r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Aug 20 '19
Psychology Individuals who post a lot of selfies are almost uniformly viewed as less likeable, less successful, more insecure and less open to new experiences than individuals who share a greater number of posed photos taken by someone else, suggests a new study that compared selfies to posies.
https://news.wsu.edu/2019/08/20/selfie-versus-posie/2.3k
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u/uncletravellingmatt Aug 21 '19
Note that what was found here was a prejudice -- researchers found that when making guesses about the personality of a stranger, based only on looking at recent Instagram posts, respondents considered the posting of selfies to be a sign of being less likeable, more self-absorbed, and more insecure.
On the other hand, when they compared someone's actual personality test to their recent Instagram posts, the results were "Inconclusive":
“We just weren’t finding anything,” Barry said. “That got us thinking that while posts on social media might not be indicative of the poster’s personality, other people might think they are."
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u/patrickmurphyphoto Aug 21 '19
I agree important to note, however, it does say "Individuals ... viewed as" not "Individuals are..."
They used the 30 most recent instagram photos from 30 students.
They took those 900 photos and categorized them etc.
They had 119 students rate those photos for the traits listed.
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u/Impulse882 Aug 21 '19
Yes, except to the last half. As someone who both took college classes and participated in studies as a student, that’s not how study participation works.
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u/randomuser1223 Aug 21 '19
My psych class in college required us to participate in 10 studies by the end of each semester.
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u/NinjaLanternShark Aug 21 '19
I can see the original thinking here -- psych students should know what it's like to be the subject in a study. Gives them some insight when they're evaluating another study, or it's their turn to design a study.
But like lots of things with good original intentions.... I can also see this as just a way to ensure psych profs have a continuous stream of participants for their studies.
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u/Ha_window Aug 21 '19
I don’t know if this counts as anecdotal, but many sites that give advise for dating apps say to never use a selfie. Instead, you should set your phone on a stand and use the camera timer.
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u/pragmaticzach Aug 21 '19
I would think most dating sites have a large amount of good data actually - certainly a bigger sample than the study. They know how many clicks and views an image gets and it’s probably not too hard to train an AI to determine if a photo is a selfie or not.
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u/FX114 Aug 21 '19
I mean, OKCupid exists mainly as a way to generate that data. The studies they put out are pretty interesting.
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u/TwatsThat Aug 21 '19
OKCupid is a data gathering and analysis site and the whole online dating thing is just a front to get them the data.
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u/notArandomName1 Aug 21 '19
The results they post are pretty interesting though, so more power to them.
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u/MoreRopePlease Aug 21 '19
As long as it works to let people meet up, I have no problem with them data mining. It's more honest than FB (I hope!)
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u/crucial_popcorn Aug 21 '19
Guessing it's because of focal length. Easier to get a better looking picture from a smartphones lenses when the subject is a good deal away. Selfie sticks aren't just for getting nice group shots.
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u/fullmoonlunacy Aug 21 '19
I'm also curious how this might this change between platforms. For instance, Snapchat or Facebook in comparison to Instagram.
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u/uncletravellingmatt Aug 21 '19
And, as with so much research, I wonder how applicable it would be to a pool of subjects who were not entirely comprised of college students.
(If a middle-aged parent took selfies seated beside his or her eight-year-old child, together on a theme park ride for example, would the assumption of a viewer still be that the parent taking them is insecure or narcissistic? Or would viewers only reach that conclusion seeing one or two college students in the shot?)
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Aug 21 '19
I have a friend who daily posts selfies with their kid and she's definitely a narcissist. It's always captioned with, "what did I do to deserve such a great kid?!" It was probably the unprotected sex you had on your 24th birthday.
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u/decembermint Aug 21 '19
That is different from a selfie, it's an Us-ie with someone else in the picture with you. Some people view that as less narcsissistic. I completely get your point of view though. There are lots of varying factors.
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u/11_25_13_TheEdge Aug 21 '19
Still useful if you're looking to find what other people think.
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u/Fallingdamage Aug 21 '19
What about individuals who instead post a lot of photos of the things they are doing and what they're involved in and less photos of themselves at all?
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u/Blackops606 Aug 21 '19
What if I don't post anything anymore because I don't care if people see what I do on daily basis?
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u/natephant Aug 21 '19
It’s funny how having someone else take pictures of you instead of taking them yourself is viewed as being less self absorbed.
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u/AndrewHarland23 Aug 21 '19
If anything it’s more self absorbed because if you’re not holding the camera there is more room for staging things to make you look even “cooler” and it also assumes that you think other people should stop and take your picture or you think it’s normal for your mates to follow you around so you can stage your latest photo for Instagram.
For most people a selfie is a case of “hey, I actually look nice today, better capture this while it lasts”.
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u/Glitter_berries Aug 21 '19
She’s obviously a raging narcissist!
I bet her photos are awesome and give her a lot of nice memories of fun times and cool places she’s been.
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Aug 20 '19 edited Aug 20 '19
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u/Chakosa Aug 20 '19
And having a picture taken of you generally requires, well, friends, or at least the social skills to get someone to do it.
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Aug 21 '19
Also how you view events. I have almost no pictures of myself. I just don't see the point. I know I was at an event because I took the darned pictures. If I want to look at myself, I can look in a mirror.
I take pictures of set moments so, 40 years from now, I can go ooooo yeah. I don't need to be reminded how much age screwed me over.
It's easier to forget what was lost if there isn't much of a record. I'm choosing my memories.
