Selfie syndrome – unique facts. Selfiemania: a disease or the art of self-expression Selfiemania is a disease of the 21st century

The world is technically developing at a rapid pace, and this fact leaves its mark on its inhabitants. Since people are the engines of progress and initiators, it is up to them to respond. Since ancient times, scientists and geniuses of the past have been looking for ways to capture images in simpler ways than drawing. And this is not surprising, because we are always looking for easy ways to solve our problems.

One of the consequences was the “selfie disease.”

What is a selfie?

Selfie translated from English as “himself” or “yourself”. This is a photo taken with a camera mobile phone, tablet. The image has character traits, for example, a reflection in a mirror is captured. The word "selfie" first became popular in early 2000 and then in 2010.

History of the selfie

The first selfies were taken with a Kodak Brownie camera from Kodak. They were made using a tripod, standing in front of a mirror, or at arm's length. The second option was more complicated. It is known that one of the first selfies was taken by Princess Romanova at the age of thirteen. She was the first teenager to take such a photo for her friend. Nowadays, “selfies” do everything, and the question arises: are selfies a disease or entertainment? After all, many people take photos of themselves every day and post them on a social network. As for the origin of the word “selfie,” it came to us from Australia. In 2002, the ABC channel first used this term.

Are selfies just innocent fun?

The desire to photograph yourself to some extent does not have any unpleasant consequences. This is a manifestation of love for one’s appearance, the desire to please others, which is characteristic of almost all women. But daily photographs of food, legs, yourself with alcoholic beverages and other intimate moments of your personal life, exposed to society, are uncontrollable behavior that entails far from innocent consequences. This behavior is especially frightening on the part of children as young as 13 years old. Teenagers on social networks seem to have not been raised by their parents at all. Self-photography can be innocent fun only when the photos are taken rarely and do not have erotic overtones or other sociological deviations. Society, having its own culture and spiritual values, goes downhill with such thoughtless behavior. By flaunting their genitals, teenagers doom the future of our species to the absence of moral and ethical standards in society.

Are selfies a mental illness?

American scientists have come to the conclusion that self-portraits from a mobile phone, which are regularly posted on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and other lesser-known resources, attract attention and mental disorder. The selfie disease has spread throughout the world and affected people of different age groups. People who are constantly looking for a bright photograph are gradually going crazy, and some even die for the sake of an extreme shot. It's a real disease to take selfies every day.

Types of selfies

Scientists have identified three degrees of this mental disorder:

Episodic: characterized by having no more than three photographs daily without posting on social networks. Such a disorder can still be controlled, and it can be treated with willpower and awareness of one’s actions.

Spicy: a person takes more than three pictures a day and necessarily shares them on Internet resources. High degree mental disorders - the person photographing himself does not control his actions.

Chronic: the most difficult case, absolutely beyond human control. More than ten photos are taken daily and published on social networks. A person takes pictures anywhere! This is the clearest proof that there is a selfie disease. What is it called in medicine? Actually, it was in honor of the photo that she was named, although social networks, which are also a kind of addiction, play a minor role here.

Taking selfies in public

There are already dozens of poses for photographing yourself in society, and now they have a name. The selfie disease continues to spread in society, despite scientists’ statements about the danger and television programs on this topic. Here are the most fashionable selfie poses:

  1. Photo in the elevator. A favorite selfie option for many celebrities, including politicians.
  2. Duck lips. The most common selfie among females. A photo of yourself with your lips in a bow is probably the leader in selfies right now.
  3. Groofy is a group photo that is gaining rapid popularity among young people. One of the most popular is the American Groofie at the Oscars. Especially for such pictures, Chinese manufacturers have increased the capabilities of mobile phone and tablet cameras.
  4. Fitness selfie. The photo was taken using a mirror in the gym. A very popular selfie among both girls and men.
  5. Relfi. A self-photo with your significant other: very touching, but intrusive and boastful, causing negativity among the majority.
  6. Photo in the toilet. It is very common - literally every second girl has such a photo in her arsenal.
  7. Belphie. Self-portrait with protruding buttocks. Naturally, only girls do such nonsense. But men rate this type of selfie highly.
  8. Felfi. Self-portraits with animals.
  9. Photo of feet. It is not uncommon to see photos of the lower legs predominantly in shoes.
  10. Self-portrait in the bathroom.
  11. Selfie in the fitting room.
  12. Extreme selfie. It is this look that is alarming. A program about the selfie disease was released on television, in which the most popular extreme selfie enthusiasts were interviewed. This type of self-image is taken at a time of danger and risk to human life, for example, when at a height, with aggressive animals, during a disaster, in space, in flight, etc.

