Let me take a selfie: Exploring the psychological effects of posting and viewing selfies and groupies on social media

Selfie viewing was negatively associated with self-esteem.Groupie viewing was positively associated with self-esteem.Frequent groupie viewing led to increased life satisfaction.Frequent selfie viewing led to decreased life satisfaction.Need for popularity moderated the relationship between selfie viewing and self-esteem.Need for popularity moderated the relationship between selfie viewing and life satisfaction. Taking selfies and groupies and sharing them to social media has become a popular online activity. This study aimed to examine the psychological effects of posting and viewing selfies and groupies on social media by conducting a survey (N=275). Results indicated frequent selfie viewing behavior led to decreased self-esteem whereas frequent groupie viewing behavior led to increased self-esteem. Frequent selfie viewing behavior led to decreased life satisfaction while frequent groupie viewing behavior resulted in increased life satisfaction. However, neither selfie nor groupie posting behavior was associated with self-esteem or life satisfaction. In addition, individuals high in need for popularity were more likely to be affected by selfie viewing behavior in terms of life satisfaction and self-esteem compared with individuals low in need for popularity.

[1]  Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz,et al.  Pinterest or Thinterest?: Social Comparison and Body Image on Social Media , 2016 .

[2]  Avishalom Tor,et al.  Ranks and Rivals: A Theory of Competition , 2006, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[3]  Zeynep Tufekci.  GROOMING, GOSSIP, FACEBOOK AND MYSPACE , 2008 .

[4]  B L Thomas.  Self-esteem and life satisfaction. , 1988, Journal of gerontological nursing.

[5]  Risto Honkanen,et al.  Life Satisfaction and Bone Mineral Density Among Postmenopausal Women: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations , 2014, Psychosomatic medicine.

[6]  S. Paxton,et al.  Photoshopping the selfie: Self photo editing and photo investment are associated with body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls. , 2015, The International journal of eating disorders.

[7]  Eric B. Weiser.  #Me: Narcissism and its facets as predictors of selfie-posting frequency. , 2015 .

[8]  Sang Yup Lee,et al.  How do people compare themselves with others on social network sites?: The case of Facebook , 2014, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[9]  L. Festinger.  A Theory of Social Comparison Processes , 1954 .

[10]  Agata Błachnio,et al.  Narcissism and self-esteem as predictors of dimensions of Facebook use , 2016 .

[11]  Diane Carlson Jones,et al.  Social Comparison and Body Image: Attractiveness Comparisons to Models and Peers Among Adolescent Girls and Boys , 2001 .

[12]  Christopher E. Beaudoin,et al.  An empirical study of a social network site: Exploring the effects of social capital and information disclosure , 2016, Telematics Informatics.

[13]  Emily A. Impett,et al.  Can You See How Happy We Are? Facebook Images and Relationship Satisfaction , 2013 .

[14]  Emily Christofides,et al.  More Information than You Ever Wanted: Does Facebook Bring Out the Green-Eyed Monster of Jealousy? , 2009, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[15]  Weina Qu,et al.  What does your selfie say about you? , 2015, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[16]  J. Crocker,et al.  Social stigma and self-esteem: The self-protective properties of stigma. , 1989 .

[17]  Nicola Döring,et al.  How gender-stereotypical are selfies? A content analysis and comparison with magazine adverts , 2016, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[18]  Sejung Marina Choi,et al.  Why we post selfies: Understanding motivations for posting pictures of oneself , 2016 .

[19]  Ed Diener,et al.  Cross-Cultural Correlates of Life Satisfaction and Self-Esteem , 1995 .

[20]  R. Lance Holbert,et al.  A Monte Carlo Simulation of Observable Versus Latent Variable Structural Equation Modeling Techniques , 2003, Commun. Res..

[21]  Kerk F. Kee,et al.  Is There Social Capital in a Social Network Site?: Facebook Use and College Students’ Life Satisfaction, Trust, and Participation 1 , 2009 .

[22]  J. Katz,et al.  “Selfie-ists” or “Narci-selfiers”?: A cross-lagged panel analysis of selfie taking and narcissism , 2016 .

[23]  Keren Eyal,et al.  Explaining the Relationship Between Media Exposure and Early Adolescents' Body Image Perceptions , 2013, J. Media Psychol. Theor. Methods Appl..

[24]  Sonja Utz,et al.  The Role of Social Network Sites in Romantic Relationships: Effects on Jealousy and Relationship Happiness , 2011, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[25]  M. Tiggemann,et al.  The Role of Social Comparison in the Effect of Magazine Advertisements on Women's Mood and Body Dissatisfaction , 2004 .