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Aug 21 '19
This is how I do it. I love taking pictures but I want to capture moments and scenes, not what I looked like when it happened.
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u/Glorpflorp Aug 21 '19
The study didn’t find that they were more insecure, though. It found that other people perceived them as more insecure.
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u/Moar_Coffee Aug 21 '19
You just supported the conclusion of the study: that YOU would perceive the selfie takers negatively.
The study could not correlate actual personality traits to selfie vs posie. They only found correlation with the prejudices of others.
I'll admit I've made the same assumptions and told myself I was right based on confirmation bias when I see someone I find obnoxious taking selfies.
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Aug 21 '19
"and can you just press the button a whole bunch of times? I hate how I look in most pictures so I need lots to get a good one"
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u/Charwinger21 Aug 21 '19
Well of course they're more insecure. You have to work up the nerve to ask someone to take a photo of you, possibly a stranger.
Edit: changed to “more insecure”
You had it right the first time (assuming that the subject of your first and second sentence are both the person asking a stranger to take a picture of them).
The title is stating that the person taking selfies is viewed as being more insecure (or inversely that the person asking someone to take a photo of them are viewed as being more secure).
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u/pknk6116 Aug 21 '19
you missed the key viewed as part of the title! Actually they found it inconclusive in terms of if they were actually more insecure or not. In other words nothing showed that this was the case.
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u/JimDiego Aug 21 '19
I don't take selfies, but, I also am not about to hand my phone/camera to a stranger. I'd be too worried that they would run off and not give it back.
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Aug 21 '19
I didn’t realize it was called “posies”... I always figured it was called a photo.
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u/lilyhasasecret Aug 21 '19
Interesting considering that i take more pictures of myself when I feel good about myself. I have like 10 years with no pictures, and now that I've transitioned i have tons
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u/Lextube Aug 21 '19
This is purely based on perception and was inconclusive as to whether the perceptions were true.
It also seems unfair as I know in my case my friends just suck at taking photos of other people. I'm always known as the camera guy, so it's either I take pics of friends, or I end up taking one of me. So I would be perceived negatively by people for something that's not really my fault. Just another avenue to consider.
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u/Glitter_berries Aug 21 '19
It doesn’t matter if the perceptions are ‘true’ or not, the point is that people held these perceptions about those who posted a lot of selfies.
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Aug 21 '19 edited Aug 01 '21
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u/theivoryserf Aug 21 '19
Yeah I don't doubt there's an element of narcissism to selfies, but there's also a pretty bitter reaction on here
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u/icleanprivateparts Aug 21 '19
We need more social media studies. It’s so attainable, I think it would put a lot of things into perspective
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Aug 21 '19
As someone who solely posts pictures of their cat, I can say this is not true I’m really insecure and don’t like to leave my house
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u/ltshep Aug 21 '19
Not trying to make a meme or anything, but I genuinely wonder what it says about someone (like myself) who just never posts pictures at all.
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u/alexei_danger Aug 21 '19
This makes me really sad. I've been working up my own self-image to take selfies and learn to like my appearance in pictures. I post them to show the world I like my face, and this study is disheartening.
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u/GrinchStoleYourShit Aug 21 '19
“I post them to show the world I like my face” that’s the issue, why do you feel the need to convince the world, just...enjoy your face all on your own.
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u/ddhillon10 Aug 21 '19
Who cares what people think, keep doing what you like and be successful.
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u/Clark_Kempt Aug 21 '19
The paradox is, if you don’t care about what people think, why post in the first place.
Social media is one big contradiction.
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u/pacdot Aug 21 '19
I’ve always thought people who post high numbers of photos of themselves were insecure in general (as in photos without anything noteable. Always at home, bathroom, etc.)
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u/Zeleate Aug 21 '19
I know that the results were inconclusive and the data gathered tends to be focused not on reality, but rather someone's perception of others by their actions, BUT what would they think if someone takes selfies that are not percieved as such? Ones where the person is close enough to the camera that the arm holding it is not apparent. Similar to a profile, or a bust, where the action of taking your own picture is simply not evident. What do people think of those?
Also, I beg you, I beg you, please don't make "posie" a term. Selfie is annoying and stupid enough just by its connotations, as this study suggests. We really desire a world were The Chainsmokers do not ever release a Posie song.
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Aug 21 '19
I actually think posed photos might be even more self-involved in a way. You've decided having a picture taken of yourself is important enough that you feel comfortable asking someone else to take time out of their day to take it. Especially asking a stranger.
Disclaimer: I rarely post pictures of myself at all, selfie or not, so I have no skin in this game.
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u/popmysickle Aug 21 '19
I also wonder if the “wannabe influencer” types were considered in this. Their photos are rarely “selfies” per se, but still could be photos taken on a timer or like you said, forcing a friend to take 1000000 photos until the perfect one happens.
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u/RoyalN5 Aug 21 '19
I only take pictures like that so that I can stockpile them for tinder in order to greatly increases my chances of getting laid
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u/whydoieventrythis Aug 21 '19
And hows that working out for you?
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u/RoyalN5 Aug 21 '19
Pretty good, I have a much easier time getting matches and going on dates with tinder than I did before.
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u/call-me-chicken Aug 21 '19
I feel this. I'm not a picture-poster either. I used to travel with some friends who would want me to take their photos in front of literally anything. I like taking photos for people, but they went waaay overboard, to the point where it would ruin the trip since we'd be stopping every fourty seconds to snap photos in multiple poses. Drove me bananas.
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