Extreme selfie is the most dangerous manifestation of the disease

In an effort to discourage the audience, extreme sports enthusiasts beat their rivals' records for danger and other selfie indicators. In Russia, Kirill Oreshkin has become the most popular selfie artist. He constantly conquers new and new heights, taking photographs on the roofs of high-rise buildings. This type of selfie has already had its victims. An extreme self-portrait is a scary and at the same time incredibly impressive sight. But the fact that a person, once he has tried to take a photo in unusual conditions and posted it on social networks, is no longer able to stop, is a fact.

Selfie disease: scientific research

There is a lot of disagreement between scientists around the world about the seemingly harmless act of photographing oneself. But the best minds paid attention to it not only because of the popularity of the word and the photo itself in society, but because of the appearance of victims among teenagers who wanted to take extreme photo. Research has concluded that selfies are a manifestation of exhibitionism and egocentrism. People who have a passion for constantly photographing themselves, and then putting them on public display, clearly have mental disorders and low level self-respect. Every day there are more and more people suffering from selfie addiction.

Selfie, which first became widespread in 2002-2010, is now recognized by the vast majority of scientists as a disease. The American Psychiatric Association has sounded the alarm after a teenager named Danny Bowman attempted suicide. The boy tried to take his own life because he didn't like his selfies, after spending about 10 hours a day trying to take the perfect self-portrait. So is selfie addiction a real disease?

Reasons behind the selfie obsession

Scientists put forward different theories about the origin of such a hobby as selfies.

Symptom of body dysmorphic disorder

This symptom is a constant, unreasonable worry about one’s body, about the presence of various infections and diseases in the body, and one of its manifestations is the fear that something is wrong with one’s appearance.


As a result, there is a constant obsessive desire to check your physical condition, as an option - through a photo. The impetus for selfies is also given by the popularity of this activity, that is, the fact that it is “fashionable.”

Self-doubt, complexes

Most probable cause addiction to self-photography are the complexes of modern man and his lack of self-confidence. The fear of being lonely, unpopular, unrecognized gives rise to the desire to advertise oneself as a successful selfie. Such people strive to gain the sympathy of others, to assert themselves, and sometimes to be like their idols, because many world stars often post their selfies online.


People who are insecure are more prone to such hobbies than others. Many people strive to take photos in order to keep up with the general trend, many in order to present themselves from the most successful angle and thereby win more sympathy. This seemingly funny hobby eventually develops into a disease. People cannot tear themselves away from their smartphones, the problem reaches the point that a person takes fifty photos a day.

Predisposition to narcissism

There are people who simply love themselves very much. This love begins to influence both friends and social media. Such people post photo after photo, trying to demonstrate themselves as much as possible. This form of narcissism eventually develops into selfie addiction.


There are other theories about the emergence of a new disease. Among them: excessive dependence on society, social networks, intrusive thoughts, desire to attract attention.

Many scientists do not take selfies seriously, calling it just temporary fun for Internet residents, however, the majority still classifies frequent self-photographing as a number of mental illnesses.

Are selfies dangerous?

Photographing yourself is not dangerous in itself. However, if a person is overly dependent on selfies, then there is undoubtedly a threat to his health. The uncontrollable desire to take pictures of oneself can take an obsessed person far.


Over the past couple of years, “unusual” photos have become especially popular in extreme conditions. Thus, at least a hundred cases of death from thoughtless selfies have been recorded. People, especially teenagers, climbed onto the roofs of high-rise buildings, trains, and collapsing mountain slopes, putting loaded pistols to their heads, which subsequently fired. The absurd deaths could not help but add to the horror of the new hobby.


People addicted to selfies also died due to inattention: the need to take a photo distracted them from danger. There have been cases of accidents due to inappropriate self-photographing. This disease also affects a person's physical health. Patients lose kilos in an attempt to take a good photo, renounce the real world, which does not pass without a trace and is reflected in their eyes and skin.


