The increasing popularity of selfies and social media made users vulnerable to excessive selfie-related behaviors. This maladaptive behavior can cause people to develop several mental disorders such as depression and body dysmorphic disorder. Thus, this study determined the relationship between selfie-taking behavior and narcissistic tendencies of selected college students. Selfitis Behavior Scale (SBS) and Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI-13) are research instruments used to measure selfie-taking behavior and narcissistic tendencies, respectively. The descriptive-correlational research revealed that 120 college students, selected through stratified sampling technique, are more likely to engage in selfie-taking behavior which in turn, may lead to narcissistic tendencies. Respondents showed high level of selfie-taking behavior and low level of narcissistic tendencies, therefore displaying ‘seldom narcissistic’ features. Only the frequency of selfies taken was significantly related to selfie-taking behavior. Selfie-taking behavior was also significantly related to narcissistic tendencies. Thus, this study concludes that selfie-taking and narcissistic behaviors can be positive and negative, influenced primarily by the motives of selfie-taking, and cultural differences play an important role in mediating selfie-taking and narcissistic behaviors. This study suggests a deeper exploration on the narcissistic tendencies and providing more specific details on the nature, causes, classification, as well as possible diagnostic criteria of these narcissistic features.
selfie, Selfie-taking behavior, narcissistic tendencies, college students
Valerie U. Aguilo. BS Psychology student, Laguna State Polytechnic University – San Pablo City Campus, Philippines
Adrian P. Gerente. BS Psychology student, Laguna State Polytechnic University – San Pablo City Campus, Philippines
Portia R. Marasigan. Associate Professor V, Laguna State Polytechnic University – San Pablo City Campus, Philippines
Amurao, R. M., & Castronuevo, E. (2016). Selfie Behavior and Narcissism among selected Females. The Bedan Journal Of Psychology, 24-31.
Aquino, J., Mendoza, R. (2017), Self-Esteem and Narcissistic Tendencies of Gays Who Participated in Pageants, 63.
Back, M. D., Küfner, A. C., Dufner, M., Gerlach, T. M., Rauthmann, J. F., & Denissen, J. J. (2013). Narcissistic admiration and rivalry: disentangling the bright and dark sides of narcissism. Journal of personality and social psychology, 105(6), 1013.
Baiocco, R., Chirumbolo, A., Bianchi, D., Ioverno, S., Morelli, M., Nappa, M.R. (2017). How hexaco personality traits predict different selfie-posting behaviors among adolescents and young adults. Front Psychology, 7, 2080.
Balakrishnan, J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2018). An Exploratory Study of “Selfitis” and the Development of the Selfitis Behavior Scale.International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 16, 722-736.
Barry, C. T., Doucette, H., Loflin, D. C., Rivera-Hudson, N., & Herrington, L. L. (2017). “Let me take a selfie”: Associations between self-photography, narcissism, and self-esteem. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 6(1), 48–60. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000089
Bergman, S.M., Fearrington, M.E., Davenport, S.W., Bergman, J.Z. (2011). Millennials, narcissism, and social networking: What narcissists do on social networking sites and why. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 706-711.
Bernarte, R. P., Festijo, A. I., Layaban, M. D., & Ortiz, S. U. (2015). Me, myself and i: What makes filipino millennials narcissist?. Asia Pacific Higher Education Research Journal (APHERJ), 2(1).
Bureau, E. (2019, June 16). Global addiction: Selfie facts and moments from around the world. The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
Carpenter, C. J. (2012). Narcissism on Facebook: Self-promotional and anti-social behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 52, 482–486. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.11.011
Chae, J. (2017). Virtual makeover: Selfie-taking and social media use increase selfie-editing frequency through social comparison. Computers in Human Behavior, 66, 370-376.
Charoensukmongkol, P. (2016). Exploring personal characteristics associated with selfie-liking. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 10(2). Retrieved November 25, 2019, from: https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2016-2-7.
Chaudhari, B. L., Patil, J. K., Kadiani, A., Chaudhury, S., & Saldanha, D. (2019). Correlation of motivations for selfie-posting behavior with personality traits. Industrial Psychiatry Journal, 28(1), 123–129. https://doi.org/10.4103/ipj.ipj_30_19
Chopik, W. J., . Grimm, K. J. (2019). Longitudinal changes and historic differences in narcissism from adolescence to older adulthood..Psychology and Aging, 34(8), 1109 DOI: 10.1037/pag0000379
DeWall, C. N., Buffardi, L. E., Bonser, I., & Campbell, W. K. (2011). Narcissism and implicit attention seeking: Evidence from linguistic analyses of social networking and online presentation. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 57–62. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.03.011
Dinhopl, A., & Gretzel, U. (2016). Selfie-taking as touristic looking. Annals of Tourism Research, 57, 126-139.
Durvasula, R. (2016, May). Speaking of Psychology: Recognizing a narcissist. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/.
