ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on seven-year-old Alicia's profound statement: falseness may feel a little weird at first, but after a while, the falseness will begin to feel like one's regular self. The new narcissus depends on a perfected presentation of falseness to others in order to secure attention and admiration. Media is a socializing agent for the modern individual and is a vessel through which messages about an individual's role in society are communicated to the viewer. Understanding the implication of those messages is of importance when discovering the process through which the new narcissus develops today. Modern individuals must prove that they are the best through competition, and one's personality and confidence will help in winning and coming out on top. Even more, there is the notion that artificially enhancing one's self can help one win too. Toddlers and Tiaras is a reality television program that chronicles the lives of young girls who compete in child beauty pageants.
