Do You Know What "Selfitis" Is?

Source: Photo courtesy of Jenny Januszewski

While perusing my morning Google Alerts, “Selfitis and Body Image Satisfaction Among Undergraduates in a Nigerian Private University” (Olabisi et al., 2024) stood out. I started to feel nervous because I’m presenting on the intersection of social media and mental health soon. Yet I had never heard of the condition “selfitis.”

I began reading the study published in the International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences (Olibisi et al., 2024). It described selfiitis as “a mental disorder known as the obsessive-compulsive behavior of taking pictures of oneself (selfies) and posting them on social media as a way of boosting self-esteem or covering up for low self-esteem.” The authors pointed out that selfitis is currently a “major concern for mental health practitioners globally.”

What?! I felt confused, and imposter syndrome crept in. I mean, I have some expertise in social media literacy and am a specialist in eating and body image issues. When I didn’t know anything about selfitis, I questioned both. (Come on, don’t judge! Anyone who deals with imposter syndrome understands this feeling.)

Next, I did what I do when I’m befuddled: I searched the internet for information. I looked at a few articles in peer-reviewed journals that included selfitis in their titles. Then finally, “An Exploratory Study of ‘Selfitis’ and the Development of the Selfitis Behavior Scale,” published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction (Balakrishnan and Griffiths, 2018), shed some light: reportedly a 2014 article titled “American Psychiatric Association Makes It Official: ‘Selfie’ A Mental Disorder” kicked off the prank that became practical and scientific.

That 2014 article in the Adobo Chronicles claimed that the American Psychiatric Association had classified the disorder during its annual board of directors meeting in Chicago. “Selfitis,” as it was titled, was reportedly defined as “the obsessive-compulsive desire to take photos of one’s self and post them on social media as a way to make up for the lack of self-esteem and to fill a gap in intimacy.” It included three levels:

• Borderline (taking three selfies a day but not posting them)
• Acute (taking three or more selfies a day and posting them)
• Chronic (basically round-the-clock selfie shots and posting six or more times daily)

No cure had been found, but cognitive behavioral therapy was recommended as a temporary treatment.

That article contained false news. Nevertheless, the story rapidly spread to various outlets, and what probably began as a ruse—likely a commentary on society’s fixation on selfies—quickly started to command real research. By 2017, the concept had been empirically explored, and an instrument for assessing selfitis, the Selfitis Behavior Scale (SBS), had been developed (Balakrishnan and Griffiths, 2018). As evidenced by the 2024 piece I ran into, studies have continued to incorporate the condition.

What an odd start for a term. Selfitis became a condition probably mainly because that untrue article stated it as fact.

Three Lessons From the Origin of “Selfitis”

This experience reminds me of three lessons we, human beings, repeatedly learn.

1. In this time of rapid-spreading misinformation, we need to be careful of automatically believing (and sharing) what we read. Even pieces that look official may not be trustworthy. Vet. In this case, it turned out that the “news” was legitimate enough to become historic. Obviously, that’s not always the case.

Source: Pixabay/Ben_Kerckx

2. Being “obsessed” with anything—let alone images of ourselves—can diminish our overall mental wellness. (So, if you identify with selfitis, such as feeling compelled to share and compare your selfies with others, you may benefit from speaking with a therapist.) Not only can obsessions and compulsions diminish our quality of life and well-being, but social comparisons, like we do when we scroll through others’ accounts, have been repeatedly associated with crashing self-esteem for vulnerable people.

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3. Let’s talk about the gift of imposter syndrome. It tends to make people check (and double-check) their correctness and assuredness. (For example, without it, I’d not have been able to share this funky, interesting history of a newish mental condition with you!) If you look for the benefits of your and others’ imposter syndrome, you’ll find them.

Finally, revisiting the journal publication that sparked this blog, the results from “Selfitis and Body Image Satisfaction Among Undergraduates in a Nigerian Private University” may interest you regarding the current status of selfitis. In a sample of 440 participants:

• More than half of the undergraduates had borderline selfitis (taking three a day but not posting).
• About one-third fell into the chronic selfitis category (lots of taking and posting).

Regarding body image, not surprisingly, the data showed a negative correlation between body image satisfaction and selfitis behaviors. It stands to reason that posting a ton of selfies to feel better about ourselves can backfire and make us feel worse.

Oh, in case you’re wondering, I might mention selfitis in my presentation, but probably not. I wouldn’t want to confuse an audience of practitioners by introducing a mental condition that exists unofficially but also officially. It is not codable or included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. So, on second thought, let’s keep the history of selfitis between you and me.