Research in California links taking of selfies to happiness
IRVINE, California: Regularly snapping selfies with your smartphone and sharing photos with your friends can help make you a happier person, according to computer scientists at the University of California, Irvine.
In a first-of-its-kind study published just before back-toschool season, the authors found that students can combat the blues with some simple, deliberate actions on their mobile devices.
By conducting exercises via smartphone photo technology and gauging users’ psychological and emotional states, the researchers found that the daily taking and sharing of certain types of images can positively affect people. The results of the study out of UCI’s Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences were published in the Psychology of Well-Being.
“Our research showed that practising exercises that can promote happiness via smartphone picture taking and sharing can lead to increased positive feelings for those who engage in it,” said lead author Yu Chen, a postdoctoral scholar in UCI’s Department of Informatics. “This is particularly useful information for returning college students to be aware of, since they face many sources of pressure.”
These stressors – financial difficulties, being away from home for the first time, feelings of loneliness and isolation, and the rigours of coursework – can negatively impact students’ academic performance and lead to depression.
“The good news is that despite their susceptibility to strain, most college students constantly carry around a mobile device, which can be used for stress relief,” Chen said. “Added to that are many applications and social media tools that make it easy to produce and send images.” — Newswise
Our research showed that practising exercises that can promote happiness via smartphone picture taking and sharing can lead to increased positive feelings for those who engage in it. —Yu Chen, postdoctoral scholar