People are thought to engage in both positive and negative attention seeking behavior independent of the actual benefit or harm to health.
In line with much research and a dynamic self-regulatory processing model of narcissism, motivations for attention seeking are considered to be driven by self-consciousness and thus an externalization of personality rather than internal and self-motivated behavior.
Risk factors leading to attention seeking behavior include loneliness, jealousy, low self-esteem, narcissism, rejection, and self-pity.
Research has shown that parental rejection leads young students to adopt a diminished sense of self consequently resulting in the child feeling insecure, undervalued, and powerless.
[9] A 2019 study on adolescents with narcissistic tendencies and the use of social media explores this relation between narcissism and attention seeking behavior.
[10][11] Student exposure to psychiatric environments has shown evidence to reduce bias and stigma towards individuals with mental disorders or attention-seeking behavior.
[16] A 2016 study found evidence that social media can benefit some users by compensating for a lack of attention in other domains, although this has been disputed.
[18] A 2021 study found that experiencing phubbing (being ignored in favor of focusing on a phone) was positively correlated with attention seeking behavior, and the effect was larger in men.