We live in a society where millions of people, young and old, are addicted to social media. It is estimated that by the end of 2015, over 2 Billion people around the world will use social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The constant need to be relevant on social media and have interesting material to post has given rise to the phenomenon of the “selfie”. A “selfie” is a self-portrait, usually taken with a smartphone held at arms-length, which typically shows the subject in a flattering pose. Selfies are so common on social media that one source estimates that over 1 million selfies are shared every day. On Instagram alone, 53 million photos have been hash-tagged #selfie in the last few years. The word “selfie” is relatively new to our vocabulary, but by 2013, “selfie” was awarded “Word of the Year” by the Oxford English Dictionary cementing its importance in our culture.
http://www.today.com/money/selfie-wont-die-fact-it-just-got-its-own-social-8C11511653
For many people, taking and posting the occasional selfie can be a fun way to connect with friends and family. However, researchers are discovering that there is a darker side to selfie obsession that is altering the self-image and self-esteem of millions. According to Time magazine, many psychiatrists are beginning to consider a compulsion to take selfies “as a serious mental health problem.” In one extreme case a male patient, Danny Bowman, became obsessed with selfies and spent up to 10 hours a day taking hundreds of selfies trying to capture a perfect picture of himself. His obsession forced him to quit school and eventually led him to try to take his own life.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/selfie-addict-took-two-hundred-3273819
Thankfully most selfie obsessions do not reach the level of Danny’s, but researchers and medical professionals both agree that the number of mental disorders related to body image have seen a dramatic increase since the “selfie culture” took hold. They have also established that there is a strong link between a patient’s obsession with perceived body flaws and the number of selfies they post in social media. Individuals can become obsessed with controlling how the world sees them striving to project an image that is perfect. Since perfection isn’t unattainable, the individual’s self-esteem can decline resulting in frustration, depression, or worse. Even though most people are not “obsessed” with posting selfies, there is strong evidence that the fewer selfies you post the more likely it is that you are a happy, mature, and secure person. Research shows that even the need to post a modest number of selfies can indicate a poor self-image and the beginning of more serious problems. In a study titled “Tagger’s Delight? Disclosure and liking behavior in Facebook: the effects of sharing photographs amongst multiple known social circles” research showed that people who post a lot of selfies generally have more shallow relationships with people, are more self-absorbed, and are insecure attention seekers.
I think the underlying message in all of the research is that the selfie-culture has both long-term and short-term negative impacts on people. Our Stop the Selfie campaign strives to bring more visibility to the negative issues around the seemingly harmless obsession with selfies and social media. The best advice for everyone is to reduce their reliance on selfies as a way to connect with people and strive to develop deeper relationships with friends and family using face-to-face communication. 
stoptheselfie 