Through social networks and television commercials, we receive continuous messages that base happiness on being a successful and winning person. However, many psychologists and sociologists refute this thesis and consider that such messages are a symptom that contemporary society suffers from narcissism.

Alexander Lowen has published "Narcissism, the disease of our time". He considers that "individual narcissism runs parallel to cultural narcissism: the individual molds the culture according to his own image and the culture molds, in turn, the individual". For his part, Jean Twenge has written "The Narcissistic Epidemic" and "The Generation of the Self".

Narcissists are known for their egotistical, arrogant and conceited behavior, coupled with their lack of empathy. Contrary to appearances, narcissists are insecure and easily frustrated. Their self-sufficiency would be only a self-affirmation and a disguise for an insecure personality.

Pat MacDonald author of "Narcissism in the Modern World" points out some symptoms of the social presence of narcissism: "Just look at the rampant consumerism, self-promotion on social networks, the search for fame at any price and the use of cosmetic surgery to slow down aging".

Narcissism is especially worrisome when it becomes a personality disorder, characterized by intense and unstable emotions and a distorted self-image. Added to this is an abnormal love of self and an exaggerated concept of superiority.

What usually happens when a narcissistic person is a parent? Narcissistic parents are egomaniacs who seek constant approval from their children. Having conceived high expectations of them, they demand that they excel at everything. They project their frustrated dreams onto their children. They are parents who put pressure on each child by demanding results above and beyond what the sports coach or teachers expect of them.

Children are distressed when they are reprimanded by their parents every time they have not been the best. They reproach them for not being winners, after the money and time they have invested in their promotion. Some parents accompany their children to soccer games to support them, and from the stands they write down their failures in a notebook, while shouting at them ("clear that ball!", "you take that corner kick!"), thus supplanting the coach.

 A comic cartoon by Ferran refers to this status. A father enters a sports facility accompanied by two young children and they encounter a notice:

"Physical and verbal violence prohibited on the premises.

-Is it a ban for the players," asks the father.

-No, it's for the parents," answers one of the sons.

 The childhood of a child raised by a narcissistic parent is often very unhappy: the child is not recognized as a distinct human being, but as an extension of the parental self. It is not surprising, therefore, that narcissistic parents give birth to children with many psychological problems. Children often become narcissistic, internalizing the qualities inflated by their parents about them.

This parental attitude is not educational, because far from developing the son's Schools , it keeps him in a dependent and passive state. The passive person does not do things by himself; passivity is opposed to the will to direct one's own life.

The treatment of narcissistic personality disorder focuses on psychotherapy or talk therapy, which is intended to free the patient from the desire to achieve impossible goals. However, the core topic is prevention. Julio Rodriguez has published "Preventing narcissism". Among the many formulas he proposes to parents, I have selected the following:

 Show unconditional love and affection; do not overestimate your children's abilities, nor see them as superior to others; teach them to show empathy, compassion and respect for others, as well as to cooperate with them; let them understand that making mistakes is an opportunity to learn; encourage them to do things in which they are "not the best"; they do not always have to win, and not at all costs; children have to learn to accept themselves completely, with their aptitudes and their limitations; instill in them that doing something well or having a special talent does not imply being superior to others or deserving a different attention ; as soon as you see narcissistic behavior in someone around you, in the movies or on television, do not hesitate to point it out to them as an example of bad behavior.

The Narcissus of Greek myth, in love with his own image reflected in the water, died drowned. Isn't something similar happening to those who currently take selfies of themselves on the edge of a cliff to upload them to the networks?