‘Selfitis’ is a genuine mental condition and people who feel compelled to continually post pictures of themselves on social media may need help, psychologists have warned.
The term was first coined in 2014 to describe obsessive selfie-taking in a spoof news story which suggested the American Psychiatric Association was considering classifying it as a disorder, according to a Telegraph report.
Following on from the hoax, researchers at Nottingham Trent Universityand Thiagarajar School of Management in India decided to investigate whether there was any truth in the phenomenon.
They have now confirmed the ‘selfitis’ does indeed exist and have even developed a ‘Selfitis Behaviour Scale’ which can be used to assess its severity.
Dr Mark Griffiths, Distinguished Professor of Behavioural Addiction in Nottingham Trent University’s Psychology Department, said: “A few years ago, stories appeared in the media claiming that the condition of selfitis was to be classed as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association.
The scale, which runs from one to 100 was developed using a large number of focus groups with 200 participants to determine what factors drove selfitis. It was scale tested using a survey of 400 participants.
Participants were based in India because the country has the most users on Facebook, as well as the highest number of deaths as a result of trying to take selfies in dangerous locations.
The findings, published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction confirmed that there are three levels of selfitis.
Borderline cases are people who take selfies at least three times a day, but do not post them on social media.
Next is the ‘acute’ phase of the disorder where the pictures are posted.
In the third ‘chronic’ stage, people feel an uncontrollable urge to take photos of one’s self round the clock, posting them more than six times a day.
Researchers found that typical ‘selfitis’ sufferers were attention seekers, often lacking in self confidence, who were hoping to boost their social standing and feel part of a group by constantly posting images of themselves.