Alongside som tam and gossiping, the selfie
is a national obsession in Thailand.
Of course the #selfie craze isn’t exclusive
to Thailand but since the invention of the smartphone, it seems that many
people here are unable to get through a single day without snapping a photo of
themselves and uploading it to social media.
However, researchers in Bangkok have warned
that people who regularly take selfies are likely to be lonely can could even
have serious mental health issues.
Researchers also found that people who take a
lot of selfies have problems in forming relationships and more likely to
attention seekers and vain.
A team from the National Institute of
Development Administration in Bangkok surveyed 300 students, assessing their
personality habits and looking at how often they took selfies.
The participants were mainly female and were
aged between 21-24 years old. As part of the study they were also interviewed
to see if they displayed any narcissistic or attention seeking behaviour or to
see they felt lonely.
The study found that an overwhelming majority
of participants spent more than 50 percent of their free time using social
media apps on their smartphone.
Researchers looked at “the degree of
selfie-liking” and found that there was a link between the amount selfies taken
to the amount of time spent on social media, with those taking the most selfies
also spending the most time on the likes of Facebook and Instagram.
The researchers, lead by Dr Peerayuth
Charoensukmongkol, believe that men and women who exhibit personalities of
loneliness take more selfies and share them on social media in order to seek
approval or recognition from others.
Experts found that people who take a lot of selfies do so in order to
seek approval from others
“Not only do individuals who become obsessed
with taking selfies tend to feel that their personal lives and psychological
well-being are deteriorated, but they may feel that relationship qualities with
others are also impaired,” Dr Peerayuth.
Some experts have argued that selfie-taking
behavior can be linked to mental illness; however, psychologists suggest that
it is not an addiction but a symptom of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), which
occurs when an individual constantly checks his or her appearance and tries to
take perfect photos to impress others.
“This could be the reason why individuals who
like to take selfies tend to focus too much on themselves and express less
concern about others, added Dr Peerayuth.
“While many people consider taking selfies to
be an enjoyable activity, those who take selfies need to concern themselves
with the unhealthy behaviors that might be associated with this activity as
well”, he concluded.
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