According to the International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR),
Selfitis is an obsessive compulsive desire to take photos of oneself
and post them on social media as a way to makeup for the lack of
self-esteem and to fill a gap in intimacy.
In a more literal sense, it means those of our friends who usually
flood their Instagram and other social media feeds with pictures of
themselves – which were actually taken by them – may be suffering from a
genuine “psychological complex”. A beautiful girl taking a selfie: NigerianBulletin
The term “Selfitis” was first coined in 2014 in a satirical article
but has now been recognised by the American Psychiatric Association.
Following on from the hoax, researchers at Nottingham Trent University and Thiagarajar School of Management in India decided to investigate whether there was any iota of truth in the phenomenon.
After the research, they have now confirmed that the ‘selfitis’ does
indeed exist and have even developed a ‘Selfitis Behaviour Scale’ which
can be used to assess its severity.
Speaking on this, Dr Mark Griffiths, Distinguished Professor of
Behavioural Addiction in Nottingham Trent University’s Psychology
Department, said:
“A few years ago, stories appeared in the media claiming
that the condition of selfitis was to be classed as a mental disorder by
the American Psychiatric Association.
“Whilst the story was revealed to be a hoax, it didn’t mean that the
condition of selfitis didn’t exist. We have now appeared to confirm its
existence and developed the world’s first Selfitis Behaviour Scale to
assess the condition.”
Through the study, which was carried out with 400 participants from
India, as the country has the most users on Facebook, the Selfitis
Behaviour Scale was developed, which can be used to determine how
severely people are afflicted by the condition.
It is understood that the scale, which runs from one to 100, was
developed using a large number of focus groups with 200 participants to
determine what factors drove selfitis.
Using a scale of one, for strongly disagree, to five for strongly
agree, people can determine how acute their selfitis is by responding to
statements such as “sharing my selfies creates healthy competition with
my friends and colleagues”, and “I feel more popular when I post my
selfies on social media”.
The findings, first published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, confirmed that there are three levels of selfitis.
Borderline cases are people who take selfies at least three times a
day, but do not post them on social media. Next is the ‘acute’ phase of
the disorder where the pictures are posted. In the third ‘chronic’
stage, people feel an uncontrollable urge to take photos of one’s self
round the clock, posting them more than six times a day.
Researchers also found that typical ‘selfitis’ sufferers were
attention seekers, often lacking in self confidence, who were hoping to
boost their social standing and feel part of a group by constantly
posting images of themselves.
For study participants, 34 percent had borderline selfitis, 40.5
percent acute and 25.5 percent chronic. The obsessive selfie-taking was
more likely to hit males at 57.5 percent compared to 42.5 for females.
Less surprisingly, the 16-to-20-year-old age group, the youngest in the
study, was also the most susceptible. Nine percent took more than eight
selfies a day while about 25 percent shared at least three images on
social media every day. Lending voice on the matter, Dr Janarthanan Balakrishnan, a research associate from Nottingham Trent’s Department of Psychology, said:
“Typically, those with the condition suffer from a lack
of self-confidence and are seeking to ‘fit in’ with those around them,
and may display symptoms similar to other potentially addictive
behaviours.
“Now the existence of the condition appears to have been confirmed,
it is hoped that further research will be carried out to understand more
about how and why people develop this potentially obsessive behaviour,
and what can be done to help people who are the most affected.”
However, not everyone in the field is convinced: Speaking to The Telegraph,
Mark Salter, a spokesman for The Royal College of Psychiatrists, said
that selfitis doesn’t exist, and suggested it is irresponsible to try
and label human behaviour in this way.
“There is a tendency to try and label a whole range of
complicated and complex human behaviours with a single word,” he said.
“But that is dangerous because it can give something reality where it
really has none.”
Also speaking on the matter, Sir Simon Wessely, Professor of Psychological Medicine at King’s College London, was more skeptical about the proposed new condition.
He said: “The research suggests that people take selfies
to improve their mood, draw attention to themselves, increase their
self confidence and connect with their environment.
“If that is true then this paper is itself an academic ‘selfie’.”
Meanwhile, there are other technologically related mental health disorders which have been identified in recent years. Here are the mental health disorders below:
Nomophobia; the fear of not being near a mobile phone
Technoference; the constant intrusion of technology in everyday life
Cyberchondria; feeling ill after searching online for symptoms of illness
