Selfies, Self-Esteem, and Narcissism

• Numerous opposing articles have attempted to describe and guess which factors are involved in posting selfies online. Nevertheless, their conclusions are just mere conjecture that have not been empirically proven.
  • Several have argued that it is caused by narcissistic or attention-seeking behavior.
  • Some have suggested that repeated attempts to achieve the “perfect selfie” can prolong one’s insecurities and amplify their self-consciousness. Moreover, one’s self-esteem is at risk when no positive feedback is received.
  • Others have argued that it has a positive effect: selfies are a form of self-exploration that strengthens authenticity and self-esteem.
  • Others view it as a means of communication.

Dimensions of Narcissism

• Nonpathological narcissism is characterized by the following traits:
  • vanity;
  • efforts to demonstrate one’s superiority over others;
  • entitlement to positive feedback; and
  • the desire to be the primary focus of others.
• Pathological grandiose narcissism is characterized by the following traits:
  • inclination to exploit others for the sake of fulfilling social goals;
  • deceiving attempts to appear helpful for the sake of a better image;
  • fantasies of one’s superiority
• Pathological vulnerable narcissism is characterized by the following traits:
  • strongly depends on others’ appraisal;
  • overly concerned with the rejection of others; and
  • desire to detach from others to protect one from ego threats.

Why Actively Posting in Social Media Might Be Related to Narcissism

• Narcissism includes being engrossed in the favorable regard by others.
  • Nevertheless, the fragile self-esteem of a narcissistic person may prevent them from frequently posting selfies. Similarly, a person with low self-confidence due to low self-esteem/self-worth may also avoid frequently posting selfies.
  • Narcissism is characterized by an overambitious self presentation—which is caused by the need to regulate self esteem. For this reason, narcissism may be involved with how some people interact with social media considering that self-presentation and feedback is one of its primary components.
• Self-reported frequency of selfies was strongly correlated with self-reported narcissism.
• Narcissism involves the desire to have a large social network and the concern for others’ attention.
• Narcissists use social media to present a positive image of oneself. This is exemplified by the selection of profile photos that highlights one’s physical attractiveness or personality. Hence, narcissists can use selfies to easily self-present—in a confident manner—and garner positive feedback.
  • This act positively correlates with nonpathological and grandiose narcissism.
• Some studies reveal that narcissistic individuals tend to post more and reveal more. To be more specific, narcissistic people tend to post profile-pictures that were self-promoting, sexy, and fun.

Self-esteem and Social Media

• Global self-esteem pertains to the approval and disapproval of one’s self. Unlike narcissism, it does focus on the appraisals of others nor one’s superiority over others.
• Unlike narcissism, the act of seeking to feedback through social media does not say something about one’s self-esteem.
  • Nevertheless, one’s self-esteem can still be affected by social media. Selective self-presentation can boost self-esteem because it may lead to positive feedback unique to social media, while the abundant opportunities to compare oneself to others, and the potential negative/non-existent feedback may result in lower self-esteem.
• Findings regarding the correlation between social media use and self-esteem have been mixed: positive, negative, or no correlation.
  • Studies show that self-esteem seems to improve when one browses their own Facebook page, presumably because it contains self-selected information.
• Individuals with low-self esteem tend to remove their unflattering photos online. Nevertheless, they have been associated with greater displays of self-promotion.
• Frequent selfie posting might indicate high self-esteem or at least enhance it because it usually emphasizes one’s ideal and controlled image. Furthermore, it might correspond with an overall elevated self-perception

NOTE

The primary motive for using social media is to satisfy the need to belong or the need for self-presentation

Conclusions Based on the Results of the Study Involving Selfies, Self-esteem, and Narcissism

• Self-esteem and self-reported narcissism (in relation to posting selfies) were not strongly related.
• Selfies are likely just a common way of communication among the young generation.
• The number of followers were positive correlated with the frequency of selfie posting. This suggests that there is a higher demand for selfies when there is a larger audience.
• Lack of selfies was correlated with fragile/low self-esteem, which might be caused by the fear of negative feedback or no positive feedback.
• The significant variability in the results might imply that there are other intraindividual factors that are neither captured by either self-esteem nor narcissism
  • factors may include the following:
    • age - might play a role considering that there is a greater frequency of posting among the youth
    • gender
    • race/ethnicity
    • culture
• The theme of the selfies displays the communicative intent and self-perception better than examining the frequency of posting selfies—since posting selfies seems to be the norm.
• Vulnerable self-esteem was more associated with selfies that highlights one’s physical appearance.
  • Individuals that took these types of selfies reported to possess some of the following characteristics:
    • entitlement to positive feedback;
    • fragile self-esteem; and
    • inclination to hide self-perceived flaws.
  • Physical appearance selfies were strongly correlated with hiding the self and devaluing others or the need for others.
• Social media allows one to control their audience and selectively hide one’s flaws and emphasize one’s strengths (especially through editing and picking the best photos). As a result, it provides a safe space for narcissists to assert a sense of confidence.
• Collages containing multiple selfies was correlated with non-pathological narcissism, it is particularly positively correlated with vanity and superiority sub-scales but negatively correlated with the need for feedback.
  • Nevertheless, it was also correlated with higher number of followers. Therefore, it might just indicate that someone is more skilled with photo-editing or knowing trends in social media since higher followers imply more selfies posted, higher social media usage, or higher demand for photos.
• The number of selfies taken with others—particularly one that appears to not focus on one’s appearance—is negative correlated with grandiose narcissism, suggesting that one has better interpersonal relationships and is less likely to exploit others for social goals.
  • One theory for why this happens might be because a grandiose narcissistic individual might prefer to not seem equal or inferior to others; hence, they avoid taking pictures with other people.
  • It could also just mean that their narcissism causes them to have less relationships.
• The amount of selfies posted and social media usage is not correlated with one’s self-esteem.
• The results of the study indicate that the motives behind self-presentation is consistent with narcissistic tendencies—self-presentation is prioritized over belongingness. This tracks with narcissists sacrificing communality in order to emphasize individual qualities and satisfy social goals.

Sources

1. Christopher T. Barry, Hannah Doucette, Della C. Loflin, Nicole Rivera-Hudson, Lacey L. Herrington, Psychology of Popular Media Culture, “‘Let me take a selfie’: Associations between self-photography, narcissism, and self-esteem“ - 2015