Why 3 selfies a day may mean you have... selfitis!
NEXT time someone with a selfie stick blocks your view, have some sympathy.
That person striking a pose and pouting at their mobile phone may have a psychological condition.
British researchers claim ‘selfitis’ is a phenomenon which drives people to take ‘selfies’ on their smartphones.
Those immune to the craze popular among millennials and celebrities may be unsurprised to learn the condition is driven by social competition and attention-seeking behaviour.
People with selfitis strive to get more ‘ likes’ for their pictures than their friends and openly admit enjoying the attention, with some taking up to 15 selfies and spending 20 minutes changing the colour and contrast to get the perfect shot.
Chronic selfitis entails posting photographs on social media more than six times a day, according to researchers at Nottingham Trent University. But taking just three a day, even if you do not post them on social media, can still count as a borderline case of the condition.
The findings are based on a large number of focus groups and a survey of 400 people, led by Thiagarajar School of Management in India, and published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.
Dr Mark Griffiths, professor of behavioural addiction at Nottingham Trent, said: ‘A few years ago, stories appeared claiming the condition of selfitis was to be classed as a mental disorder.
‘We have now appeared to confirm its existence and developed the world’s first Selfitis Behaviour Scale to assess the condition.’ A selfie, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is a self- portrait, either alone or with others, ‘taken with a camera or a camera phone held at arm’s length or pointed at a mirror’ and is usually shared on social media. Researchers carried out seven focus group interviews with more than 200 people – most below the age of 25. Comments from young people included: ‘I take selfies to relax and energise my mood’.
Another said: ‘My primary reason for taking selfies or posting them on social media is to gain attention.’ A third interviewee said: ‘I take at least 15 different selfies to upload just one on social media.’
The answers were used to create a Selfitis Behaviour Scale with six reasons for taking a selfie.
These included boosting mood, conforming to social expectations and making better memories by taking a picture at a famous
‘A lack of self-confidence’
landmark. Dr Janarthanan Balakrishnan, from Thiagarajar School of Management, who led the study, said: ‘Typically, those with the condition (selfitis) suffer from a lack of self-confidence and are seeking to “fit in” with those around them, and may display symptoms similar to other potentially addictive behaviours.
‘Now the existence of the condition appears to have been confirmed, it is hoped that further research will be carried out to understand more about how and why people develop this potentially obsessive behaviour, and what can be done to help people who are the most affected.’