1.4.2 Psychologist’s point of view

So is it bad to take a lot of “selfies”? Experts have linked “selfies” with mental illness and have suggested that people regularly searching for the perfect angle could in some cases be suffering from a confidence-related mental health condition.

Dr David Veale, a consultant psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust and The Priory Hospital, told The Sunday Mirror: ‘Two out of three of all the patients who come to see me with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) since the rise of camera phones have a compulsion to repeatedly take and post “selfies” on social media sites.’

He told Mail Online: ‘Taking selfies is not an addiction - it’s a symptom of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) that involves checking one’s appearance.’

Sufferers of BDD can spend hours trying to take pictures that do not show any defects in their appearance, which they are very aware of but which might be unnoticeable to others.

There is an extreme case of the disorder, a British teenager Danny Bowman tried to commit suicide because he was unsatisfied with his appearance in the selfies he took. He was so desperate to attract girls, he spent 10 hours a day taking more than 200 selfies trying to find the perfect image, but his habit, which began at the age of 15, caused him to drop out of school and lose almost two stone in weight. He did not leave his house (in Newcastle-upon-Tyne) for six months, and when he failed to take a flawless shot, he tried to kill himself by taking an overdose. His mother, Penny, managed to save him, but he was forced to seek medical help.

In an article for Psychology Today, Dr Pamela Rutledge, Director of the Media Psychology Research Centre in Boston Massachusetts, said: “Selfies frequently trigger perceptions of self-indulgence or attention seeking social dependence that raises either narcissism or very low self-esteem.”

What is Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)?

BDD is characterized by a preoccupation with one or more perceived flaws in appearance which are unnoticeable to others, according to the BDD Foundation. Sufferers tend repeatedly to check on how bad their flaw is – for example in mirrors and reflective surfaces.

Preoccupation with selfies can be a visible indicator of a young person with a lack of confidence or sense of self that might make him or her a victim of other problems as well.

Dr Pamela Rutledge believes that excessive or provocative taking of selfies is a form of ‘acting out’ in young people and can be a cry for help.

1.4.3 “Selfie” makes our life easier

But things are not so bad! Actually selfie can be called a tool of communication. We use Skype to talk to people and selfie is quite the same thing. We show people where we are and what we are doing. Some people think that taking selfies isn’t hurting anyone. In fact, looking at images of yourself and your friends and other real life, un-photoshopped people may be good for one’s body image. What’s wrong with taking a nice picture of yourself to remind yourself that you don’t have to be Kate Moss to look and feel good? Or sharing a silly selfie with your friends to get a laugh? Or even to make a bunch of silly faces when you’re bored and find them in your photo stream a week later? Most of the time, people who aren’t very photogenic are those who are insecure about themselves, or they’re afraid of how the photo will come out and who will see it. Well now that you’re behind the camera taking your own photograph you don’t have to worry about that anymore. So the most common selfie is the one where you look cute, partially because it's a quick way to get positive comments about your appearance. "If I feel pretty, I take one," when other people like your “selfie”, it's a mini boost of confidence."

Saving of time is a big plus of “selfie”. Before the invention of cameras people had to spend years to make self-portrait now we spend just a few seconds. You may capture the moment and share it with your relatives and family you don’t to spend time to describe your life. You can have your “selfie diary” and make selfie trip report.