Since the advent of the disease, more than 100 people have been prescribed treatment every year. In particular, the popularity of smartphones with a high-quality front camera has increased, and a special selfie-stick has been created - a stick that makes it easier to photograph yourself. If we believe the forecasts, this addiction will either lose its popularity soon, or will continue to actively develop and become fully included in the list of mental illnesses.

“Let’s take a selfie?”, “Will you make yourself?”, “Get a stick, we’ll take a photo!” - can be heard from all sides. Selfie mania has taken over the world. Today I will talk about how photographing ourselves affects our lives.

Selfie (English selfie, from “self” - oneself, oneself) are photographs that are most often taken with the front camera of a mobile phone. You can also take a selfie using a camera, a mirror, and a selfie stick. By the way, the first such self-portraits were recorded back in 1900.

The first peak of popularity for this kind of photography came from the popular resource MySpace - in the 2000s, self-taken photographs appeared quite often. The second wave of selfie popularity, which covers the world to this day, was reintroduced into fashion by the famous Instagram, where it is important to photograph EVERYTHING you see, eat or feel. The phenomenon of popularity of this kind of photography is clear to me: it’s quick, simple, and the result is immediately visible. You don't need to ask anyone to take your photo. Now you can see for yourself how you turn out and if something happens, quickly change your position and re-shoot.

Celebrities are also adding fuel to the fire of the flaring cult of “themselves.” A photo of Dmitry Medvedev in an elevator on an iPhone has become a popular meme, giving rise to a great many parodies, the so-called “phototoads.”

Other celebrities also do not hesitate to take pictures of themselves with the front camera and post the results online. Moreover, social orientation is not at all important here! In general, in our age of technology it is difficult to imagine a person who has not done something “for himself” at least once - even Pope Francis did not avoid this.

Our smaller brothers also keep up with fashion: dogs, cats, kangaroos, monkeys. Such selfie-type photographs of animals simply blew up the Internet. Of course, animals do not know how to press the shutter button, so to take such a photo, you just need to click, for example, a cat when it pulls its paw towards the smartphone.

A new fashionable vision of interesting selfies: selfie statue. Pranksters at an ancient Greek museum decided to take a creative approach to classical art and took selfie-style photos of the statues:

Photos of the statues spread across the Internet, and a new mainstream rushed to the masses. Museum staff are not very happy with this increase in people wanting to photograph ancient and not so ancient sculptures. For example, in May of this year, selfie lovers in Italy broke the statue of Hercules.

Against the backdrop of a new peak of fashion, a monument to the Ottoman prince was erected in Turkey: in the city of Amasya, crowds of tourists queue to take pictures with the prince, who is photographing himself. The smartphone in the hand of the statue was broken by some vandals (it is possible that these are the same people who damaged the monument to Hercules in Italy), but this does not bother tourists at all.

Are selfies harmful? Real and esoteric answers

One can talk endlessly about the dangers of “oneself”, as well as about their usefulness. People are ready to do anything to take a beautiful photo, which is why they periodically receive injuries of varying degrees of complexity, and some even lose their lives.

Ramon Gonzalez, a famous rapper, decided to take a selfie while driving his motorcycle. The result is a drift into the oncoming lane and a collision with a car. Another case: a girl Silvia from Spain wanted to take a photo on the bridge. She climbed onto the ledge, holding onto it with one hand (the other, of course, had a smartphone). As a result, the girl’s foot slipped and she fell down onto a concrete support.

As you can see, people get into trouble with selfies when they are focused on the wrong thing. This happens by the following reasons: when we do something, for example, drive a car, our energy flows are tuned to a certain rhythm. Concentration may not be maximum, and in this case the setting saves us. But when we take a photograph, the flow of energy behaves differently. We come out of the state of concentration, try to relax and smile. And so the following situation arises: you have just been focused on one thing and are immediately trying to relax, distracted by a completely different matter (photography). This is precisely what is unsafe and can lead to sad consequences. This is especially true for those people who do not know how to quickly switch energy flows, take a long time to recover from a state of depression and slowly give up habits.

In 2014, Roskomnadzor warned about the dangers of selfies. Allegedly, due to touching heads during a group photo, lice and other diseases can be transmitted.

From an esoteric point of view, a selfie does not harm our energy in any way if it is taken in the right place. But a photograph with your face against the background of something unpleasant will forever capture the information of that time. For example, a photo in an anomalous zone, even after the passage of time, can influence your usual course of life with its energy. And this applies not only to personal photographs.

