The Mirror Effect

Dr. Drew Pinsky's book, The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America stresses the importance of how celebrity actions can negatively effect society. Pinsky spends an entirely large portion of the book describing the common attributes of narcissists. He also discusses the importance of the media's involvement in the lives of celebrities and claims that narcissism can be fueled by technology, mainly the internet. According to Pinsky, many people confuse narcissism with egotism. In the very beginning of the book, he immediately gives insight on what narcissism really is. Pinsky writes, "[narcissism] is often taken to mean self-love, but in fact, narcissism has more to do with self-loathing than self-love" (Pinsky 7). Throughout the book, Pinsky gives crucial information on the truth of narcissism and offers advice to the reader on how to become seduced by celebrity narcissism.

Surprisingly (sort of), John Mayer is mentioned several times throughout the book. Although two out of the three times he is mentioned, it is in regards to potential narcissism, there is a specific chapter dedicated to a blog post he made while on tour in Japan in March of 2008. In the blog, Mayer brutally criticizes what he believes is happening to our generation: a fixation on the media, rebellion against society's expectations, and the attempt to act different from others and create a pseudo-self. He goes on describe people's insecurities being at a level "so high... that it's actually toxic" (Pinsky 235). Mayer even includes himself in this category of captious and insecure individuals. Pinsky seems to be impressed and agree with Mayer's remarks, and notes that he was the first celebrity to "address the issue of narcissism among young people, including himself, explicitly" (Pinsky 236).

Based on the book, I do not believe that John Mayer is a narcissist for several reasons. Although Mayer may display several of the common character traits associated with narcissism, there are many crucial aspects of narcissism that John Mayer does not fit into. For instance, Pinsky asserts that narcissistic musicians "don't talk to their audience... they don't tell stories or take the time to build a connection... there's no emotion" (Pinsky 105). Well, I have had the absolute privilege of attend a John Mayer concert, and I can confidently say that John Mayer is in no way shy, and has absolutely no problem making connections and relating to his audience. Pinsky also describes narcissists as having the inability to relate to other people's feelings, and rarely feel ashamed of their actions. Let's be honest, John Mayer can be a major tool at times, but I do not think that he completely disregards the feelings of others. Although I think that it is undebatable that Mayer suffers from an enlarged ego and can be exceedingly vain, I do not believe he is a narcissist.

Pinsky , Dr. Drew, and Dr. Mark Young. The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America . 1st ed. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2009. Print.