Selfies do not cause low self-esteem
- Dec 21, 2016
- 1 min read
A new study making the rounds on social media links selfies with having low self-esteem and life satisfaction. Today’s age is dominated by social media, selfies and technology, but the question is whether selfies are a bad thing.
This opinion article was originally featured in PantherNOW and examines whether taking selfies is dangerous to one's self esteem.
Check out the article’s excerpt below and click the link if you want to read the full story!
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Maytinee Kramer/Staff Writer
A new study making the rounds on social media links selfies with having low self-esteem and life satisfaction. Today’s age is dominated by social media, selfies and technology, but the question is whether selfies are a bad thing. While there is no definite answer, I don’t think selfies are the cause of low self-esteem. Rather, the comments that follow, and self-objectification is the cause.
Two graduate students at Penn State University conducted a study called Let Me Take a Selfie to analyze the effects of looking at others’ selfies rather than taking them. 255 survey responses showed that people who lurked a lot on social media had lower opinions of themselves.
This can be explained through the “upward social comparison theory,” which is when people view others’ pictures and feel like their own lives don’t measure up.
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Photo Credit: Flickr
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