No matter how much you want to look original amid the global selfie craze, remember that safety comes first. The photograph itself does not cause harm; it is circumstances and inattention that do. Photograph friends, loved ones, and pets as much as you want. After all, the more positive in the shooting, the better! Take only safe selfies!

Finally, I’ll share my own selfie:

IN Lately Social networks are filled with so-called selfies - photographs of ourselves. It would seem that what could be wrong with self-portrait photographs? Yes, of course, there is nothing special or reprehensible here. But if this hobby does not develop into selfies, it is an addiction that you need.

Many in our country do not see anything terrible or dangerous in this hobby. Some people don't even know the name of the disease caused by selfie addiction. And also what does it threaten and how dangerous is it? But exactly until the news announces the tragic events that happened to young people who wanted to take amazing shots that became their last pictures.

Selfie mania: a disease that has a name!

It is worth noting that in America, psychologists have recognized selfie addiction as a mental illness. To be precise, the diagnosis is: obsessive-compulsive mania. But in fact, selfies are a disease of the 21st century that has taken over the whole world and affected different age categories. People who are constantly looking for bright moments that can be captured on the camera of their gadget are gradually going crazy. In pursuit of unique shots, they expose themselves without fully realizing the full extent of the danger, because at this moment the brain selects a background and an interesting opportunity to capture a unique selfie. But such a passion for a hobby can cost your life.

Characteristics of the disease

And since this hobby was recognized as a disease, tests were carried out Scientific research, as a result of which three stages of “selfism” were identified. Description of the disease, depending on severity:

  • The initial stage is when a person takes several pictures every day and posts them online.
  • When people start thinking about... In addition, their number exceeds 5-7 photos per day - this symptom indicates that the acute stage of the disease has begun.
  • Chronic stage of the disease - those suffering from this degree of dependence cannot get rid of the desire to take a few shots in order to post them on social networks.

The most dangerous manifestation of the disease

The danger lies not only in increasing the degree of narcissism and pride. And the point is not even that a person runs for hours with a stick to take good pictures, and then posts them on the Internet for days. In an effort to surpass himself and his like-minded people, the “selfist” often risks his health and even his life. Today there are many examples of how extreme selfie ended tragically. You can hear about this in the news every week and read notes on the Internet.

And it all starts with ordinary photographs posted on social networks. Many people, even for fun, start taking unusual pictures: someone will climb onto the roof of their multi-story building to show a wonderful view, others come up with something else in their search. But this could have been the end of it, if not for the numerous likes that are given for viewing an interesting selfie. This is where a kind of competition begins: “Who will take the most amazing shots?” In pursuit of such selfies, many people do the most reckless things: they climb onto bridge supports, place boxes of firecrackers on their heads, and climb to the roofs of high-rise buildings. But unfortunately, most of these actions end tragically.

Already in many cities they are conducting explanatory work with extreme sports enthusiasts on how to take photos and still survive. Moreover, the “Safe Selfie” project is being launched in Russia.

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07.11.2019

Interesting facts about selfies

What is the most popular word in the world? The English think the word is “selfie”! Anyone interested can read about it in the Oxford Dictionary. The Internet did not appear yesterday, many years have passed, so the word has acquired various derivatives...

Statistics show that more than 2.5 million selfies are taken in just a minute in the world. The number of phones that allow you to take such photos is constantly increasing, and the production of selfies is growing exponentially.

– Scientists are researching and trying to understand whether self-mania exists? People can't stop themselves from constantly posting their photos online. Some assert themselves, others try to get rid of uncertainty.

– According to estimates, about 50% of all adults have taken a selfie at least once in their lives, about 40% of young people surveyed take selfies regularly (at least once a week).

– Gyms, fitting rooms and beaches are the subjects of the most popular photographs. However, this is within 5% of all selfies that turned into social media posts. Selfies with other people are no less popular. Food, pets and nature remain very popular.

– Women here have taken the palm from men, which is logical. Selfies are more interesting for social network visitors than regular photos.

– Heated discussions are caused by selfies taken in an inappropriate place (cemetery, Auschwitz).

In the Australian version in English there is a tendency to form words with the suffix “-ie”, giving the words an informal connotation.

note

For example, "barbie" instead of "barbecue", "firie" instead of "firefighter", "tinnie" instead of "tin" for a metal can of beer. It was in Australia that the word “selfie” appeared, and its first use on the Internet was recorded back in 2002.

