Instagram. Twitter. Snapchat. Facebook. Chances are that most of you reading this blog are probably on a least one of these social media sites, if not all of them. Each of these sites provides the perfect forum for the selfie generation. We are constanly inundated with pictures of people doing everything you can imagine, many of them taken from an arm’s (or selfie stick) length away. Just in the time you’ve been reading this, a few of your friends have probably sent or posted some new selfies. As I watched people constantly photograph their life, I began to wonder, are selfies making us more narcissistic?

Definition

Narcissism (put in easy terms) is basically an egotistical love for yourself or your body. It stems from the Greek tale of Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection and turned into a flower. To find out exactly how that managed to occur click here. 

Her book is literally called “Selfish.” See my point?

Selfies and Narcissim

After observing people around campus, particularly during football games, it seems as though the need to constantly photgraph oneself is strong in our generation. Sometimes, so many pictures are taken that the experience itself is entirely missed or only half-enjoyed. From this, I began to wonder if selfies were like Narcissus’s reflecting pool. Are we in love with ourselves just a little too much?

Here’s a challenge for you. Think about all the content you post on social networking sites. How much of it is solely focused on you? Your thoughts, your comments, your photos? If you are anything like me, then most of your content is probably concerning your own things. Look closely and you will find that social networks are a cauldron for narcissism. A person is judged by the content they post about themselves and then, in the case of Facebook, are given quantifiable values to assign to their status an popularity. The more ‘likes’  you get, the more popular you are.

In the observational study “Narcissism and Social Networking Sites: The Act of Taking Selfie,” the scientists looked at the responses of 93 sorority women of Elon College to an anonymous 12 question survey regarding selfie use. Over 90% of the participants answered that they post photos solely for the reason of receiving ‘likes’ and comments. In the survey, the women had to argue whether or not selfies promoted narcissism. The interesting data didn’t stem from those who said yes, but from the reasons people gave for saying no. It turns out that the top three reasons the women said for keeping social media updated on their lives, also had underlying narcissism. The study goes on to conclude that narcissim tends to be present even where we think we are being unselfish.

There are a few issues with this study to keep in mind though. First is the realitvely small number of participants. The size of the study may limit its applicability to the general population. The study is even more limited by its decision to select only sorority girls, on the basis that they prioritize social interaction, and the undercoverage of the male and non-sorority populations. Furthermore, because this survey was volunatary and sent in an email, it is quite possible that response bias is present here too.

Empirical Evidence

The study above clearly leaves some things to be desired especially in proving a casual relationship between selfie quantity and narcissistic tendencies. “Let Me Take a Selfie”: Associations Between Self-Photography, Narcissism, and Self-Esteem” uses a more scientific approach to look at the correlation between selfies and narcissim. This study took 128 undergraduate students from an American public university (Sounds like us!) that were enrolled in a psychology class and studied their presence on Instagram for one month. Each participant took several evaluations that measured narcissistic tendencies and continued their Instagram use as normal. In the interest of keeping the participants from changing their standard Instagram use, they were not informed of what the study was measured, in this case, selfie use. The scientists then coded the photos into categories based on their content and compared the statistics with the self-narcissim measurements. For more detail on the catagories and coding process, take a look at the study linked above. The study’s findings showed that while narcissi and frequency of selfies weren’t statistically significantly correlated in overall categories, specific categories indicated higher narcissism levels. This was particularly found in selfies focused on the physical features of the person posting. Different types of selfies provided different results.

Potential Issues

As with the observational study, the results of this study are based on a small, predominately female sample size. Furthermore, the people participating in the study were not randomized or put into control groups. The study merely observes people in their natural activity and compares it with scientific evaluations. Without an experiment, it is impossible to avoid confounding variables or in this case, rule out reverse causation.

To really understand if selfies cause narcisscism, the experimenters should randomly divide subjects into two groups. The control group would post non-selfie pictures and the experimental group would be required to post a certain amount of selfie pictures per day or week. Evaluations of narcissim would be taken at the beginning, middle, and end of the experimental phase which should take place over a large chunk of time. Depending on the sample size, subcategories like the ones coded in the study above, could be created and observed.Then, and only then, could we really look at a casual relationship between taking selfies and narcissim.

Conclusion

While there is not a enough correlational evidence to fully support an acceptance of the alternative hypothesis that selfies cause narcissim, the stage has been set for experimental research to be conducted. All we can really say right now is that there is an association between posting selfies frequently and narcissitic tendencies in everyday life. It is my hypothesis that as more research is conducted on this topic, a casual relationship will be found. This is based both of the results mentioned above and my own anecdotal observations regarding frequent selfie taking.

Why Does it Matter?

I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want to live in a world where every person is concerned only about his or herself and how he or she appears in photographs. Narcissism is the enemy of empathy and humility, both of which are things the world needs a little more of. To put it simply, consider that the universe doesn’t revolve around you, and try to post about yourself in moderation. Remember to live your life for you, not for Instagram.

And don’t be selfieish. (Sorry couldn’t resist)

How do you feel about selfies? Are they a reflection of personality or merely a tool to communicate? Do you agree or disagree with my conclusion? Let me know in the comments below.

That’s all for now.

Meghan