Ammon – If you see someone taking a selfie, it’s easy to assume that they are a narcissist. But a new study suggests that this isn’t always the case.
Instead, the researchers say, selfies may serve as an aid to capture the deeper meaning of moments.
The team added that when we use first-person photography, we take a picture of the scene from our own perspective, because we want to document a physical experience.
“While there is sometimes a mockery of photo-taking practices in popular culture, selfies have the power to Helping people reconnect with their past experiences and build their own stories.”
“These selfies can document the greater meaning of a moment,” said Lisa Libby, a professor of psychology at Ohio State University. “It’s not just vanity that might be thought.”
As part of the study, experts conducted six experiments involving 2,113 participants.
In one, participants were asked to read a scenario in which they might want to take a photo, such as a day at the beach with a close friend, and rate the importance and feasibility of the experiment.
The researchers said the more participants rated the meaning of the event to them, the more likely they were to take a picture with themselves in it.
In another experiment, the participants examined the photos they posted on their Instagram accounts.
The results showed that if the photo shows the participant in the shot, they are more likely to say that the photo makes them think about the greater meaning of the moment.
Meanwhile, the researchers found that images showing what the scene looked like from their visual perspective made them think about the physical experience.
The scientists then asked the participants again to open their most recent Instagram post showing one of their photos.
They were asked if they were trying to capture the greater meaning or physical experience of the moment.
“We found that people didn’t like their photo as much if there was a mismatch between the perspective of the photo and their purpose for taking the photo,” Libby said.
For example, if they said their goal was to capture the meaning of the moment, the researchers said, they liked the photo more if it was taken with a third person, with them in the photo.
“This work suggests that people also have very personal motives for taking photos,” Nessi said.
“Daily Mail”
