Selfies are about SHOWing-OFF

Researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology in the US combed through selfie posts on photo-sharing social platform Instagram to determine what kinds of identity statements people make by taking selfies.

They gathered the data by searching for hashtag '#selfie,' and then used computer vision to confirm that the pictures actually included faces.

Researchers found nearly 52 per cent of all selfies fell into the appearance category: pictures of people showing off their make-up, clothes, lips, etc.Pictures about looks were two times more popular than the other 14 categories combined.

They also found that most selfies are solo pictures, rather than taken with a group.

Appearance was most popular among all age groups, researchers said. Selfies are an identity performance – meaning that users carefully craft the way they appear online and that selfies are an extension of that. "People project an identity that promotes their wealth, health and physical attractiveness. With selfies, we decide how to present ourselves to the audience, and the audience decides how it perceives you," said Julia Deeb-Swihart. "Selfies, in a sense, are the blending of our online and offline selves. It is a way to prove what is true in your life, or at least what you want people to believe is true," Deeb-Swihart said.