The 5 Most Ignored Situations Wherein 'Selfies' Can Impose Danger to Yourself and to Your Relationship to Others

A classic and a vintage selfie of the Polish poet and photographer, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz [cropped]

Believe it or not, but there are 250 millions of photos that are being uploaded on Facebook daily according to a 2011 report coming directly from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This amount is getting bigger and bigger as time goes by and for sure, a huge bulk of these digital photos is selfies.

Selfies, previously known as self portraiture, is no longer new to the world even before it became the Oxford Dictionary's word of the year for 2013. In fact, even some of the portrait paintings of Leonardo the Vinci during the Renaissance has been speculated to depict his obsession to selfies.

True enough, selfies are not limited to anyone. However, an individual should know his or her limitations on this self-gratifying art though.

Now, try to examine yourself. Go in front of a mirror and ask this 'moving selfie' in front of you: Am I already going beyond the norms of selfies? Is it just merely a medium of self expression or now becoming a mental preoccupation on how I view myself?

Then here are some threatening, most ignored situations that you need to watch out. Even if there's just one of these that starts to manifest in you, STOP doing selfies for a while. These pitfalls can destroy YOU entirely in no time.

1. When selfies are already spamming the social network feeds

Have you ever thought about your audience's feelings
when posting your selfies?

When was the last time you posted a selfie on Facebook? Or let's put it this way: How often do you post on a daily basis?

Facebook and other social networking sites don't really have existing rules on how many pictures or videos you should upload on a daily basis. In the case of selfies, it might seem unlimited too.

But since social network is like sharing your ideas and activities to the public, you may try to imagine this as offering some gifts to your Facebook friends. Let's say you are sharing your selfies several times a day; would this appears like you're just giving away the same old gifts boxed and wrapped with different colorful wrappers? This could be attractive at first, but once unwrapped, nothing's really new. Have you ever thought about your audience's feelings too? Sooner they'll get bored and irritated by this flooding-the-feed phenomenon. And if that continues, they might end up blocking you on their accounts while naming you as the ultimate selfie spammer.

2. When selfies are now becoming an addiction

Addiction to selfies can be psychologically deadly

Selfies can only be dangerous when it becomes an addiction. But what if you still couldn't recognize or admit that you are already addicted to this?

Here's a quick checklist to determine if you're an undeniable selfie addict now. If you get more than a score of 2 out of 5, you might need a little bit of selfie 'rehab'.

__ 1. You post 2 or more selfies a day to any social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter 

__ 2. You have gone through almost all the varieties of selfies eg. the “show half your face” selfie, the "just woke up" selfie, the "selfie at the gym", the "duck face", even the "pretending to be asleep selfie" and the list goes on and on (because you know better than these) 

__ 3. You can't start the day right or worse, can't sleep at night without doing any selfie 

__ 4. You started to feel that selfies are no longer just for fun but more like a daily requirement

__ 5. When selfies already take much of your time that you start to neglect your responsibilities and even forget most items on your 'To do' list.

3. When selfies start to lower your self-esteem

Carlo (not his real name) admitted that he feels a sudden boost of confidence when someone complements his selfies. However, if he did not hit his expected number of Facebook 'likes', eventually this turns him down.

Do you also see yourself in Carlo's experience?

Does your selfie sometimes turn you down?

If yes, clinical psychologist, Lisa Weber once said that this can be dangerous because your self-esteem might already be tied up on the number of likes and comments of others which the truth is, this is just only based on how you look like but not really based on who you really are.

4. When selfies begin to alter your true identity

Though this digital art is now the modern way of sharing some bite-size pieces of your daily life, it can also be as dangerous as a slippery slope.

How? It can happen when you are already doing this for the sake of how you want others will see you other than just merely expressing what you feel. Try assessing yourself again and if these questions can continuously force you to nod, I guess this is the right time to make some changes:

Are your selfies like masks that you need to wear everytime?

Do you usually dress up, and make 'excessive' efforts on how you can look better in front of the camera? Do you smile strangely and pose differently than the usual 'you'? Are you battling so hard to find your best camera angles? Do you spend too much time editing your selfie photos before posting them? Or worse, do you keep a strict diet just for you to maintain or not to gain weight so you'll always be selfie-ready?

5. When selfies are becoming a threat to your relationship to others

Recent studies show that selfies are now linked to some psychological disorders like narcissistic behaviors and depression.

Jean Twenge, a researcher at San Diego State University who focuses on social media issues once said:

"It's probably both that higher narcissism causes people to use social media in narcissistic ways and that some social media causes higher narcissism."

'Selfies' are now linked to narcissism based on studies

Isn't it obvious if you'll find over 90 million selfies by just clicking over the 3rd most commonly used hashtag in the world which is #me?

Narcissism continues to grow like a forest fire. It 'burns down' people's relationships due to its undesirable symptoms characterized by taking advantage of others, failing to recognize people's feelings and emotions and inability to sustain a satisfying relationship.

Selfies should not be abused—Let's keep it this way

A classic but a creative selfie by Cecil Beaton

Selfies are really fun and that's why people just love to go with this trend. In some ways, this is also therapeutic because they can easily let go of their emotions by just solely freezing a smile in front of their camera phones. Some call it 'freedom' while more people say they're 'windows' that can give them an instant access on how other people view them.

Despite its benefits, selfies however, can impose depressing psychological dangers once you crossed its borderline. As you are getting used to it, you might go out of track unnoticed. Just a lifeless, JPEG media file they can be, but these photos have an immeasurable, strong capacity to take over you, alter your thoughts about yourself, and dictate who you really should be.

If you feel like you are already being caught in the middle of these five threatening situations that were emphasized in this article, take note of it. Recognize the problem. The next thing to do is, accept it.

Though this means that you need to limit opening your Facebook or Instagram from now on, this first step can be your key to moderation. Put in mind that anything that's excessive can be destructive.

Hence, selfies should not be abused. It should be fun... and it should always be. Let's keep it this way.