"Instagram’s real product isn’t photos; it’s likes." This is a powerful view. I haven't read Girard yet, but this understanding just bumped up the urgency. I

"Instagram’s real product isn’t photos; it’s likes." This is a powerful view. I haven't read Girard yet, but this understanding just bumped up the urgency. I do disagree with the statement that the role model of narcissists is themselves, mainly because I think it's necessarily an external figure who inculcates a belief in a perfect self, which the narcisist must then either feel reflected in his relationships, or defend that external image of self with unreasonable ferocity. The role isn't "themselves," in this case it's an idealized reflection they expect from others. Subtle, but key. It's like the baby or child seeking out a source of pure maternal adoration and then a belief in that lost perfection characterizing them as an adult. When you meet someone in a narcisistic rage, it's because they have had their self-belief wounded by an imperfect reflection, coupled with how hard they have "worked," to deserve that reflection from a person with their sacrifices and accomplishments. This is why they call it, "narcissistic supply," as they will work pathologically to get the external approval of their Self that they cannot produce for themselves. It's almost certainly contagious as well, since parents who use their children as a source of supply love bomb them, creating that reflected adoration high they crave, while leaving the kid with the same sense of perfection and consequent need. Arguably, coming of age rituals were designed to destroy that image and create self acceptance, and why there is such a renewed cultural interest in "ego death," from hallucinogens. Trouble is, we know how useful people with narcisistic tendencies are, because they will literally kill themselves for a bit of external approval, and as a society we exacerbate it under guise of creating "pro-social," behavior. It's like sugar, fine in small doses, but you probably don't want to carry around a pump, and yet this is what we do with sources of external approval. It will be interesting to reconcile this interpretation with Girard's idea of role models and the narcisist's role being self referential. Unexpectedly interesting post.