistic influencers, it legitimises their behaviour economically. The narcissist learns: my self-aggrandisement brings me money. The message to followers: if you are selfish enough, you can make a living from it. Influencer marketing transforms pathological personality traits into business models. Influencer marketing budgets systematically flow to the most psychologically problematic players.

The target group most affected by influencer marketing is young people –highly impressionable, with individuals having limited economic competence. When an influencer with millions of followers promotes a product, this is not primarily driven by rational purchasing decisions but by identification and a large budget. Consumers are not buying the product, but the illusion of getting closer to their idol. Brands deliberately exploit the psychological weaknesses that narcissistic and histrionic influencers create in their target group – feelings of inadequacy, the desire for status, and the longing for belonging.

The credibility that influencers supposedly have is a construct of marketers. Their recommendations for products or services are paid for, their authenticity is staged, and their personal recommendations are advertising messages. But because the parasocial relationship is so strong, followers – especially young ones – do not see through this manipulation. They trust the influencer like a close friend, even though commercial interests are at stake. The "sponsored" label is overlooked or ignored. The line between editorial content and advertising messages is blurred. What is disguised as a personal recommendation is, in fact, strategic marketing. The marketing strategy deliberately exploits followers' vulnerabilities while disguising itself as authentic communication.

How does influencer marketing reproduce narcissistic value systems?

Influencer culture is not neutral – it propagates a fundamentally narcissistic value system. Their visibility measures a person's value, reach and followers. Those who are not seen do not exist. Those without an extensive reach are irrelevant. This logic is based on a deeply narcissistic worldview: only those who are admired have value. Influencers as role models convey precisely this message to their followers every day as they scroll through social networks.

Young people who grow up in this culture internalise these values. They do not learn that value comes from integrity, empathy, competence or interpersonal skills, but from superficial characteristics such as appearance, presentation and self-promotion. The number of followers becomes social capital. A young person with few followers feels inferior, regardless of their actual qualities. A creator with a high engagement rate is considered successful, regardless of what they actually do or can do. Micro-influencers with around 100,000 followers also sell this value system – just in a smaller niche.

This shift in values has social consequences. A generation is growing up that considers attention more important than substance, regards self-expression as the highest good, and sees constant self-optimisation as a duty. The profile of an influencer becomes the ideal – not because it represents desirable qualities, but because it promises economic and social success. Children and young people are not guided by what would be suitable for their development, but by what works on social media platforms. The algorithm becomes the educational authority, and narcissistic influencers become teachers of a pathological value system. Even virtual influencers – computer-generated advertising figures – reproduce these mechanisms to perfection.

What are the consequences for the follower generation?

The empirical data is precise: intensive use of social media, especially following influencers, correlates with increased rates of depression, anxiety, disturbed body image and reduced self-esteem. But these are only the superficial symptoms. The underlying psychopathological changes are more serious and affect the structure of personality development itself. Influencers and their male counterparts are shaping a generation in their pathological image, which is characterised by influencer marketing.

Firstly: the externalisation of self-esteem. Young people no longer develop a stable inner sense of self; instead, they depend on external validation through likes and comments. Every post becomes a test: am I valuable? The answer comes from outside, in the form of quantifiable metrics. This creates a fragile, volatile self-image that collapses with every decline in engagement. The ability to accept oneself independently of social confirmation – a core element of mental health – is systematically undermined. The right to one's own image is distorted into the right to likes.

Secondly, the erosion of authentic identity. When the role model—the influencer—is constantly staging themselves, followers learn that genuine authenticity is worthless. They develop multiple digital personas, optimised for maximum resonance. Who am I really in a world of influencer marketing? This question becomes irrelevant. The only thing that matters is: How do I have to market myself to become visible? Identity development becomes market research. You test different ways of presenting yourself and keep the one that generates the best engagement rate. This is not healthy identity exploration but market-oriented self-optimisation that leads to alienation from oneself.

