3 Reasons Selfie Addiction may Cause Narcissim, Mental Illness and Addiction
Selfie is the newest word in the dictionary and it is popular as ever. From Facebook to Twitter, everybody and their grandma has a selfie. But according to expert Dr. David Veal, an addiction to selfies may cause mental illness including narcissism. Listed here are some psychological disorders that may be caused due to selfie addiction.
1. Body dysmorphic disorder
Body dysmorphic disorder is a type of psychological disorder in which you tend to excessively focus upon flaws in your physical appearance, and most likely the flaw is imagined. People suffering from body dysmorphic disorder obsess over their appearance all the time. They are never satisfied with how they look and the perceived flaw can cause depression, and an inability to function in daily life. People suffering from Body dysmorphic disorder seek out numerous cosmetic procedures or excessively exercise to try to “fix” the perceived flaws, but are never satisfied.
Dr. Veal states that “Two out of three of all the patients who come to see me with Body Dysmorphic Disorder since the rise of camera phones have a compulsion to repeatedly take and post selfies on social media sites. Cognitive behavioral therapy is used to help a patient to recognize the reasons for his or her compulsive behavior and then to learn how to moderate it.”
2. Narcissism
People suffering from narcissism have a greater tendency to shoot selfies. The vanity of seeing photos of yourself everywhere, especially on social media for the instant gratification of being liked is a classic case of narcissistic personality disorder. If this behavior is not kept in check, the narcissism will continue to grow.
3. Obsessive compulsive disorder
The obsession to click the perfect photo can be severely damaging to the mind. Danny Bowman, 19 who was diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder, developed a selfie addiction in which he took up to 200 photos of himself a day! When he couldn’t take a perfect selfie, Bowman resorted to suicide by taking an overdose of drugs.
Bowman says, “With modern technology, it (the addiction) can actually be quite severe. This kind of thing can happen to anyone.”