Although the widespread dissemination of the term “selfie”, first in the English-speaking world, and then in other countries, did not happen until ten years later.

– There are two versions of the question of who took the first selfie. It was either Robert Cornelius (1839), or she successfully pointed her camera at the mirror, opposite which Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna herself stood (1914).

– The Eiffel Tower background was the most popular in 2014. Time magazine thinks so.

Every day it becomes more and more difficult to surprise friends on social networks with an unusual selfie. But people constantly fill their profiles with colorful photos that speak of fun and memorable moments in their lives. A selfie truly conveys a person’s emotions and the world around them at the same time. Often they are identical, sometimes contrasting.

According to photographers, selfies have become special kind photographic art. Various festivals, competitions and exhibitions of similar works are held. The popular hobby of selfie photography has turned into a real competition for the craziest and most extreme selfshots. Users of social networks compete in resourcefulness, courage and madness.

Psychology of selfie or Self-mania as a disease of the 21st century

News feeds are full of photographs of friends and acquaintances. Some people manage to post dozens of pieces a day just for themselves. It’s more interesting to watch photographs of people traveling, there’s at least some variety there.

Have you ever wondered if it's a disease to constantly post photos of yourself?

Modern psychology follows closely fashion, modern trends and new disorders of the human psyche. Of course, the love for “selfies” has not escaped the attention of psychologists.

Today we will talk about the psychological characteristics of people who are passionate about selfies. So, the psychology of selfies. Selfie is a disease of the 21st century.

“Selfism” allows you to identify several psychological problems personality.

Selfie (from English self - “oneself”), or “self-love” or narcissism. Excessive narcissism leads to the development of a narcissistic personality type, when a person is unable to love anyone but himself.

Women's selfies. For women, the first priority is to demonstrate external data, the second is social life.

Men's selfies. For men it’s exactly the opposite. Social life comes first: his achievements, purchases, travel, cars, meetings with friends and colleagues, restaurants, etc. In second place are external data: a beautiful torso, biceps, a new suit and just facial expressions.

In any case, everyone who uploads their photos online is driven by the desire to gain approval and admiration from others. “Selfism” poses a threat only in advanced cases. As they say: everything is good in moderation.

Selfie syndrome. IS SELFIE A BAD HABIT OR MENTAL ILLNESS?

Selfie(English) "selfie" from “self” - oneself, oneself, names are also found selfie, crossbow) is a type of self-portrait that involves capturing yourself on a camera, sometimes using a mirror, a cord or a timer.

The term gained popularity in the late 2000s and early 2010s due to the development of built-in camera functions in mobile devices.

Since selfies are most often taken at arm's length holding the device, the image in the photo has a characteristic angle and composition - at an angle, slightly above or below the head

Selfie addiction is officially recognized as a mental disorder. Scientists from the American Psychiatric Association came to this conclusion, reports a publication that specializes in “incredible” news.

The association, according to the publication, presented a classification of a new disease called selfies in Chicago.

Thus, selfies are defined as an obsessive-compulsive disorder characterized by a constant desire to take photographs of oneself and post them on social networks in order to compensate for a lack of self-esteem.

The note notes that there is currently no cure for selfies. However, one of the users of the Global Trend News portal, commenting on this news, proposed his own solution to the problem: simply destroy the mobile phone.

RIA News

Psychologist's opinion:

Selfies have gained immense popularity recently. Now they not only stare from the pages of social networks, but often appear on advertising posters and force people to talk about themselves on television.

All this looks like an outbreak of a disease and, perhaps, every modern man formed a clear attitude towards this phenomenon. Someone got infected and doesn’t post their self-portraits only when they’re sleeping.

And there are those who are disgusted by the influx of this kind of creativity.

The epidemic began after actress and presenter Ellen DeGeneres and actor Bradley Cooper took a selfie at the 86th Academy Awards ceremony, in which they were captured in the company of many Hollywood stars.

Oscar is an event for which they prepare for months: the stars, in tandem with their stylists, carefully select an image, order outfits from famous couturiers, make all kinds of braces, and even get special injections so as not to sweat, since during many hours of filming they are forced to be under spotlights The ceremony is the quintessence of human striving for an ideal.