If you care what other people think of your social media posts, you may want to think twice before uploading selfies (自拍照), according to research from psychologists at Washington State University( WSU).
WSU psychology professor Chris Barry worked with WSU students, as well as researchers from the University of Southern Mississippi to design a project. The team asked 30 students at the Mississippi school to fill out personality questionnaires and allow researchers to use their 30 most recent Instagram posts. Those 900 pictures were shown to 119 WSU students, who were asked to judge the Mississippi school students on 13 attributes(特质) such as self-absorption, self-respect, dependability and likability.
"The study found that people who posted a lot of selfies were almost commonly viewed as less pleasant, less successful and more insecure than those who posted more' posies'-that is, traditionally posed photos that appear to be taken by someone else, "Barry said.
Those without a friend available to take a picture can try using a self-timer to take their own posed photos from farther away than at arm's length. The WSU researchers found that even if a photo that appears to be a" posies" was, in fact, taken by the subject, it was still considered more positively than obvious selfies.
Thus, Keely Kolmes, a San Francisco- based psychologist with expert knowledge in social media matters, suggests not being concerned about social media. "Though it is kind of difficult when we focus on the number of likes or how many followers we have or the number of interactions," said Keely Kolmes. "We should unplug (拔去电源插头) once in a while. Get out in nature, connect with friends outside of technology and remember that there is a better world outside your phone, too."
