Social Media is changing us - the way we live, the way we communicate, and the way we think about ourselves.
Selfies have become so popular in the last couple of years, that it's even hard to imagine a world without it.
A few years back a selfie seemed like a strange new word that no one really used, but nowadays everyone knows what it means.

Some people tend to publish their whole lives on social media, and selfies are an inseparable pat of this.

Since this has become such a huge phenomenon, more and more psychologists are studying social media and its effect on our life.
Posting so much of ourselves online, and of course, only certain things that represent us in the right way, has been closely linked to narcissism.

Studies by the Australian National University have shown that 75% of all selfies are posted by women, and 10% of people are doing it purely to build an online following and receive paid sponsorship deals one day.

But what are the other reasons for posting selfies on social media then?

A new study from the Brigham Young University, published in "Visual Communication Quarterly" actually suggests that there are three types of selfie-posters - communicators, autobiographers, and self-publicists. And none of them strictly have to be narcissists.
The study was conducted by interviewing the participants about their motivation to post on social media, and specifically what role selfies play in this.

"We just saw all of the research saying that selfie takers were narcissists. We recognized that our own motivations for engaging in this practice were much more layered than simple narcissism. Selfie takers are a diverse, vibrant group of people with a complex combination of motivations."

-Lead author Steve Holiday

The most retweeted picture in the world that "broke the internet": Ellen DeGeneres' Oscar Selfie

Communicators

Communicators use Selfies as a tool to engage conversation about a certain topic.
This might be just a way of communicating to friends, but could also be to spark interest in a political or controversial topic, or raise awareness amongst the follower base.
Recent examples were people taking selfies showing that they've voted in the US election, that they support gay/women rights, or environmental causes.

Justin Timberlake encouraging his followers to vote in the US-Election 2016

Autobiographers

The primary motivation for these types of selfie-takers is simply to document their life in a "scrapbook" kind of style.
And while this might be one of the primary reasons that social media even exists, these types of people document their life without looking for the appreciation, "likes" and comments.
Of course they still want others to see it otherwise they wouldn't post it publicly, but they're not looking for the same kind of engagement as communicators do.

Austronaut Scott Kelly documenting his year in space

Self-Publicists

This small group consists of the stereotypical selfie-takers that encourage the link between Selfies and narcissism.
They post selfies to present a very specific image of themselves, and are very certain about how they want to come across on social media.
“In documenting and sharing their lives, they’re hoping to present themselves and their stories in a positive light," said Harper Anderson, a coauthor of the research paper.
Many hollywood- and social media stars that are often criticized for narcissism, for example the Kardashians, belong to this category.

Kim Kardashian posts Selfies as a way to influence her public image, and even released a book full of Selfies

Of course, there are other types of Selfies too...
For example artsy / creative ones, or motivational / inspirational selfies.

Which type of selfie-taker are you?

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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