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When taking a selfie, do you think about what others might think or how they might interpret it? Do you wonder why take this photo? Lao Zi said “Don’t try to show off! The wise person who knows his superior essence does not give in to narcissism or exalt himself”. Do you believe there is any part of it when you take a picture of yourself with your cell phone?
The truth is, a selfie these days is almost as common as talking on the phone or texting. You arrive in a new place or are sharing an activity with friends, pick up your cell phone and take a picture.
Why do we do this? To share on social media? Or just because you want to send it to a friend? It could be for the simple pleasure of seeing. The truth is that while selfie is almost automatic, it involves a number of psychological implications.
A selfie can be a characteristic of psychopathic or narcissistic personalities
Recently, researchers at Ohio State University in the United States conducted a study that made some startling discoveries on the topic. Let’s look at some of the messages that can be sent with this practice.
- According to the results, people who post more selfies on social networks are those who show narcissistic and psychopathic traits. It’s logical to think that some of them spend a lot of time editing their images, so narcissism doesn’t seem strange.
- Another unusual message we send, the study reveals, is the sampling of antisocial personality traits. We prefer ourselves over any other company.
- The study also highlights that many people who take a selfie and post it directly on social media show little control over impulses. It’s not strange, given that it’s a trait of psychopathy.
- However, several other people studied spent a lot of time editing their selfies. This behavior denotes a concept they called self-objectification. This refers to ways of being that underestimate and reinforce your physical appearance over your own personality. That is, they try to find self-esteem in their external image, not in their achievements or skills.
- Furthermore, many of the people who posted their edited selfies on social media and received positive comments showed artificially high self-esteem. This factor stood out to them over any other trait in their personality.
The image above the personality
Another study, this one carried out at the University of Buffalo in the United States, also showed an interesting fact. Those people who share the most photos of themselves on social media show that their self-esteem is mainly based on the opinion that others have about them.
In other words, they denote personalities and moods that are very exposed to the opinion and evaluation of others. The level of acceptance they have of themselves will largely depend on this. Selfies will be vital at this time, as they will mark your self-esteem due to the “welcome wing” extended by your followers.
The selfie as a rejection of human relationships
Another study, this one carried out by psychologists at the University of Birmingham, UK, showed that people who take selfies the most tend to have poorer relationships with people around them. Everything is more superficial and based on image, rather than intimacy, generosity, or simply personal affinity. Why does this situation occur?
- People around a very narcissistic being feel complex about the protagonist’s outward beauty.
- Faced with an excessively narcissistic person, those around him feel in the background, lacking in protagonism and interest.
- A climate of tension is created by having to be always on the lookout for the next selfie, as they don’t know when the time will come, they just know it will, and nothing else.
- This excess of narcissism generates a feeling of competitiveness among group members, something that does not benefit intimacy or trust.
Is there a solution?
Is there a solution for these problems? In fact, a selfie has nothing wrong with it. Disagreements begin when excess arises. Narcissism is nothing new. These photographs simply bring the situation to the fore.
People obsessed with their image exist and will always exist. Oscar Wilde has masterfully recorded this reality in “The Portrait of Dorian Gray”, more than a century ago. The solution is to seek a sensible psychological balance, in which the image projected through the selfies does not become a greater concern than what is happening in real life.