[26]  Yongjun Sung,et al.  Predicting selfie-posting behavior on social networking sites: An extension of theory of planned behavior , 2016, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[27]  Agnieszka Sorokowska,et al.  Sex differences in online selfie posting behaviors predict histrionic personality scores among men but not women , 2016, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[28]  Patti M. Valkenburg,et al.  Friend Networking Sites and Their Relationship to Adolescents' Well-Being and Social Self-Esteem , 2006, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[29]  Valerie Barker,et al.  Older Adolescents' Motivations for Social Network Site Use: The Influence of Gender, Group Identity, and Collective Self-Esteem , 2009, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[30]  R. Larsen,et al.  The Satisfaction with Life Scale , 1985, Journal of personality assessment.

[31]  M. Rosenberg.  Society and the adolescent self-image , 1966 .

[32]  Robert LaRose,et al.  How does online social networking enhance life satisfaction? The relationships among online supportive interaction, affect, perceived social support, sense of community, and life satisfaction , 2014, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[33]  Christopher E. Beaudoin,et al.  Teen online information disclosure: Empirical testing of a protection motivation and social capital model , 2016, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[34]  W. Wilson.  Correlates of avowed happiness. , 1967, Psychological bulletin.

[35]  J. Jonides,et al.  Facebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults , 2013, PloS one.

[36]  G. Bessenoff,et al.  Can the Media Affect Us? Social Comparison, Self-Discrepancy, and the Thin Ideal , 2006 .

[37]  M. Griffiths,et al.  The relationship between addictive use of social media, narcissism, and self-esteem: Findings from a large national survey. , 2017, Addictive behaviors.

[38]  Deanna L. Messervey,et al.  Measuring Peer Pressure, Popularity, and Conformity in Adolescent Boys and Girls: Predicting School Performance, Sexual Attitudes, and Substance Abuse , 2000 .

[39]  Emily Christofides,et al.  Information Disclosure and Control on Facebook: Are They Two Sides of the Same Coin or Two Different Processes? , 2009, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[40]  N. Ellison,et al.  Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis , 2008 .

[41]  Dongwon Lee,et al.  Generation Like: Comparative Characteristics in Instagram , 2015, CHI.

[42]  Sonja Utz,et al.  It Is All About Being Popular: The Effects of Need for Popularity on Social Network Site Use , 2012, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[43]  Christopher T. Barry,et al.  “Let Me Take a Selfie”: Associations Between Self-Photography, Narcissism, and Self-Esteem , 2017 .

[44]  K. Pisanski,et al.  Selfies and personality: Who posts self-portrait photographs? , 2016 .

[45]  K. Pisanski,et al.  Selfie posting behaviors are associated with narcissism among men , 2015 .

[46]  S. Coopersmith,et al.  The antecedents of self-esteem. , 1969 .

[47]  Subbarao Kambhampati,et al.  What We Instagram: A First Analysis of Instagram Photo Content and User Types , 2014, ICWSM.

[48]  E. Higgins,et al.  Self-discrepancy: a theory relating self and affect. , 1987, Psychological review.

[49]  E. Diener,et al.  Review of the Satisfaction with Life Scale , 1993 .

[50]  Amanda L. Forest,et al.  When Social Networking Is Not Working , 2012, Psychological science.

[51]  Abraham P. Buunk,et al.  Social comparison orientation: a new perspective on those who do and those who don’t compare with others. , 2006 .

[52]  Kathleen D. Vohs,et al.  PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST DOES HIGH SELF-ESTEEM CAUSE BETTER PERFORMANCE, INTERPERSONAL SUCCESS, HAPPINESS, OR HEALTHIER LIFESTYLES? , 2022 .

[53]  Katherine M. White,et al.  Personality and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Young People's Technology Use , 2008, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[54]  Jin-Liang Wang,et al.  The relationships among the Big Five Personality factors, self-esteem, narcissism, and sensation-seeking to Chinese University students' uses of social networking sites (SNSs) , 2012, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[55]  Dian A. de Vries,et al.  Facebook and self-perception: Individual susceptibility to negative social comparison on facebook. , 2015 .

[56]  Cliff Lampe,et al.  The Benefits of Facebook "Friends: " Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Network Sites , 2007, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[57]  J. Suls,et al.  Social comparison: Contemporary theory and research. , 1991 .

[58]  Lindsay H. Shaw,et al.  In Defense of the Internet: The Relationship between Internet Communication and Depression, Loneliness, Self-Esteem, and Perceived Social Support , 2002, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[59]  P F Brennan,et al.  Relationship of empathy to appraisal, depression, life satisfaction, and physical health in informal caregivers of older adults. , 2001, Research in nursing & health.

[60]  Cody Morris Paris,et al.  ‘But first, let me take a selfie’: Personality traits as predictors of travel selfie taking and sharing behaviors , 2015 .

[61]  Yongjun Sung,et al.  Hide-and-Seek: Narcissism and "Selfie"-Related Behavior , 2016, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..