5 messages that a selfie conveys about you

When you take a selfie, do you think about what others may interpret or perceive? Do you wonder why you do it? Lao Tzu said “Do not seek to show off! The wise person who has known the higher essence of him does not give in to narcissism nor exalt himself.” Do you think there is something like this when you take a picture of yourself with your cell phone?

The truth is that a selfie is today almost as common as talking on the phone or sending a message. You arrive at a place you like or you are sharing an activity with friends, you pick up your phone and take the snapshot.

Why do we do it? To share on social networks? Or because you want to send it to a friend? But it could be for the simple pleasure of seeing you. The truth is that although it is almost mechanical, there are a series of psychological implications.

A selfie can be a sign of psychopathic or narcissistic personalities

Recently, researchers at Ohio State University in the United States have conducted a study that has shed some surprising light on the subject. Let’s discover some of the messages we could be sending with this practice.

According to the results, The people who publish the most selfies on social networks are those who show narcissistic and psychopathic traits. It is logical to think that some of them spend a lot of time editing their images, hence narcissism is not strange. Another atypical message that we send, according to the study, is the display of antisocial personality traits. We prefer ourselves over any other company.
The study also highlights that many of the people who take a selfie and upload it directly to social networks show little control over impulses. This is not surprising, given that it is a trait of psychopathy. However, many other people studied spent a lot of time editing their selfies. This behavior denotes a concept they have called self-objectification. This refers to ways of being that overestimate and enhance their physical appearance above their 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 uploaded their edited selfies to social networks and received positive comments showed artificially elevated self-esteem. This factor stood out for them above any other trait of their personality.

Image above personality

Another study, this one at the University of Buffalo, in the United States, also provided interesting data. Those people who share more of their own photos on social networks show that Her self-esteem is based mainly on the opinion that others have of her.

That is, they denote personalities and states of mind that are very exposed to the opinions and evaluations of other people. The level of acceptance they have of themselves will largely depend on this. Selfies will be vital at this point, as they will mark your self-esteem depending on how well they are received by your followers.

The selfie as a rejection of human relationships

Another study, this one carried out by psychologists at the University of Birmingham, in the United Kingdom, showed that People who take more selfies tend to have poorer quality relationships with the 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 self-conscious about the protagonist’s external beauty.
When faced with an excessively narcissistic person, those around them feel in the background, with a lack of prominence and interest.
A climate of tension is created by always having to be on guard for the next selfie, Well, they don’t know when it will arrive, but they do know that it will, and soon. This excess of narcissism generates a feeling of competitiveness among the members of the group, something that does not benefit intimacy or trust.

There’s a solution?

Is there a solution to these problems? Actually, there’s nothing wrong with a selfie. Disagreements arise when excess appears. Narcissism is nothing new. These photographs simply highlight the situation.

People obsessed with their image exist and will exist all their lives. Oscar Wilde already captured it masterfully in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” more than a century ago. The solution is to seek a sensible psychological balance, in which The image projected through selfies does not become a greater concern than what happens in real life.

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