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Forbes
29-05-2025
- Health
- Forbes
2 Things Taking ‘Selfies' Says About Your Personality— By A Psychologist
Selfies are more than just a nice picture — here's how they fulfill the fundamental human need for ... More self-preservation. A selfie or a self-photograph, is used to capture and present one's appearance, experiences or emotions in a way that is instantly shareable. They can range from casual snapshots to more curated or edited images. A 2023 survey by PhotoAiD found that 60% of Americans take selfies at least once a week. While selfies are often dismissed as a sign of vanity, recent research reveals that there's more to them than meets the eye. Here are two unexpected reasons why people take selfies, according to research. A 2024 study published in Psychological Reports found that a higher frequency of selfie-taking and sharing is associated with 'death anxiety,' which refers to the deep-seated fear of one's mortality. By capturing and sharing images of themselves, individuals may be attempting to create a sense of permanence in an impermanent world. The act of taking selfies can be a way to cope with the fear of death by leaving behind a visual record of one's existence. In this way, selfies serve as a symbolic form of immortality, helping people manage their existential fears by preserving their identity in a digital format that outlasts their physical presence. 'People are motivated to decrease their death anxiety by preserving a fake feeling of immortality. The motivation to remain immortal is strong, expressed by many different attempts to 'leave something behind.' One known way to achieve this goal is by using photography,' the researchers explain. Researchers also found that those with narcissistic tendencies tend to experience higher levels of death anxiety, which in turn may lead them to taking more selfies. Narcissistic individuals often place a heightened focus on their self-image and personal significance. When confronted with the reality of mortality, they may feel an amplified threat to their sense of importance and attempt to assert control over their legacy through these pictures. Selfies can be powerful tools to communicate one's identity, offering a way for individuals to express who they are, how they see themselves and how they wish to be perceived by others. A 2017 study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that individuals who tend to highlight their strengths and achievements to create a positive impression or share personal feelings to create emotional connections with others feel more positive about taking selfies. Interestingly, participants also believed that their own selfies were more authentic and self-ironic compared to others, possibly as a way to fulfill their self-presentation needs without feeling overly narcissistic. Additionally, research shows that people often use selfies to maintain social contacts and exchange information, with those most active on social media reporting higher psychological well-being tied to their interactions with others. For these individuals, selfies serve as a bridge between their personal identity and their social networks, allowing them to experience a sense of belonging and validation from others. Moreover, selfies can play a crucial role in expressing and affirming group identities. A 2019 study published in the International Journal of Communication suggests that individuals use selfies to signal various aspects of their social identity, such as race, gender and sexual orientation. 'Race is a group marker and can be celebrated in a variety of ways: language, clothes, hair, music, tattoos. Participants reported that they take selfies to say something about who they are, connect with others, feel better about themselves, feel empowered and identify with others like themselves,' the researchers explain. 'LGBTQ participants were also more likely to use activist and political events as selfie contexts and to engage in online activism. This, then, is something apart from the narcissism that is often associated with selfies. Instead, it appears that selfies can be used to make a personal and/or political statement,' the researchers add. So, selfies are not necessarily a sign of self-indulgence. Instead, they are a way for individuals to navigate and articulate their place in the world, reflecting their ongoing search for meaning, connection and personal expression. Curious if you experience death anxiety? Take this science-backed test to find out: Death Anxiety Scale
Forbes
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
A Psychologist Explains Our ‘Parasocial' Obsession With Celebrity Love
It's one thing to admire a celebrity's work — but it's another to feel emotionally invested in their ... More love life, as if it somehow affects our own. Here's why we do it. We live in a world where a famous couple's breakup can feel like a personal betrayal, where fans grieve the end of a relationship they were never part of and where strangers on the internet passionately debate whether two people they've never met are truly meant to be. Sometimes, when a beloved celebrity couple falls apart, it's not just gossip — it's heartbreak on a global scale. But why do we care so much? Why does a celebrity engagement spark joy, and a high-profile split leave us reeling? The answer lies in understanding what fuels these 'parasocial relationships' — one-sided emotional connections to public figures that feel real, even when they aren't. Here are two key reasons why we care so much about celebrity love. Celebrity relationships often feel larger than life, but at their core, they mirror the same hopes, struggles and milestones we experience in our own love lives. When a beloved couple stays together, it reassures fans that love can endure — even under the pressures of fame. The couple's happiness becomes their happiness, reinforcing the belief that fairytale romances are possible. Take Zendaya and Tom Holland, for instance — their rumored engagement sparked widespread excitement. After years together, their relationship milestone isn't just meaningful for them but also for fans who have rooted for them since their Spider-Man days. Due to strong parasocial connections and emotional investment, their relationship is subject to the collective imagination of their audience. But the opposite is also true. When a high-profile couple splits, it can feel like a personal loss, not because fans know them personally, but because of what they represent. If even seemingly perfect couples can't make it work, what does that say about love in general? Research published in Psychological Reports in 2021 suggests that audiences' connections to media figures may mirror their real-life attachment styles — it's possible that people with more secure attachments view celebrity couples as aspirational but irrelevant to their love lives. They likely know that they have no personal stake in their connections and avoid getting too concerned with their private affairs, while those with more anxious attachment styles may relate to them and feel more emotionally entangled in their highs and lows. Alternatively, researchers also suggest that some fans may not see celebrities as attachment figures, but as symbolic companions that reinforce a sense of belonging. This sense of connection likely deepens their investment in their love lives. When a celebrity shares a seemingly 'private' moment online, it creates an illusion of intimacy — one that makes fans feel like insiders in a world they'll likely never access. We analyze their interviews, like their posts and celebrate their milestones as if they were our own. So, when their choices clash with our expectations — especially in love — it stings. Take Taylor Swift, for instance. To many fans, Swift is more than just a celebrity. She's a confidante, an older sister or even a moral compass. Her online presence and connection to her fans offers comfort to many, especially in challenging or lonely times. Fans also bond with such celebrities over shared values and perceived personality traits, deepening their emotional investment in them. This connection fuels fierce loyalty. When critics attack Swift, her fans defend her as if protecting a close friend. And because she holds such influence, her romantic life becomes more than tabloid fodder — it can feel personally significant. If she dates someone, fans scrutinize whether he's 'right' for her. But here's the uncomfortable truth about parasocial relationships with celebrities: No matter how beloved they are, we don't know them personally. Every Instagram post, every paparazzi shot or interview is just a fragment — stripped of context and filtered through layers of branding and public speculation. Fame comes with a strange trade-off: the more loved a celebrity is, the less their life feels like their own. Fans often feel entitled to opinions on who they date, how they behave and even when — or with whom — they should break up. However, real relationships are messy, private and full of complexities no tabloid can capture. The couple we think we know is just a story shaped by headlines, fan theories and our own projections of what we think they should be. While there's nothing wrong with enjoying celebrity love stories and rooting for our favorite stars, many forget that they're real people, not characters in rom-coms. We have no say in whether they stay together or not. Their relationships may give us something to believe in, something to root for and sometimes, something to escape into, but it's important to recognize when admiration turns into entitlement, or when our emotional investment in their love lives starts affecting our own. At the end of the day, the healthiest relationships we can nurture are the ones in our own lives. Instead of getting lost in the highs and lows of someone else's love story, we can channel that energy into building deeper, more fulfilling connections with the people we truly know and love. Wondering if you tend to form strong parasocial connections with celebrities? Take the science-backed Celebrity Attitude Scale test to find out.
