‘ Selfitis’; This is how the condition is called by which people feel the obligation to publish photographs of themselves on social networks.
The term was first coined in 2014 to describe stories about the obsessive taking of selfies that the American Psychiatric Association was considering classifying as a ‘disorder’.
Although this claim was false, later different empirical studies were carried out to determine if the concept could be real. Specifically, the team from Nottingham Trent University and the Thiagarajar School of Management (in India) decided to investigate the psychological entity of the phenomenon.
The study was carried out in the country with the most Facebook users and the most selfie-related deaths in the past year, India . About 200 participants were tested to determine what factors were driving their self-esteem.
The study has therefore explored the concept and collected data on the existence of ” selfitis ”. Likewise, it has developed the first Autism Behavior Scale (SIS) to assess its condition. According to experts, people who follow this compulsive behavior may need help.
The ‘I’ scale
Upon confirming the existence of ‘selfitis’, a framework, the SIS, was tested to assess the severity of the subjects. Thus, there are three supposed levels: borderline, acute and chronic .
The first level, the limit, consists of taking self-photographs at least three times a day, but not posting them on social media. The acute already implies the publication of the images on internet platforms. And the last of the levels, the chronic one, is the uncontrollable urge to take photos all day long and post them on social media more than six times a day .
The researchers found that typical ‘selfitis’ patients followed a prototype of characteristics. These people were defined by attention seeking , often lacking in self-confidence, and hoping to increase their social position and feel part of a group by constantly posting images of themselves.
Disorders 2.0
Mental health disorders are accentuated with the use of technology.
Some examples directly related to it are ‘ nomophobia ‘ (fear of not being close to a mobile phone), ‘ techno-ference ‘ (the constant intrusion of technology into everyday life), and ‘ cyberchondria ‘ (feeling of discomfort after searching the internet the symptoms of a certain disease).
According to Dr Mark Griffiths , Professor of Behavioral Addiction in the Department of Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, “This study arguably validates the concept of self-esteem and provides baseline data for other researchers to further refine the concept and explore. different contexts “.
Now, more studies are expected to be carried out to understand how and why people develop this potentially obsessive behavior, and what can be done to help the people who are most affected.
References: ‘An Exploratory Study of’ Selfitis ‘and the Development of the Selfitis Behavior Scale’. Janarthanan Balakrishnan1 & Mark D. Griffiths. (2017). International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.