Thirdly, the inability to form genuine relationships. Parasocial relationships with influencers train a specific form of pseudo-intimacy. You feel close to someone without genuine reciprocity. This shapes your expectations of real relationships. Young people lose the ability to deal with the unpredictability, conflict and depth of authentic human relationships. They expect relationships to function like the curated influencer feed—perfectly staged, always positive, without genuine vulnerability—the social skills required for deep, authentic relationships atrophy. Influencer campaigns promoting products and services reinforce this pattern: relationships become transactional.

Why do traditional intervention approaches fail in reality?

The usual suggestions – more media literacy, critical questioning, limiting screen time – fail because the problem is systemic. You can't give a young person actionable tips to help them be aware of influencers when their entire social environment lives in this culture. Those who are not active on Instagram and the like are socially excluded. Those who do not know the same influencers as their peers have no common topics of conversation. Parasocial culture has become not an option, but a social necessity.

What's more, the mechanics are too perfect. The combination of narcissistic role models, algorithmic reinforcement, economic incentives, and developmental psychological vulnerability creates a practically irresistible system. A 14-year-old in the midst of an identity crisis sees an influencer who seems to have it all—success, admiration, and an exciting life. This creator demonstrates: this is how you can be successful too. The message is too seductive, too present, too reinforced from all sides for simple education to counteract it. Classic advertising could still be recognised as such – the new form of influence is more subtle.

The platforms themselves have no interest in change. Their business model is based on keeping people on the platform for as long as possible. Narcissistic and histrionic influencers produce exactly the content that generates maximum engagement. The more problematic the personality, the better for the engagement rate. A platform that promoted healthy role models would be less profitable. The logic of capitalism systematically reinforces pathological patterns. Budget decisions follow the same logic: the narcissistic influencer with a broad reach is a better investment than the authentic creator with a smaller but more engaged niche. Brands that should fit the brand actually fit perfectly with pathological personality structures. The cooperation is symbiotic, yet toxic at the same time.

What personality changes are the influencer generation already showing?

Empirical data already shows measurable changes in the personality structure of the generation growing up with influencers. Studies document a significant increase in narcissistic traits among adolescents, and this correlates directly with social media use. Young people show higher levels of grandiosity, a craving for admiration, and a lack of empathy. They are adopting the personality structure of their digital role models. The difference between influencers as role models and pathological role models is becoming completely blurred.

At the same time, histrionic tendencies are on the rise: exaggerated emotionality, attention-seeking and dramatic self-expression. What used to be considered pathological is becoming the norm. A teenager who does not constantly produce content, react dramatically or permanently stage themselves is considered boring. The diagnostic criteria for histrionic personality disorder increasingly describe normal behaviour among young people in the influencer era. This is not overdiagnosis, but an actual shift in personality norms. The high credibility attributed to influencers legitimises this transformation.

Particularly alarming is the erosion of conscientiousness. The study found a negative correlation between conscientiousness and influencer aspirations. What does this mean? The personality traits traditionally associated with long-term success, reliability, and mental stability – organisation, self-discipline, and a sense of duty – are being devalued. Influencer culture rewards impulsiveness, spontaneity and short-term thinking. A generation is being socialised that does not plan for the long term, does not work systematically towards goals and does not develop frustration tolerance. The influencer's success seems to come effortlessly, spontaneously and without hard work. This is an illusion, but one that shapes behaviour patterns. Those who meet the campaign goals of major brands apparently do not need traditional skills, but only the right influencer marketing strategies.

What does the psychological future of this generation look like?

The socio-psychological prognosis is bleak. A generation whose personality development has been shaped by narcissistic and histrionic role models will exhibit specific deficits. The ability to form long-term, stable relationships will be reduced, both romantic and friendly. People who have learned to view relationships primarily as an audience for their own performance cannot develop genuine intimacy. Divorce rates will rise, and the quality of social bonds will decline. What influencers sell as approachable contact is, in reality, emotional emptiness.

