Hugh: Study Shows the Reason People Like Taking Selfies isn’t Necessarily About Vanity

How many times a week would you say you take a selfie? You see them everywhere on social media, but have you ever stopped to wonder why people like taking back-facing photos of themselves so much? If your first guess was vanity or attention-seeking, you may not be correct. Of course, there are definitely many cases where pride is the primary motivator, but in general, there seems to be something else at play. According to research done by the Ohio State University, the drive to take “third-person photos” largely comes from a desire to capture the bigger meaning of a moment. Through asking people to evaluate selfies compared to first-person, forward-facing photos, the study found that the latter made people think of the physical experience being captured. With a selfie, on the other hand, the photo did a better job of capturing feeling. Think about it, if you’re at the beach with a friend, a photo of what’s ahead of you may make you think of sand, water, and sun. A picture of you and your friend’s faces at the beach, however, displays emotion and may trigger the ideas like togetherness or escape. There’s more to a selfie than just a face.