Do you like Googling your name?

Typing in your name more than just once to see what the online world throws up about you? We explore what experts now call Virtual Vanity... We are obsessed with everything from what we wear to what we look like the next morning. An obsessed lot, we humans are. And so it isn't a surprise when you type in your name online to search what the Internet has to say about you. You know you've gone too far over the edge when you actually do that! Virtual vanity, as they say, is something we've all done, accept it. We sit behind the safety of our computer screens, rubbing hands in glee, typing out our own name just to see how the Internet is going to praise us for all the work we've done. However, is this activity normal? "I honestly don't see anything wrong with this," says Avinash Sridhar, a student. "Whatever your age is — 14 or 40, I am pretty sure everyone's googled their name at least once just to see our name being glorified in more ways than one. I have done it too!" Like Avinash, there are many others who go online and type in their name just for the feel good factor. So, are we humans being increasingly narcissistic? Or are we just desperately looking for some kind of assurance to prove that we are superior to other people? Narcissism isn't just a combination of self-esteem and rudeness. Real-life narcissists need other people to tell them what they are and validate their worth. Roy Baumeister, a social psychologist at Florida State University, quotes that studies have shown that narcissists are willing to sacrifice being liked if they think it's necessary to be admired. Psychologists believe that the activity of searching for reassurance isn't really that big a deal. Narcissism has a wide range of meanings — from being a psychoanalytic theory to even a personality trait. In psychology, the term is described as self-love and unhealthy self-absorption due to disturbance in the sense of self. Parvati John, a clinical psychologist, believes that this activity is just one of self-esteem boosting ones. "We have different programmes that promise to up our self esteem and grant us more confidence. Just like those programmes, this too is an inbuilt behaviour. We're unconsciously looking for assurance. The beauty of it here is that there is some humour involved. Virtual vanity is just us looking for someone to say, 'hey! You're printed online! Good job with that!''And I don't see why that is a crime," she says. Although the activity seems healthy, the fact that you can find information about anybody creeps out a lot of people. Lakshmi Diwakar, a fitness expert, says that the Internet is such a transparent medium that it is almost creepy to know that someone is searching for your name. "Imagine all my information just lying there on the Internet. That is just plain weird. But of course, that's how it is if you are going to be doing something in the city. If you have a business, a profession that benefits other people, then your footprint will definitely appear on the Internet. It is inevitable and maybe most of us who fear such transparency will just have to live with it!" says Lakshmi. While a few are completely irked by the loopholes of the web, Siny Kurien enjoys the attention and indulges in a daily dose of 'Siny-sessions' as she'd like to call it. "I am a freelance designer and I have a blog with all my designs and sketches. I do get a lot of response mostly from friends and family and honestly, it's nice to get that attention," says Siny. "Whose privacy am I breaching? Whose space am I invading? Nobody's. So I guess I am completely in the safe zone here!" Know your fact: Narcissus was a handsome Greek youth who rejected the desperate advances of the nymph Echo. As a punishment, he was doomed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to consummate his love, Narcissus 'lay gazing enraptured into the pool, hour after hour', and finally changed into a flower that bears his name, the narcissus. Seven deadly sins of Narcissism Shamelessness: Narcissists are usually incapable of processing shame in a healthy way. This inability to digest shame comes from unhealthy narcissism. Magical thinking: Individuals start seeing themselves as perfect people, using distortion and illusion known as Magical thinking. Arrogance: When a narcissist feels low, they will take an effort to lift themselves up by debasing or degrading other people. Envy: Narcissists acquire a sense of superiority over others by using contempt as a form of putting the other person down. Entitlement: They hold unreasonable expectations about treatment from other people. Exploitation: Self-absorbed inviduals exploits others without any concern for the other person's feelings