The world of work will confront a generation that has not developed basic professional skills. If the only career path that is considered desirable is that of an influencer – a profession that primarily rewards self-expression – how can one learn perseverance, teamwork and skill development? A career as an influencer promises quick success without traditional qualifications. The reality that most fail and that even successful influencers have to work hard is ignored. This leads to a generation with unrealistic expectations and low tolerance for frustration. For them, reaching target groups is not work, but viral coincidences.

Mental health systems will be overwhelmed. Rates of narcissistic and histrionic personality disorders, depression, anxiety disorders and identity crises will continue to rise. These are not individual pathologies, but the logical consequence of systematic exposure to pathological role models in the formative phase of personality development. Influencer culture is a mass psychological experiment—and the results are already becoming apparent. A society in which parasocial relationships with narcissistic performers are the formative relationship experiences of adolescence will bear the consequences for decades to come. The seemingly virtual world will have real pathological consequences.

What does this analysis reveal about digital society as a whole?

Influencer phenomenology is not an isolated problem, but a symptom of a broader social transformation. Digitalisation has not only created new forms of communication but has also fundamentally changed the structure of social relationships. In a world where algorithms increasingly mediate social reality, it is not the healthiest behaviours that prevail, but those that are algorithmically optimised. And these are – empirically verifiable – narcissistic and histrionic.

The influencer economy reveals the logic of digital capitalism at its purest: attention is currency, self-marketing is work, parasocial relationships are products. People become brands, personalities become products, and authentic relationships become transactions. This is not a dystopian future, but the empirical present. Virtual influencers – computer-generated advertising figures – are just the logical continuation: if everything is staged anyway, why bother with real people? The boundary between reality and virtuality is dissolving.

The generation growing up with influencers as idols is the first to be socialised entirely in this logic. Their normality is that social interaction is quantified, evaluated and optimised. That relationships are performative, that authenticity is a marketing strategy, that self-worth is measured by metrics. These are not individual aberrations, but the systemic consequence of a society that subjects social interaction to market logic. The psychopathological consequences – narcissism, emotional instability, inability to form relationships – are not bugs, but features of the system. When influencers interact with their followers on various social networks, they reproduce this logic millions of times a day.

Summary: A critical assessment

·         Systematic selection of pathological personalities: social media platforms reward narcissistic and histrionic traits, which is precisely why these personality types become influencers.

·         Narcissism as a business model: The desire to become an influencer correlates strongly with narcissistic personality traits – the digital economy monetises psychopathological patterns through influencer marketing.

·         Parasocial manipulation: Followers develop one-sided emotional attachments to influencers, who use these for self-aggrandisement and commercial exploitation

·         Histrionic normalisation: dramatisation, attention-seeking and emotional exaggeration are established as normal behaviours

·         Extraversion as compulsion: Permanent social performance becomes the norm, while the ability to be silent and self-reflective atrophies

·         Value system transformation through the influences of influencer marketing: visibility, reach, and the number of followers replace traditional values such as integrity, empathy and competence

·         Externalisation of self-worth: Young people develop dependent personality structures whose self-worth depends on digital validation through likes

·         Identity erosion: Authentic self-development is replaced by market-oriented self-optimisation for maximum engagement rates

·         Inability to form relationships: parasocial pseudo-intimacy trains expectations that make genuine interpersonal relationships impossible

·         Capitalist reinforcement: Brands that collaborate with influencers and platforms have economic incentives to reinforce pathological patterns rather than reduce them

·         Conscientiousness erosion: The personality traits that enable long-term success are systematically devalued

·         Measurable personality changes: Empirical data already show increases in narcissistic and histrionic traits among the influencer generation

·         Systemic failure of interventions: Traditional prevention approaches are ineffective because the problem is structurally and economically entrenched

·         Commercial exploitation: Influencer marketing exploits the psychological vulnerabilities that narcissistic influencers create in their target group to manipulate purchasing decisions

·         Psychopathological prognosis: Rising rates of personality disorders, relationship difficulties, and mental illness are to be expected, particularly due to the influence of influencer marketing.

·         Social transformation through influencer marketing: Influencer culture is a symptom of the comprehensive subjugation of social relationships to market logic and algorithms.

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