Death, and the selfie
Why do people go to extremes for a picture?
EARLIER this month, an Indian man was killed while trying to take a selfie next to a wounded bear. It’s actually the third selfie-related death in India since December: On two separate occasions, elephants ended up taking the lives of people trying to snap images with the mammals.
Animals don’t pose the only danger to selfie-seekers. Heights have also resulted in fatalities. A Polish tourist in Seville, Spain, fell off a bridge and died attempting to take a selfie. And a Cessna pilot lost control of his plane – killing himself and his passengers – while trying to take a selfie in 2014.
In 2015, Russian authorities even launched a campaign warning that “A cool selfie could cost you your life”.
The reason? Police estimated nearly 100 Russians had died or suffered injuries from attempting to take “daredevil” selfies, or photos of themselves in dangerous situations.
Examples included a woman wounded by a gunshot (she survived), two men blown up holding grenades (they did not), and people taking pics on top of moving trains.
People who frequently post selfies are often targets for accusations of narcissism and tastelessness. But what’s really going on here? What is it about the self-portrait that’s so resonant as a form of communication? And why, psychologically, might someone feel so compelled to snap the perfect selfie that they’d risk their life, or the lives of others?
While there are no definitive answers, as a psychologist I find these questions – and this unique 21st-century phenomenon – worth exploring further.
Brief history of the selfie
Robert Cornelius, an early American photographer, has been credited with taking the first selfie: in 1839, Cornelius, using one of the earliest cameras, set up his camera and ran into the shot.
The broader availability of point- and-shoot cameras in the 20th century led to more self-portraits, with many using the (still) popular method of snapping a photograph in front of a mirror.
Selfie technology took a giant leap forward with the invention of the camera phone.
Then, of course, there was the introduction of the selfie stick.
For a brief moment the stick was celebrated: Time named it one of the 25 best inventions of 2014.
But critics quickly dubbed it the Naricisstick and the sticks are now banned in many museums and parks, including the Walt Disney Resort.
Despite the criticism directed at selfies, their popularity is only growing.
Conclusive numbers seem lacking, but estimates of daily selfie posts range from one million to 93million on Android devices alone.
Whatever the true number, a Pew survey from 2014 suggests the selfie craze skews young. While 55% of millennials reported sharing a selfie on a social site, only 33% of the silent generation (those born between 1920 and 1945) even knew what a selfie was.
A British report from 2016 also suggests younger women are more active participants in selfie-taking, spending up to five hours a week on self-portraits. The biggest reason for doing so? Looking good. Other reasons included making others jealous and making cheating partners regret their infidelities.
Confidence booster or tool of narcissism?
Some do see selfies as a positive development.
Psychology professor Pamela Rutledge believes they celebrate “regular people”. And University of California Los Angeles psychologist Andrea Letamendi believes selfies “allow young adults to express their mood states and share important experiences”.
Some have argued that selfies can boost confidence by showing others how “awesome” you are, and can preserve important memories.
Still, there are plenty of negative associations with taking selfies. While selfies are sometimes lauded as a means for empowerment, one European study found that time spent looking at social media selfies is associated with negative body image thoughts among young women.
Apart from injuries, fatalities and tastelessness, one big issue with selfies appears to be their function as either a cause or consequence of narcissism.
Peter Gray, writing for
Psychology Today, describes narcissism as “an inflated view of the self, coupled with a relative indifference to others”. Narcissists tend to overrate their talents and respond with anger to criticism.
They are also more likely to bully and less likely to help others. According to Gray, surveys of college students show the trait is far more prevalent today than even as recently as 30 years ago.
Do selfies and narcissism correlate? Psychologist Gwendolyn Seidman suggests there’s a link. She cites two studies that examined the prevalence of Facebook selfies in a sample of over 1 000 people.
Men in the sample who posted a greater number of selfies were more likely to show evidence of narcissism. Among female respondents, the number of selfie posts was associated only with a subdimension of narcissism called “admiration demand”, which is defined as “feeling entitled to