Selfie Addiction - Treatment, Symptoms and Causes

Technological advancements have added many gems to the society but there has always been a black mirror associated with its flipside. One of the images on this black mirror is that of selfie addiction. The trend of taking selfies is on the rise since the onset of this decade. Smartphone has intruded in our daily life so much that life seems impossible without it. As smartphone is to life, same is the relation between selfie camera and smartphones. Oxford English Dictionary had described “Selfie” as word of the year in 2013.

As trending as selfie has been, so is the rising concern of health experts towards the birth of a new concept, selfie addiction. Selfie addiction refers to the addiction described through a chain of reactions, which starts with the taking your own photograph(selfie) and is coupled with posting that selfie on social networking sites and then waiting for your friends’ comments on those selfies. People get so much involved in their selfies that their life gets frozen in the moment captured in those photographs. Life becomes a story told with the help of these countless selfies, or rather, a display of synthetic emotions.

Symptoms of selfie addiction, or selfitis as some professionals choose to call it, can vary according to the severity of the problem:

• Borderline Selfitis-This serves as an initial identifier of the underlying developing condition where the individual takes multiple selfies but does not post them on social media.

• Acute Selfitis- A condition in which the addict takes multiple selfies of himself/ herself and shares all of them on various social media platforms.

• Chronic Selfitis-The addict, under this condition feels an insatiable feeling to continously click his/her selfies and is unable to remove the thought of clicking more .

Apart from them,

• An urge to get a perfect shot.

• A constant desire to check the comments and no. of likes on the selfie posted

Cognitive behavioral therapy is the most significant treatment for selfie disorder.

1. It is necessary to understand that the desire of the addicted is to put himself in a position of power. So alternatives should be suggested to the addicted to make him realize his worth. Counselling should be done to make the affected self-confident

1. Sessions must be organized where the people :

1. Find their self-worth by helping those who have less than they do.

1. Find their realization of intimacy and valued relations by forming real, and powerful connections with people.

The treatment of selfie addiction is not the prohibition of selfie posting because that leaves an open void, rather proper distractions must be created to fill this void through other, more immaterial ways.

Selfitis is a very new addition to the dictionary of addictions, hence it is still under the research period and proper medications and treatments have not been yet developed. So the best way to tackle this addiction is to curb this evil viper before it even raises its head. In a nutshell, prevention is the best cure. Following may be some of the prevention techniques :

• Involvement in group activities and a feeling of togetherness shall enhance the feeling of self-worth.

• Proper counseling must be done to keep one’s life happy so as to fill all voids and the very need of selfies is countered.

• Proper monitoring of children’s cell phone activities by parents.

A sudden withdrawal may have some unwanted consequences. The withdrawal is marked with certain symptoms:

• Constant restlessness and irritation

• An abrupt change in behavior towards the peer.

• Lack of self-confidence

• A decline in self-esteem and self-worth

• A feeling of loneliness and loss of contact with the surrounding

Withdrawal from selfie addiction is a tough step, but it is important to realize that selfie addiction is actually a situation of a misshaped perspective. The desire of worth and self-esteem can be fulfilled by other immaterial means than a selfie. The addicted must realize that the web of connectivity that one develops through selfie posts is actually a cobweb and the longer they stay on it, the greater are the risks.