A new study says that guys who post lots of selfies show higher measures of narcissism and psychopathy.
“It’s not surprising that men who post a lot of selfies and spend more time editing them are more narcissistic, but this is the first time it has actually been confirmed in a study,” said Ohio University professor Jesse Fox, lead author of the study, in a statement.
“The more interesting finding is that they also score higher on this other anti-social personality trait, psychopathy, and are more prone to self-objectification.”
Fox and Margaret Rooney, a graduate student, conducted the study.
They also found that men who often edited their selfies before posting them online scored even higher in the measures.
The men who post a lot of selfies aren’t necessarily narcissists or psychopaths--all of the men in the study scored within a normal range of behavior--but the findings indicate that they are more anti-social.
Narcissism is marked by a belief that you’re smarter, more attractive and better than others, but with some underlying insecurity, the researchers noted. Psychopathy involves a lack of empathy and regard for others and a tendency toward impulsive behavior.
The study had 800 men between 17 and 41 years old complete an online survey. The men were drawn in through an unnamed magazine.
The survey asked how often they post pictures, as well as whether they edit their photos before posting.
Fox noted that editing pictures was linked in the study to self-objectification,which involves valuing yourself mainly for your appearance.
We know that self-objectification leads to a lot of terrible things, like depression and eating disorders in women,“ Fox said. ”With the growing use of social networks, everyone is more concerned with their appearance. That means self-objectification may become a bigger problem for men, as well as for women.”
