SELFITIS

Volume 8 Issue 3 March, 2018

Selfitis is an unofficial new term used to describe the intense desire to keep taking Selfies all the time.

Though Officially Not yet declared a Syndrome per say the ill effects are there for everyone to see. Taking a Selfie is a Simple thing; the problem arises when it becomes a Craze as in difficult conditions viz amidst heights, speed, mountains, and rivers or in any environmental challenging conditions.

India has the highest number of deaths as a result of trying to take selfies in dangerous locations and also the maximum number of facebook users

Some motivating factors for selfies are attention, to increase confidence, to improve mood and social conformity

One needs to address the risk taking behavior of such individuals Just like the recent example in front of train there have been examples where bunch of picnic students whilst taking a selfie one could see a drowning student in the background and all of them were oblivious about it.

Selfitis needs to be addressed as a risk taking behavior and as an addiction too.

As we know driving is okay but driving in high speeds involves risk; similarly a simple selfie might not be an issue but the risk taking behavior associated with it is a troublesome issue. There might be history of childhood ADHD/Conduct disorder.

Also like in other addictions the preoccupation with it might start affecting the routine and cause impairment in his social/academic/occupational functioning which is nearly equal to addiction and it needs a great attention

Also important here is the underlying addiction to phone/gadgets termed as ‘Nomophobia’.

People with low self esteem are more prone for addiction

Many on evaluation might have co-morbid features of anxiety, mood and personality disorders.

Three types of selfitis are seen acute, borderline and chronic

As the trend of selfitis is increasing, more and more research is ongoing and rating scales are being used to measure the problematic behavior like Selfitis Behavioural Scale (SBS)

Not just youngsters even adults suffer from the above condition and those individuals will benefit with cognitive behavior therapy and medications if severe.

However more studies are required to confirm and specific guidelines needs to be formed