We’ve all seen horror stories of people falling off docks and cliffs and killing animals in the name of taking the best “selfies.” What motivates people to risk so much for that perfect self-portrait?
Many researchers began with an assumption that there was something wrong with people who take a lot of selfies. Sorokowski and colleagues (2016) found that scores on a narcissism scale predicted the frequency of selfie posting behavior among Polish men, but that Polish women’s narcissism seemed to have no effect on their selfie posting behavior. A small study using undergraduates (19 males, 109 females) did not show connections between narcissism, self-esteem, and selfie posting, but a subtype of narcissism (vulnerable narcissism) was associated with physical appearance selfies.
A more positive view of selfies has been published by Chen, Mark, and Ali (2016). These researchers asked their participants to take one photo per day for a period of four weeks. One week was a control, and then the participants would take one of three types of photos for the next three weeks, serving as their own controls. The photos fell into three categories: a smiling selfie, a photo that would make oneself happy, and a photo that would make another person happy.
All three types of photos appeared to improve the participants’ affect, and sending the photos to others reduced arousal. The researchers suggested that by connecting with others socially through sharing photos, stress was reduced. In follow-up interviews, some of the participants stated that even making a fake smile for the selfies made them feel better, a concept that would probably meet with approval by William James. James, of course, is famous for arguing that to feel more “cheerful,” all you need to do is act as if you really felt cheerful.
So perhaps if someone is giving you a hard time about taking selfies and posting them online, you might want to let them know about the possible positive side.
19 Comments
carsonmulholland · September 25, 2016 at 4:45 pm
I actually have tried out smiling when in a bad mood and I found that nearly every time I do it (as silly as I feel) I manage to feel somewhat better. I believe that psychologically if we can pretend we are happy we simultaneously convince ourselves we feel that way. I haven’t asked others how they feel about this theory but I have attempted to do this multiple times. Every time I feel moody or angry, I take a step back to try and force a smile and it in turn helps my mood out. This can go back to taking the selfies where you are smiling. It gives a better name to the “selfie” which is often viewed as a very conceited activity to partake in. I agree that more positive light must be shed on the selfie for this exact reason.
emmawedell · September 29, 2016 at 8:59 am
I agree with Carson that smiling despite being in a bad mood can help me “fake it ’till I make it,” although a past psych professor told the class that the facial feedback hypothesis doesn’t apply to those who are aware that faking a smile can improve mood. I wonder if participants in the condition that took fake-smile selfies not only experienced muscular feedback as a way of improving mood but if the visual experience of seeing oneself smile also created the impression of happiness. Furthermore, invoking the idea of the mere exposure effect, I wonder if participants started to like their own image more after looking at the photos. (Perhaps this would depend if the selfies were mirror-image. Maybe if I expose myself to my true image more often, I won’t cringe when I see photos of myself quite as much!)
jfang03 · October 2, 2016 at 9:46 pm
In regards to this post, I do agree that taking selfies will somehow promote satisfaction and helps elevate a person’s mood when a he/she is down since the person will most likely be viewing his or her own facial expression when attempting to take the picture. I felt that seeing yourself smile or portraying an expression of pleasure on the face-front camera, or when reviewing the images gives the brain an notion that you are feeling happy, and there’s something making you feel pleasant; therefore, giving off a sign that “since this certain muscle movement is produced (from smiling), I must be feeling good!”. I assume that’s why when people are sharing photos, it tends to be a stress-relieving activity. However, I personally disagree with this statement, “…some of the participants stated that even making a fake smile for the selfies made them feel better.” I recall that during my most stressful and depressed times, I took a “smiling” selfie with a friend, but despite that I was “smiling” on the exterior, my interior still remained sad because I know that I am sad and simply by smiling doesn’t create much of a change to my mood. I felt that the more I keep faking a smile during my sad times, the worst my emotions will get because I’m not truly experiencing any happiness, but more like doing it to lie to myself. Then again, taking a selfie is not necessarily a bad thing because just because it may be less effective as a mood-elevator for one person, doesn’t signify for a whole team!
savannahlestes · October 12, 2016 at 3:28 pm
This is a fun take on selfies, as they get a lot of criticism. The negative view seems to come from the perspective of thinking that you are obsessed with how you look, and therefore vain. This article makes me think that selfies are actually about creating what you want, and being the happy person that you want to be. It is especially interesting that people took selfies that would make others happy, and that would make them happy. It would be interested to think about the difference in those two categories.
brittanymertzel · October 16, 2016 at 4:44 pm
Chen, Mark, and Ali’s research and experiment is very creative. A selfie was taken everyday for four weeks in order to determine the effects it had on that individual. Turns out that it had a positive effect on the participants and even reduced stress! I am so glad that this experiment was performed because there is definitely controversy regarding selfie portraits. William James’ idea that even a fake smile made them feel better is so true. Smiling when you are not happy, or even laughing can really influence your mood because your body cannot establish what it is laughing “at”, it only realizes that you are laughing! Same with actions, if you act happy than you will be! It may not instantly work, as if you had a major negative event happen in your life, however in times that I have been stressed, I have tried this and it did work for me! I also like to go outside and look at everything around me.