Ehlin, L. (2014). The subversive selfie: redefining the mediated subject. Clothing Cultures, 2(1), 73-89.
Eler, A. (2013, November 20). Theory of the Selfie. Hyperallergic. https://hyperallergic.com/94461/theory-of-the-selfie/
Etgar S., Amichai-Hamburger Y. (2017). Not All Selfies Took Alike: Distinct Selfie Motivations Are Related to Different Personality Characteristics. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 842. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00842
Flaherty, G. T., & Choi, J. (2016). The ‘selfie’phenomenon: reducing the risk of harm while using smartphones during international travel. Journal of Travel Medicine, 23(2).
Fox, A. K., Bacile, T. J., Nakhata, C., & Weible, A. (2018). Selfie-marketing: exploring narcissism and self-concept in visual user-generated content on social media. Journal of Consumer Marketing.
Fox, J., & Rooney, M. C. (2015).The dark triad and trait self-objectification as predictors of men’s use and self-presentation behaviors on social networking sites. Personality and Individual Differences, 76, 161–165. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014 .12.017
Gentile, B., Miller, J. D., Hoffman, B. J., Reidy, D. E., Zeichner, A., & Campbell, W. K. (2013). A test of two brief measures of grandiose narcissism: the narcissistic personality inventory-13 and the narcissistic personality inventory-16. Psychological Assessment, 25(4), 1120-1136.
Gill T. (2015). Selfie The new age media trend. Masters degree. Chandigarh: Panjab University, Journalism and Mass Communication.
Gilliland, E. , Kiss, M. , Morrison, M. & Morrison, T. (2018). Characterological Correlates of Selfie Taking Behavior. Psychology, 9, 1530-1545. doi: 10.4236/psych.2018.96092.
Griffiths, M. D. (2018, October 17). Social Media, Selfies, and Addiction. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-excess/201810/social-media-selfies-and-addiction
Grijalva, E., Newman, D. A., Tay, L., Donnellan, M. B., Harms, P. D., Robins, R. W., & Yan, T. (2015). Gender differences in narcissism: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 141(2), 261–310. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038231
Hagen-Miller, L. (2018, April 4). Selfitis: What Is It? Who Has It?. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/do-you-know-somebody-who-suffers-from-selfitis
Halpern, D., Valenzuela, S., & Katz, J. E. (2016). “Selfie-ists” or “Narci-selfiers”?: A cross-lagged panel analysis of selfie taking and narcissism. Personality and Individual Differences, 97, 98-101.
Hernowo, F.& Mashoedi, S. (2018). The correlation of narcissism and selfie-posting behavior on Instagram among Millennials. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 139. doi:10.2991/uipsur-17.2018.31
Joy, D., & Venkatachalam, J. (2019). Personality and Selfie-Liking Behaviour among College Students. Research Journal of Social Sciences, 10(6).
Katz, J. E., & Crocker, E. T. (2015). Selfies| selfies and photo messaging as visual conversation: Reports from the United States, United Kingdom and China. International Journal of Communication, 9, 12.
Kaur S., Maheshwari S.K., Sharma P. (2018). Narcissistic personality and selfie taking behavior among college students, 56.
Kaur, S., & Vig, D. (2016). Selfie and mental health issues: An overview. Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing, 7(12), 1149-1152.
Koterba, E. A., Ponti, F., & Ligman, K. (2021). “Get out of my selfie!” Narcissism, gender, and motives for self-photography among emerging adults.Psychology of Popular Media, 10(1), 98-104.
Lancer, D. (2020) 4 Types of Narcissism Share This Trait. PsychCentral. https://psychcentral.com/lib/4-types-of-narcissism-share-this-trait#1
Liubinienė, V., & Keturakis, S. (2014). Reinventing one’s identity and simulacra of private life in cyberspace. Paper presented at the 9th Global Conference on Cybercultures, Lisbon, Portugal.
Ma, J. W., Yang, Y., & Wilson, J. A. (2017). A window to the ideal self: a study of UK Twitter and Chinese Sina Weibo selfie-takers and the implications for marketers. Journal of Business Research, 74, 139-142.
Malasig, J. (2018, November 1) Why Filipinos are taking selfies while inside a coffin. Interaksyon Philippine Star. https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-spotlights/2018/11/01/137208/why-filipinos-are-taking-selfies-while-inside-coffins/
Martin, S. R., Côté, S., & Woodruff, T. (2016). Echoes of our upbringing: How growing up wealthy or poor relates to narcissism, leader behavior, and leader effectiveness. Academy of Management Journal, 59(6), 2157-2177.
McCain, J. L., Borg, Z. G., Rothenberg, A. H., Churillo, K. M., Weiler, P., & Campbell, W. K. (2016). Personality and selfies: Narcissism and the Dark Triad. Computers in Human Behavior, 64, 126-133, ISSN 0747-5632, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.06.050.
