You’ve already heard so many times how people would complain about other people who are addicted to taking photos of themselves. Call it self-love, obsession, vanity or whatever term but you can’t help but be puzzled as to what could possibly be the motivation behind it. There are thousands (or even millions) of other subjects that people could take a picture of but why upload a selfie? They say the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs charts what motivates people to do what they do. So, here, we try to make a sense of it by plotting every possible statement that could fit into the model.
Level 1: Physiological Needs / Survival – You know how we are as humans: we were built not to forget to breathe. Well, some people were built not to forget to track their daily evolution by snapping a photo of themselves.
Level 2: Safety & Security – I almost forgot that as with other forms of photography, they have tons of back-up photos & different poses to choose from before publishing online.
Level 3: Social Needs such as Love & Belonging – Isn’t the name of this level just so apt? When their photos get tapped twice on Instagram, a heart literally appears and this sense of belonging all happens on social media 😉
Level 4: Self-Esteem, Confidence & Achievement – It’s just sad that these days, people measure their self-worth according to the number of likes & comments on their latest post. I hope you’re not one of them. If you are, close your eyes (not at this particular instant because I’m not yet done with my sentence), breathe in, breathe out & remember how awesome you were before all this online obsession.
Level 5: Self-Actualization – Well, there you have it: the science behind the selfie.
Still having issues with people posting a selfie? Why not share these posts with your friends & tag them 🙂
Instagram Pet Peeves
Taking a Selfie
Let’s Play the Instagram Bingo
The Instagrammer Goes on a Date!
A New Profile Pic is Born
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs & Chocolates
Speaking of selfies, here’s taking it to the next level. I would always be asked if I can do a quick caricature of people & no matter how many times I try, it still looks something this. A couple of weeks ago, PinoyScreenCast introduced us to the Moment Cam app & we were surprised as to how quickly you can create caricatures like they would in theme parks but this time, it uses your own photo which makes your features more accurate. Sure, you can replicate the while process manually with Photoshop, a pencil & a pen or a tablet but unless you’re like these awesome people, it will definitely take a longer time.
Moment Cam offers different hairstyles, costumes & backgrounds & best of all, it’s free on iOS & Android. That being said, If there’s anything that’s holding me back from fully loving the app is it’s spelling errors like “eye bow” (eyebrow) & “Moment cam, always surprise you” which reminds me of my grammatically awkward yet pretty stationery I owned back in the day. Otherwise, it’s fun to use with friends. Highly recommended for people who: (a) in need of a new profile picture (b) who love selfies & (c) who want to pull off a practical joke by mixing & matching the different costumes with their friends’ photos. 😉
More about phone apps & social networking sites here:
I Wish…
4 Pics 1 Word…or Something Like It
Five Signs That You’re Addicted to Draw Something!
Who’s addicted to Temple Run? Raise your phones!