mmulder · October 17, 2016 at 10:14 pm
This is a very interesting and relatable topic since selfies seem to have taken over social media somewhat recently. It would be interesting to do a follow up study regarding how long the participants felt the “joyous” feeling that came from smiling for a selfie. It seems as though the “joyous” feeling wouldn’t last more than a couple minutes, let alone a few hours but if it did seem to have lasting effects than I think everyone should be taking selfies! From personal experience, I think forcing a smile can sometimes help boost my mood but other times it seems to make me feel worse as I am trying to hide my true feelings. All in all, this is a very interesting topic and a cool research idea!
Charlene Niku · October 25, 2016 at 7:56 pm
I found this post to be both very interesting and relatable. I think relating selfies to psychology is interesting because I have never thought much about them besides the fact that I don’t like taking them. I never really liked seeing pictures of myself, let alone taking them of myself and posting/sending them around on social media. However, I have heard before that the simple act of faking a smile can actually make someone feel better. I think that participating in such a study and being forced to smile in selfies would not only make me feel less uncomfortable with taking pictures of myself and consequently feel less insecure about how I look on camera, but I would also be in a more cheerful mood because I would be smiling more! This is an exercise I want to try out for myself, especially at times when I’m not feeling my best. I think the previous comment that brought up the mere exposure effect relates to this topic because the more we are exposed to things (or in this case, our own images), the more we grow to like them. Perhaps I would enjoy taking selfies and pictures in general more if I got used to smiling for the camera.
mictom16 · November 6, 2016 at 2:29 pm
I’ve always thought that selfies were quite peculiar. As with most things a balance must be found between that of selfie self-confidence and of narcissism. As the saying goes: everything in moderation. The study by Chen, Mark and Ali noted that those who participated in taking a selfie a day for a period of 4 weeks with different intents noted that when they smiled even if it was a fake smile, their mood lifted. I think that while it is important to note the power of positive thinking, we need to be considerate of those who this might not apply to. Depression affects a large number of people all over the world and though this study conveys evidence of “faking happiness till you make it” this is not always the case.
LaurenTaylor · November 16, 2016 at 5:44 pm
I found this very fascinating because I never thought of taking a selfie as a form of stress relief. Although, sometimes after I post a picture on instagram I feel a little better because I connect with people, so these study findings do make sense. I have heard that smiling automatically boosts your mood. My high school volleyball coach used to make us all smile every time we weren’t doing very good, and I have to say it was actually pretty effective. Even if the smile is fake, I still seem to feel better after doing it.
cathyvu · November 23, 2016 at 8:50 pm
I believe this is a really interesting take on the selfie! I admit I have perceived it negatively when one of my peers post one on a social media website. They would often post selfies, leading me to characterize them as a narcissist, but I didn’t realize the positive effects that it could have on the individual. I found it interesting that by sharing photos with others, stress was reduced. Perhaps we as individuals need support and confidence in ourselves that our social peers could provide. A concept that stood out to me was to fake a smile for the selfies, which in return would make the participants, feel better. I recall this experience when I decided to take pictures while I wasn’t in the best mood and remember feeling better. I wonder what the reasoning behind this study is!
gmli · November 25, 2016 at 3:18 pm
I find this research quite relieving. Although I could also see the relationship between one’s narcissism score and their selfie posts, others may just be sharing their happiness.
This makes me wonder about the effect that the application Snapchat has had on the mental health of users. Snapchat is messaging system that allows users to send photos, text, and some art that is available for 1-10 seconds. Users often send “ugly selfies” or other types of photos. Personally, I am always delighted when my friends send me a snap(a photo), especially if it is an ugly selfie.
Perhaps the question that needs to be researched more is the types of photos participants post, and their audience.
Shawn Tan · December 7, 2016 at 11:15 am
The topic of “selfie” is a fascinating subject.There are numerous aspects to a selfie; as technology progresses, so do the quality of selfies people get to take. Over the years, the front cameras of cellular devices have increasingly become more and more advanced. The act of taking a selfie has also become more and more popular and commonalized. The selfie is a self portrait of oneself; and sharing that self portrait has its own psychological ramifications. Putting a snapshot of your own physical appearance leaves others open to appraisal and adoration by their peers, all the while simultaneously leaving themselves vulnerable to possible critics. In this current time, more and more middle school children are attaining access to phones, hopping onto the trend of posting selfies on social media for judgement. The psychological effect of scrutiny begins at such a young age for them, which is worrisome. It is so, because exposing children to possible harsh criticisms may influence their cognitive processes, showing them that they must constantly attain validation from people they barely know.
rachelcarlson · February 19, 2017 at 10:33 pm
While I do believe that some selfies are motivated by the need for approval, I do also believe that the most common and environmental factor that motivates selfie-taking has become a need to belong. Social Media, and sharing our lives through photographs, has become deeply ingrained in the fabric of our western culture. It is an important tool to relate to others, and while the intentions of all may not be entirely unselfish, I do not see any fault in the occasional selfie!
