“Selfitis” – the obsession of taking selfies on smartphones – may be a real disorder that requires treatment, according to a study conducted in India.
Researchers at Nottingham Trent University in the UK and the Thiagarajar School of Management (TSM) in Tamil Nadu began investigating the phenomenon after a hoax story appeared in the media in 2014 claiming ‘selfitis’ had been termed as a genuine mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association.
They have now confirmed its existence and developed the ‘Selfitis Behaviour Scale’ which can be used to assess its severity. The scale was developed using a large number of focus groups with 200 participants and the scale was tested via 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 is defined as taking selfies at least three times a day but not posting them on social media.
Acute selfitis describes taking selfies at least three times a day and posting each one on social media. Chronic selfitis is the uncontrollable urge to take photos of one self round the clock and posting the photos on social media more than six times a day, researchers said.
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Source: Hindustan times