The selfie bug is catching on with adverse effects on mental health. It is not just the youth, even middle-aged men and women have fallen prey to the obsession. Mental health experts say selfie addiction can be linked to narcissism, low self-esteem and poor body image. Symptoms include irritability, drop in academic performance, and excessive grooming.
Recently, three people were admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, after suffering from selfie addiction. Now, doctors in Mumbai say they have come across similar cases.
Dr. Avinash Dsouza, a research associate with the civic-run Sion Hospital and psychiatrist with a practice in Santa Cruz, says he gets at least three selfie addiction cases a month. Recently, the parents of a 16-year-old girl, who took 150 selfies a day, approached him. Dr. Dsouza says, “The girl threw her phone in a fit of rage when she did not look good in selfies. The parents bought her a new phone, but her obsession went out of control.”
Dr. Dsouza says that parents at some point begin noticing something is amiss. “It is an addiction like smoking, drinking or video gaming. Selfie addicts want to look good in all pictures they post on social media, and desire maximum likes and appreciative comments. They soon lose interest in academics and extra-curicular activities.”
Last year, Dr. Dsouza conducted a study among 600 students in the 14 to 16 age-group. He found that 30 per cent of the students took more than eight selfies a day.
Psychiatrist Dr. Harish Shetty says he has dealt with 10 selfie addiction cases in the past six months. “Of these, four patients needed medication. The remaining required counselling and behavioural therapy.” Among his patients was a 38-year-old banker who gained considerable weight following a hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus). She began following a strict diet and workout routine to reduce her weight.
Dr. Shetty says, “However, she kept taking selfies as she went about her weight loss regimen. From the time she woke up, she took selfies of her daily activities such as shopping and partying. When her husband objected to her obsession and asked her to stop behaving like an 18-year-old, they ended up having fights.”
Dr. Shetty says rigorous therapy was required to make the woman accept her body image. Another patient was a Class XII girl, who had become irritable and depressed after failing her board exams. “She began taking selfies as a means of gaining social acceptance,” says Dr. Shetty.
Dr. Sagar Mundhada, psychiatrist at KEM Hospital, says, “Those with few friends, interpersonal issues and lack of family support fall victim to this obsession. By gaining some form of recognition in the virtual world, they try to overcome their low self-esteem.”
Dr. Mundhada says he has observed 20-year-olds taking at least 20 selfies a day. To control their obsession, patients are given very low doses of drugs that increases the presence of serotonin in the body, which is a neurotransmitter that is involved in the transmission of nerve impulses.
Last year, a study conducted by the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi, revealed that India reported the maximum number of selfie deaths. Several selfie points have cropped up across the country and people fall from great heights, drown and are run over by vehicles while taking selfies. Recently, Byculla zoo allowed visitors to click selfies with replicas of the newly arrived Humboldt penguins.
Dr. Amit Desai, consultant psychiatrist at Jaslok Hospital, says, “Taking a selfie is a simple act everyone indulges in. But when it comes in the way of the functioning of daily life, it is definitely a problem.”