Amy Edelstein · April 16, 2017 at 4:55 pm
In today’s modern era, “selfies” are viewed as a form of narcissism – a way to display our best features on a platform that the whole world can see. If you think about it, the people who post selfies are usually the ones who are most confident, have the most followers on social media platforms, or are looking for some sort of social approval form their friends. However, it is fascinating when we take a step back and view “the art of selfies” in a more positive light. As discussed in this post, we can use selfies as a way to increase our happiness or reduce our stress. The quote “fake it until you make it” closely correlates to the theme of this post. Often times, when I am stressed, upset, or agitated, I find that the best cure is to simply put on a smile, even though it physically hurts to put on a grin when all I want to do is cry. Similarly, Chen, Mark, and Ali revealed that when we take these happy and uplifting selfies, we are almost forcing our brain to release certain hormones that make us feel better. When we are constantly smiling, even if we don’t really mean it, we are indirectly tricking our brain to feel a certain way. This is exactly why “faking it until you make it” is an essential guideline to live by – crying it out is healthy, but there comes a point in our grieving process where we must wipe our tears from our faces, stand up tall, and start smiling big so that our brains can release some of those happy hormones that we have in our body!
emilyknighton · November 13, 2017 at 10:43 pm
This topic is really interesting to me because I think social media has made its way into just about all of our lives, whether we like it or not. I remember when Facebook and Instagram were each in their humble beginning stages, and people were gradually getting more excited about them. It seems like now, if you aren’t connected to others via one of those mediums, you’re sort of on the outskirts of what’s become “normal” social connection. I have heard a lot about the invasiveness of social media resulting in heightened mental health problems for people, such as anxiety and depression. I can even say that from personal experience, a great deal of my own anxiety is often closely related to social media. But the idea of selfies making people happy is a more pleasant perspective on how intimate our reliance on sharing pictures with each other has become. I do notice that, when I post pictures on my more private instagram (I have two; one for general people I know and another just for my closer friends), I feel freer and happier and maybe even more proud of who I am. Doing that more often has helped me to feel more carefree about what I post on my normal instagram too, and I tend to feel way better about myself now than when I used to share pictures of myself. I don’t really take “selfies” in the most literal sense, meaning I very rarely ever post a picture of myself alone. I’d rather have company in my pictures. However, I can see how posting pictures of yourself that you like, paired with a less compulsive or value-seeking mental perspective on social media, could actually increase your happiness a decent amount. And of course, it always helps to fake it ’till you make it.
Britnee Archambault · January 18, 2018 at 1:15 pm
I am so happy I found this blog post because I have always looked down on people who are obsessively taking selfies. Usually these people seem to be so full of themselves which makes me sick at times, but little did I know that it actually increases your level of happiness and satisfaction. I usually only take selfies when I am using snapchat which is common to most snapchat users but rarely do I take a selfie on any other app, let alone my camera.
Kendallhawkes · February 20, 2018 at 10:19 am
I think that selfies are a new development, brought about by the millennial generation. I think our society can be quick to criticize this generation, and I’m glad that there is research being done to determine the actual effects of this phenomenon. I do not personally take selfies, but even before knowing the scientific studies, I have seen on social media that people posting photos where they are confident in themselves can positively affect their self-esteem, and allow them to feel connected with others.
monjazeb · February 21, 2018 at 10:43 am
I think it is interesting that within the study they stated that obsessively taking and posting selfies can be linked to narcissism. While this may be true in some cases, I do not believe this to be true in every scenario. Usually when someone takes a lot of selfies of themselves, they are considered to be a confident and positive individual, but the exact opposite could be said as well from someone who takes a lot of selfies. Many people take photos and post on social media because they are feeling insecure and need the consolidation of likes and comments on their selfies to boost their self-esteem. Social Media is such a big part of our lives today and can completely change the way we view ourselves and others.
madisonklein118 · March 15, 2018 at 9:42 am
I like this take on selfies and how they can actually be positive in our lives. I think an interesting study to do would be to see if taking selfies has the same positive affect in people with low self esteem vs people with high self esteem. I say this mostly out of personal experience. When I was in high school, I had very low self esteem and I took a lot of selfies. I think taking selfies helped me with my self esteem in some ways. Now I have very high self esteem, I am very comfortable with myself, and I hardly take any selfies. I wonder if this happens with other people!