Selfies are a phenomenon that have by now engrained themselves in our society, fortunately or unfortunately. For some of us it’s a guilty pleasure whereas for others it’s a way of life. But if you take too many selfies, does this say something about you as a person? One study from Ohio State University says it does, and in particular that individuals that take quite a lot of selfies are more prone to exhibit behaviours shown in narcissists and psychopaths.
So how exactly did Jesse Fox and her team come to this conclusion? After polling 800 between the ages of 18 and 40, who had to answer questions like how often they posted photos and whether they edited them using filters, and the like. These individuals were also asked questions that screen for “anti-social behaviours and self-objectification”.
Fox and her team were able to determine that posting more photos were related to narcissism and psychopathy, in particular that editing photos is strongly related to high self-objectification. Interestingly, at the other end of the scale, not editing photos was deemed closer to a psychopath’s behaviour because as Fox puts it:
“That makes sense because psychopathy is characterized by impulsivity. They are going to snap the photos and put them online right away. They want to see themselves. They don’t want to spend time editing.”
Ultimately though, the 800 men that were tested in the study were all normal by any psychological standard (a study on women is on its way), so you shouldn’t worry about posting that after-dinner bulge if you want to. While many of us might have thought this idea relatively obvious, it’s quite interested to understand the persona we exude in all our online media. As Fox best puts it:
“We are all concerned with our self-presentation online, but how we do that may reveal something about our personality.”
Do you take too many selfies? Let us know your thoughts on this study in the comments below.
Source: Ohio State University via Phone Arena
