Facebook, which marks its 10th birthday this week, has helped to create a culture of narcissism, it has been suggested.

Narcissists are people who have an inordinate fascination with themselves. In Greek mythology, Narcissus fell in love with his own image that he saw reflected in a pool of water.

According to media expert, Victoria Mapplebeck, of the University of London, through Facebook, people now want others to find out what is going on in their lives ‘from the incredibly mundane to personal decisions and choices that would have otherwise been private'.

Facebook has allowed people to ‘become their own spindoctors'.

"How do we curate our lives online? How honest are we about our lives on social media? Facebook profiles and postings often seem relentlessly upbeat. We create an avatar of our lives, an avatar who is slimmer, has more friends, a better love life and a better job than we do," she said.

She noted that because Facebook only has a ‘like' button, ‘there is no place to describe our deficiencies, only space to paint a rather superficial and idealised portrait of our digital lives'.

Ms Mapplebeck also wondered how many Facebook friends people actually see in person and do they really care about what these ‘friends' write.

"It will always be quicker to log onto Facebook than arrange to meet with friends in person or even to ring them. But by endlessly taking the digital short cut, perhaps we are beginning to expect more from technology and less from each other," she added.