In my previous post of #MyFriendAlexa series, I had talked about cell phone addiction. In this post, I will be talking on the effects of selfie addiction. Before I proceed, let me share some interesting facts about selfies:
- Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the year for 2013 was ‘selfie’.
- World’s first selfie was taken in 1839 by Robert Cornelius in Philadelphia.
- The word ‘Selfie’ was coined in 2002 by Nathan Hope.
Selfie addiction can lead to medical conditions like ‘Selfie elbow’. It is similar to ‘tennis elbow’ or ‘golfer’s elbow’. To click a selfie, you need to raise their arm for long periods, that put your elbow muscles under severe strain. This, in the long run, makes the elbow muscles swell and puts pressure on the bone. This makes the arm joints turn sore, stiff and eventually immovable.
Mental disorders due to Selfie Addiction
Selfie addiction can also lead to mental disorders like ‘Selfitis’, BDD (body dysmorphic disorder) and OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). Selfitis is a condition where people feel compelled to continually post pictures of themselves on social media. Selfitis can be further divided into three levels:
- Borderline — Clicking at least three selfies a day, but not posting them on social media.
- Acute — Clicking at least three selfies a day and posting all of them on social media.
- Chronic — Clicking more than 6 selfies a day and posting all of them on social media.
BDD is a mental disorder in which you can’t stop thinking about the flaws in your appearance, they may/may not be visible. OCD is a mental condition in which a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours.
Now, the question is, how clicking selfies became a mental disorder? The answer is Social Media. People think that one’s popularity is measured by the no. of likes and comments that they receive on their posts. This is why many people click ‘dangerous selfies’ because they want to do something different to receive more attention.
Author’s Note: Clicking selfies or photographs are a good way to capture moments. But don’t let it become an obsession. DON’T click any selfie by putting your life at risk.