Who knew being addicted to taking selfies could ever have a silver lining?
The selfie represents the shift to the social media age of self absorption more than anything else. People spend huge chunks of time taking selfies, then select one or two as they create an artificial online self that’s nothing like their real ones.
You would think that kind of narcissism is not healthy, but a new study absolutely confirms that those who take more selfies actually feel more confident and comfortable in life.
A study out of the University of California, Irvine, suggests that actually taking at least one selfie a day makes one feel more confident in themselves and comfortable around others.
The study was conducted on University freshmen who are believed to have more pressures to deal with, being in their first year in school away from home. They were asked to take selfies and then self report on the effects it had on their self-perception, self-efficacy and pro-social behaviours.
“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,” lead author Yu Chen, a postdoctoral scholar in UCI’s Department of Informatics, said.
“This is particularly useful information for returning college students to be aware of, since they face many sources of pressure.”
Selfie taking is actually a form of stress relief for these overburdened students, and can, self evidently, improve mood and perceptions about one’s self – Chen’s study found.