Are You A Sick Selfie Addict? Doctor Claims It Could Cause ‘Body Dysmorphic Disorder’
It's said a picture is worth 1,000 words, and if that's the case, then what do selfies say? Perhaps quite a bit, actually. For the uninitiated, a "seflie" is the practice of taking your own picture, and these days it's typically done with a mobile device's front-facing camera. You've probably seen teens and adults alike make goofy faces at their cell phone -- they're probably using Snapchat or some equivalent. Selfies are certainly trending in the mobile world, and according to various experts in the field of health, it could be cause for concern.
An article in the Guardian Liberty Voice tells the story of Danny Bowman, a man diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder. Bowman became suicidal at one point. What pushed him to that point was being obsessed with trying to take the perfect selfie -- he would take about 200 pictures a day of himself. After failing to take what he perceived to be the perfect snapshot of himself, he tried to kill himself by overdosing on drugs.
His physician, Dr. David Veale, claims selfies may cause mental illness in some people. This can include body dysmorphic disorder, which itself has "an extremely high suicide rate," Dr. Veale says.
Bowman's parents, both of which are mental health professionals, believe that society has "huge lack of understanding" about the dangers today's mobile devices and social media can have on teens and adults. They're not the only ones. Dr. Pamela Rutledge stated in an article for Psychology Today that selfies can be dangerous to a person's mental health, and that taking them frequently is a sign of narcissism, low self esteem, attention seeking behavior, and self indulgence.
What do you think? Could selfies be indicative of a mental health issue, or is the trend too new to make that kind of determination?
An article in the Guardian Liberty Voice tells the story of Danny Bowman, a man diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder. Bowman became suicidal at one point. What pushed him to that point was being obsessed with trying to take the perfect selfie -- he would take about 200 pictures a day of himself. After failing to take what he perceived to be the perfect snapshot of himself, he tried to kill himself by overdosing on drugs.
His physician, Dr. David Veale, claims selfies may cause mental illness in some people. This can include body dysmorphic disorder, which itself has "an extremely high suicide rate," Dr. Veale says.
Bowman's parents, both of which are mental health professionals, believe that society has "huge lack of understanding" about the dangers today's mobile devices and social media can have on teens and adults. They're not the only ones. Dr. Pamela Rutledge stated in an article for Psychology Today that selfies can be dangerous to a person's mental health, and that taking them frequently is a sign of narcissism, low self esteem, attention seeking behavior, and self indulgence.
What do you think? Could selfies be indicative of a mental health issue, or is the trend too new to make that kind of determination?
