By Lisbet Jære
Translated by Kine Bjørnstad Petersen using GPT UiO

While Facebook appeals to the seducer in us, Instagram fuels the anxious narcissist, according to new research which links psychoanalysis and digital platforms.

Just a little tap or two, and the wrinkles are gone, your lips are softer, and you can become a better version of yourself. At least on Instagram. But if you make a similar tap on Twitter, now X, and are unfortunate enough to write something political that comes across the wrong way, your life can take a brutal turn.

These are examples of how social media shape our lives. And how they play on the unconscious within us, something Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the father of psychoanalysis, first introduced in his theory of the unconscious mind.

“Freud's psychoanalysis is not entirely respectable in academia. He talks about the oral stage early in our development where the mouth is the erogenous zone, followed by the anal stage, when we learn to use the bathroom. All this bodily stuff is embarrassing to be confronted with,” says Steffen Krüger.

But Krüger, who is a media researcher at the University of Oslo, has not been deterred. In the new book Formative Media – Psychoanalysis and Digital Media Platforms, he uses perspectives from psychoanalysis to explore how Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, and Twitter/X bring out different sides of our personality.

Connecting psychoanalysis to modern media
The unconscious is contradictory and filled with conflict. And it permeates everything. Yet, it is rare to connect psychoanalysis to modern media and digital platforms as Krüger does in his research.

Have you just posted some pictures of yourself on Instagram and are feeling a strange mix of anxiety and self-obsession? According to Krüger's theory that is not surprising, because Instagram nurtures the anxious narcissist who craves validation.

“In recent times, the connection between narcissism – characterised by self-centeredness and self-love – and popular culture has been dismissed. However, I believe it is a significant and accurate explanation for why we take selfies. The more insecure we are, the more we strive to present ourselves perfectly to get attention and to feel loved and seen,” says Krüger.

In 1914, Sigmund Freud wrote an essay that became formative for the understanding of narcissism. He distinguished between a form of narcissism that is normal in human development and narcissistic personality disorder.

While psychoanalysis has had a strong academic tradition in Germany, where Krüger hails from, it has not had the same prevalence in Norway.

“It took a little time before I found my way in Norway and made a breakthrough in the academic field with projects that connect psychoanalysis to media and communication.”

Neurotic on Google, playful on X
Krüger argues that each platform brings out a specific side of us: Twitter/X the playful, Facebook the seducer, Instagram the anxious narcissist, while YouTube feeds addictions and Google our neurotic need for control. Each of the five platforms gets its own chapter in the book. First up is Facebook and Eros.

“Everything on Facebook is flirtatious,” one of Zuckerberg's co-founders, Dustin Moskovitz, is said to have commented. He and his team designed a platform that enables users to present themselves easily and attractively, while connecting with like-minded individuals.

“Everyone is supposed to show love for one another. And even though this sounds naive and a little bit wrong, this idea that Facebook is built on must be taken seriously,” says Krüger, and continues:

“Consider the 'Like' function. Regardless of the accuracy of the criticisms it faces, it remains what we fundamentally appreciate and love. This feature connects us through expressions that inherently reflect affection.”

Facebook traps us in a love loop
Can there ever be too much love? Yes, on Facebook, that is precisely the problem, argues Krüger. He connects Facebook to Freud's theory of Eros and the life drive (libido), which stands in contrast to the death drive (Thanatos).

According to Freud's theory, the life and love drives cannot exist without the death drive. The problematic aspect of Facebook is that only love is allowed there. We are all friends; there is no room to challenge and create good discussions, says Krüger.

We are trapped in a kind of love loop where our more nuanced and less enthusiastic selves do not get an outlet. Krüger's point is that this makes us frustrated. Even though we are unimpressed by the photos from our childhood friend’s mountain trip, we grit our teeth and click 'like.' After all, there is no longer a 'thumbs down' option.

YouTube creates “cravings”
In the book, Krüger describes YouTube as a “feeding tube”.

Since 2016, YouTube has operated on a system that tailors recommendations based on your viewing history. Essentially, you are being “fed” more of what you have already watched.

“I got the idea from another media researcher, Zeynep Tufekci, who described YouTube as a restaurant. As soon as you finish one portion, the next plate arrives. And the fuller you get, the more your appetite and cravings for salt, sugar, and fat are awakened. Clearly, this is not good for you,” says Krüger.

The media researcher connects this to what Freud calls the oral stage, which kicks in early in a human's life. An infant is entirely dependent on breast milk to survive. But the child is also given the breast to be soothed when it cries, even when it does not actually need nourishment.

When we do not get what we truly need, we fill our mouths with something else. Perhaps we need a hug and closeness, but we stuff ourselves with sweets instead. YouTube gives us more of what is easily accessible and easy to consume, but often not what we truly need.

The platform aims to keep us engaged for as long as possible. This makes the system addictive.

Everything becomes personal
On social media, nuances tend to disappear. Krüger emphasises that everything becomes personal, no matter what.

“If you post an article about climate change on Facebook, it will never just be about climate change. It will point to you as a person, making you the main character, a spokesperson for the climate.”

Who we are and how we develop is shaped by the platforms, according to Krüger. They hold significant power, and ideally, they should be regulated in order to serve democratic functions and society's public mission. Unfortunately, Krüger does not foresee many effective regulations any time soon.

He hopes his book will have a positive impact on how we relate to each other. That we become more aware of which traits the platforms amplify and which they may overshadow.

“I hope it will help us confront our blind spots. Humans are inherently contradictory and filled with conflict, and the platforms are particularly adept at finding our weaknesses.”

Source:
Krüger, Steffen (2024): Formative Media. Psychoanalysis and Digital Media Platforms. Routledge