Monacis, L., Griffiths, M., Limone, P., Sinatra, M., & Servidio, R. (2020). Selfitis behavior: Assessing the Italian version of the Selfitis Behavior Scale and its mediating role in the relationship of dark traits with social media addiction. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17. 5738. doi:10.3390/ijerph17165738.
Moon, J. H., Lee, E., Lee, J. A., Choi, T. R., & Sung, Y. (2016). The role of narcissism in self-promotion on Instagram. Personality and individual Differences, 101, 22-25.
Moore, A. (2020) 8 Types Of Narcissists & How To Distinguish Them. MindBodyGreen. https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/types-of-narcissists
Murray, D. C. (2015). Notes to self: the visual culture of selfies in the age of social media. Consumption Markets & Culture, 18(6), 490-516.
Nagalingam, S., Arumugam, B., & Preethy, S. P. (2019). Selfie addiction: the prodigious self-portraits. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 7(3), 694-698. http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20190919
Piff, P. K. (2014). Wealth and the inflated self: Class, entitlement, and narcissism. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(1), 34-43.
Reed, P., Bircek, N., Osborne, L., Viganò, C., Truzoli, R. (2018), Visual Social Media Use Moderates the Relationship between Initial Problematic Internet Use and Later Narcissism. The Open Psychology Journal, 11(1), 163 DOI: 10.2174/1874350101811010163
Reyes, M. E. S., Aquino, K. F. B. T., De Leon, C. J. O., Muñoz, A. P. P., & Davis, R. D. (2021). Me, Myself, & I: Narcissistic Personality Traits and Selfie Behavior Among Selected Filipinos. North American Journal of Psychology, 23(2).
Rutledge, P. (2013, April 18). #Selfies: Narcissism or self-exploration?. Psychology Today. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/ positively-media/201304/selfies narcissism-orself-exploration
Saito, I. (2010). Pakikisama: A Filipino Trait.
Seidman, G. (2020, August 23). Why Do People Take Selfies?. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/
Singh, D. & Lippmann, S. (2017). Selfie addiction. Internet and Psychiatry.
Sharma P. (2018). Rethinking Narcissism: The Bad – and Surprising Good – about Feeling Special. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 40(5), 500–501. https://doi.org/10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_136_18
Sorokowski, P., Sorowska, A., Oleszkiewicz, A., Frackowiak, T., Huk, A., & Pisanski, K. (2015). Selfie posting behaviors are associated with Narcissism in men. Personality and Individual Differences, 85, 123–127. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.05.004
Stieg, C. (2019) Narcissists are happier, tougher and less stressed, according to science.CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/31/study-narcissists-tend-to-be-happier-tougher-and-less-stressed.html
Sukhdeep, K., Maheshwari, S. K., & Sharma, P. (2018). Narcissistic personality and selfie taking behavior among college students. International Journal of Medical and Health Research, 4(5), 56-60.
Sung, Y., Lee, J., Kim, E., Choi, S.M. (2016). Why we post selfies: Understanding motivations for posting pictures of oneself. Personality and Individual Differences, 97, 260-265.
Vandali, V., & Biradar, R. (2018). Selfie Syndrome – A Mental Disorder. International Journal of Nursing Education and Research, 6(3), 287-289.
Veena, G.M.K. (2015). Perception towards capturing selfies and its impact among students of Mangalore University: a study. International Journal of Digital Library Services, 5(4).
Verma N, Pawar K.D., Somaiya M., Kedare J., Mehta F., Tyagi A., Gillurkar K. (2020) Selfie-taking behavior: Personality factors, self-esteem, and interpersonal closeness in college-going students in a Metropolitan City. Indian J Soc Psychiatry; 36(3), 230-235.
Weiser, E. B. (2015). # Me: Narcissism and its facets as predictors of selfie-posting frequency. Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 477-481.
Wang, Y., Wang, X., Liu, H., Xie, X., Wang, P., & Lei, L. (2020). Selfie posting and self-esteem among young adult women: A mediation model of positive feedback and body satisfaction. Journal of Health Psychology, 25(2), 161-172.
Wickel, T.M. (2015). Narcissism and Social Networking Sites: The Act of Taking Selfies. The Elton Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications. 6(1), 1-2.
Yungsoo S., Minji K., Chaerin Im., Sang Chul C. (2017). Selfie and self: The effect of selfies on self-esteem and social sensitivity. Personality and Individual Differences, 139, 139-145.
Zhang, F. R., Bi, N. C., & Ha, L. (2018). Motivations and Positive Effects of Taking, Viewing, and Posting Different Types of Selfies on Social Media: A Cross-National Comparison. In Selfies as a Mode of Social Media and Work Space Research (pp. 51-73). IGI Global.
Cite this article:
Aguilo, V.U., Gerente, A.P. & Marasigan, P.R. (2022). Selfie-taking behavior and narcissistic tendencies of college students. International Review of Social Sciences Research, 2(2), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.53378/352887
License:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) International License.