I got into the habit of Selfies when I began using a Samsung S3 which has the reversible camera. And since then, I usually take a selfie at least once a week, though I don't share most of them on social media. Now, I was with my family most of last week and when one my sisters saw me taking pictures of myself, she asked if that was what a selfie was, and did I know it was now a mental problem?
Of course I was shocked, I'd never heard of selfies being a mental health issue and I'm the news maven. This week, I decided to educate myself, and indeed, selfies had made headlines at the end of March for being classed by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as a Mental Disorder. A little digging however shows the news originated from a hoax site which says;
The disorder is called selfitis, and is defined as the obsessive compulsive desire to take photos of one’s self and post them on social media as a way to make up for the lack of self-esteem and to fill a gap in intimacy.
APA said there are three levels of the disorder:
- Borderline selfitis : taking photos of one’s self at least three times a day but not posting them on social media
- Acute selfitis: taking photos of one’s self at least three times a day and posting each of the photos on social media
- Chronic selfitis: Uncontrollable urge to take photos of one’s self round the clock and posting the photos on social media more than six times a day
According to the APA, while there is currently no cure for the disorder, temporary treatment is available through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
This may be a hoax, but I see elements of reality in it. Based on their rankings, I do not have selfitis, though maybe one of my sisters has borderline selfitis.
Do you think taking selfies and posting on social media is indicative of one's mental health and self esteem issues? Do you take selfies, and do you post the pictures on social media? How many times, do you have selfitis, and at which ranking? LOL...
I also have borderline selfitis hahaha...
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