Is taking too many selfies bad for your health? Psychologists seem to think so, warning that ‘selfitis’ has become a genuine medical condition and those who feel compelled to post pics may be in need of help.

The term ‘selfitis,’ the obsessive taking of selfies, was originally coined in a fake-news story in 2014; but inspired an actual study conducted by psychologists Dr Janarthanan Balakrishnan and Dr Mark D. Griffiths from Nottingham Trent University.

The study explores the concept of selfitis, collecting data from 625 real university students to test out the supposed condition. The study broke down the condition into three described levels - borderline, acute, and chronic - and developed the Selfitis Behavior Scale.

Read more

‘Borderline’ cases are defined as people who take selfies three times a day (at a minimum), but do not post them on social media. ‘Acute’ sufferers actually post the selfies they take, and those suffering in the ‘chronic’ phase of the condition feel compelled to take selfies round the clock and post pictures online more than six times a day.

Balakrishnan said the research was conducted to help understand why people develop the obsessive tendency. “Typically, those with the condition suffer from a lack of self-confidence and are seeking to ‘fit in’ with those around them, and may display symptoms similar to other potentially addictive behaviors,” he said.

“Now that the existence of the condition appears to have been confirmed, it is hoped that further research will be carried out to understand more about how and why people develop this potentially obsessive behavior, and what can be done to help people who are the most affected.”

Professor of Psychological Medicine at King’s College London Sir Simon Wessely has poo-pooed the study, however, calling the research paper itself an “academic selfie.”

Read more

“The research suggests that people take selfies to improve their mood, draw attention to themselves, increase their self-confidence and connect with their environment,” he said.

Spokesman for the Royal College of Psychiatrists Dr Mark Salter echoed Wessely's skepticism.

"There is a tendency to try and label a whole range of complicated and complex human behaviors with a single word,” he said. “But that is dangerous because it can give something reality where it really has none.”

New technologically based mental-health disorders seem to be on the rise. ‘Nomophobia’ has popped up, which is the fear of not being near a mobile phone. ‘Technoference’ is now the name for the constant intrusion of technology in everyday life, and ‘cyberchondria’ is the compulsion of googling symptoms instead of visiting a doctor.