Googlish Narcissism

 Googlish narcissm refers to searching for oneself on google to check if at all one features anywhere on the search engines searches of 1 of maybe 20000 pages. It is a step to validate your existence on this polluted planet of 6 billion people. It reminds me of the very appropriate characterisation of one of Jane Austen's quintessential characters Lord Walter Elliot in her book Persuasion where the vain and narcissistic man resorts to his passtime of perusing Debrett's Baronetage where he delight's himself in finding validation of his title, his marriage and daughter's by reading the passage refering to himself

Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage; there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one; there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents; there any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs changed naturally into pity and contempt as he turned over the almost endless creations of the last century; and there, if every other leaf were powerless, he could read his own history with an interest which never failed. This was the page at which the favourite volume always opened:

ELLIOT OF KELLYNCH HALL.

“Walter Elliot, born March 1, 1760, married, July 15, 1784, Elizabeth, daughter of James Stevenson, Esq. of South Park, in the county of Gloucester, by which lady (who died 1800) he has issue Elizabeth, born June 1, 1785; Anne, born August 9, 1787; a still-born son, November 5, 1789; Mary, born November 20, 1791.”

Although this act of his was ridiculed by the author in her book, I often find myself doing the same just to get an outside view of myself and am gratified when I find myself in the following pages of google's images

21st row of images- 5th image paper published

42nd row of images - 2nd image

53rd row of images - 4th image

and so on 

I rather like to believe that in this case instead of highlighting my narcissistic tendencies google search helps me to give an insight into what I am to the outside world- the 3rd view of the Johari window. It gives me an aim and purpose in life to try and achieve to get to number one on google's searches when I give it in the search engine. For that of course one has to become what is a catchword in today's instagram generation - an influencer, a person of note or repute , one who has achieved something notable in life like acted in a number of blockbuster movies, been a head of state, or played some sport professionally, or written a book which has been read by a wide audience. 

 

On the downside you could also land up in the top of google's searches if you have achieved notoriety in a particular field like commited a particularly grotesque murder or stolen a few billion dollars from a bank or committed a financial fraud of a few trillion like Bernie Madoff. The average Joe or Jane though who leaves a plodding nondescript life - going to work, having a family, paying taxes , doing household chores though has to be satisfied with a small innocuous corner of the google search on the umteenth page if at all. That of course does not in any way diminish her contribution to the human race. I would like to think that every person has the same impact as any other person whether famous or notorius