How to increase self-esteem with a selfie?
With the advent of front cameras, a new concept has come to life – selfie. Probably, by 2020 there will be no need to explain what kind of photo it is. Like any phenomenon, selfies have positive and negative aspects. We studied the work of several scientists and their studies in order to figure out how to raise self-esteem with the help of a selfie, not forgetting the share of negative impact on human psychology.
Analytical data of the FitRated resource
The study was conducted in the USA with the participation of 1000 people. The main point is that during photography, a person gets used to a good angle, likes himself more. This is easily observed on the Instagram profiles of people who have most of the photos taken in the same pose. For example, turning the head slightly to the left, a slight smile, a smirk. Little things like that help us see ourselves as more beautiful than we really are.
Scientists who conducted a social experiment divided 1000 people into 3 groups:
- The first group did not visit pages in social networks, they experienced a kind of digital detox; didn’t take selfies.
- The second group was allowed to sit for 1 to 2 hours on social media; The number of selfies was also limited to 3 shots per month.
- The latter group regularly accessed social networks; took a lot of photos.
What happened after a month of such a virtual lifestyle?
The more a person sat online, the more he was interested in the opinion of other people about his actions and appearance. But the last group was more self-confident than the first two.
Robert Glatter, a doctor, says that a person needs to find out the reason for frequent or regular selfies. Perhaps someone saves pleasant moments in this way, and someone saves their self-esteem.
Now about self-esteem.
Selfie as a way of self-expression
The younger generation uses selfies to express themselves – it’s a fact. It can be endlessly denied, but in the case when the photo is taken not for the purpose of capturing a pleasant moment, but just like that, then the reason for the pictures will be precisely the desire to show oneself.
Leon Festinger, a psychologist, believes that everyone has a tendency to compare themselves with other people. If the selfie turned out to be more successful than that of two girlfriends, then most likely the person will be happy for himself, this will raise self-esteem. This can be considered healthy selfishness, which helps self-improvement.
Now Instagram has limited access to viewing the number of likes, but before there was an unspoken rule – the more likes, the more beautiful and successful you are in the environment. Thus began the pursuit of likes, which (fortunately) were removed.
The negative impact of selfies
Harmless photos with many filters and complex processing do not harm the individual. At first sight. If you dig deeper, it becomes clear that a person disguises himself under the pixels of masks that lift the face, do virtual makeup. Hence the addiction to such an image, built on additional effects. But while mirrors do not have such functions as modern applications, the difference between an attractive image and reality can not be beneficial for a person, hitting self-esteem.