Here’s How Selfies Could Be Hurting Your Relationship
Thanks to new selfie gadgets and filters that can make you feel impossibly fabulous at any given time, it sometimes seems that all of us turn our cameras on our own faces more than anything else. With so many options for editing and sharing our photos, how can we help but document ourselves at every moment of the day?
We hate to be the bearers of bad news (and we definitely aren’t ready to give up taking selfies entirely), but according to a recent study published in Telematics and Informatics, snapping pics of ourselves may have a negative impact on our relationships. Researchers surveyed 1,225 people about their experiences with selfies and their significant others. The questions covered everything from how frequently participants took selfies of themselves to how they felt about their partners posting photos of all kinds on social media.
The general consensus from the survey was that selfies don’t do us any favors when it comes to love. Here are the other findings:
1. Taking excessive selfies may be seen as a sign of low self-esteem. Survey results indicated that selfie photogs who spend lots of time working on photo shoots of themselves — or who upload their selfies impulsively — may lack self-confidence. Since confidence is key to making relationships work, it’s no surprise that a behavior linked to self-doubt could be a turn-off for your bae.
2. Jealousy can become a real problem. According to the survey, people with selfie-loving S.O.s often experience more feelings of jealousy in their relationships. The link between jealousy and selfies was especially strong between partners who were both active on social media and were therefore interacting with each other’s photos online.
3. Using selfies to create the “perfect online persona” can lead to conflict. Why so much jealousy? Study results showed that participants often felt their partners were working too hard at perfecting their online personas. When your significant other sees you investing so much time and energy in looking good for social media and then watches as you put that version of yourself on display for all of your networks to see, jealousy can easily be the result. Your partner may be particularly upset if they see you presenting an image of yourself that isn’t entirely authentic.
4. Your S.O. may see your selfies as over-communication. Communication is supposed to be the foundation of a good relationship, but if you’re taking too many photos of yourself and sharing them in too many places, your partner might feel like it’s a little TMI. Researchers suggest that people who indulge too heavily in taking and posting selfies are in danger of over-communicating with their loved ones.
These results definitely don’t mean that we need to give up on Snapchatting and ‘gramming our most beautiful pics forever, but they have given us some things to think about. To make sure that your relationship isn’t set off course for the sake of a good selfie, we recommend taking some time to consider if your self-photography hobby is getting out of hand — your S.O.’s feelings are worth putting down the selfie stick.
Have selfies affected your relationship? Tweet us @BritandCo!
(Photos via Getty)