The average 16-25 year old woman spends over FIVE HOURS a week taking selfies, new research has shown.
A study asking 2,000 women about their self-image found those in the younger age bracket to be the worst offenders for taking constant photographs of themselves.
Over half confessed they take selfies frequently, with the average snap-rate within the age group coming in at three selfies every day.
And with applying make-up, getting the right lighting and the perfect angles, the time spent on each photo-taking session added up to 48 minutes a day – that’s a baffling five hours and 36 minutes every week.
Newby Hands for feelunique.com, which commissioned the survey, said,“The act of taking a selfie has become a huge phenomenon.
‘’But it isn’t about us becoming a nation of narcissists, but more a new way to share our ideas and inspirations.
‘’Scrolling through an Instagram feed full of selfies provides a ready-made mood board of new make-up tips, hair ideas and fitness inspiration.
‘’And selfies aren’t just for celebrities and models – we can all take them, share them and play around with new looks.”
The research showed a significant trend among the younger generation to suffer from ‘selfie-esteem’ – linking their own body confidence with the amount of ‘likes’ they receive on a selfie via social media.
Of the 2,000 women surveyed, those aged 16-25 were the most prolific selfie-snappers, spending an average of 16 minutes on each selfie-session, three times a day.
The standard routine for a selfie-session, the women said, was to re-do their make-up, fix their hairstyle and wear a flattering outfit before finding a suitable position with good lighting.
After taking an average of six shots that are deleted, the ‘perfect selfie’ would then be uploaded to at least two social media sites.
Amazingly, one in ten 16-25 year olds were found to be storing at least 150 selfies on their computer and smartphones, taken everywhere from their bathrooms or cars to their office desks.
Receiving a confidence boost was seen as a prime reason to upload selfies, the poll said, with 22 per cent who even cited getting ‘likes’ to boost their ego as their ‘main reason’ for taking them.
But getting individual attention was also a factor, as one in three admitted to using their sexiest selfies to catch the eye of a potential love interest.
And it’s a bold statement for one in five, who confessed they’ve posted suggestive pics of themselves to make an ex-partner regret the end of their relationship.
On a more concerning level, 27 per cent of the younger women confessed they actually delete selfies within minutes if they haven’t gained enough ‘likes’ on social media.
And four in ten said they take so many selfies they’ve become more analytical of their faces, finding flaws they hadn’t previously seen.
It wasn’t just the younger generation that were selfie obsessed – of the 2,000 women polled, 28 per cent admitted to taking a photo of themselves at least once a week.
Over half of the women agreed that taking an attractive selfie boosts their mood when they feel down over their looks.
But many didn’t care for the selfie preparation – most of the women polled confessed to taking selfies before a night out on the town, as they’re already ‘photo-ready’.
Hands also said, ‘’Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Nicole Scherzinger have described the positive effects of selfies and many young people have followed suit.
‘’To many they’re seen as empowering, and those who post selfies with a specific ‘niche’ can often end up with quite a following.’’
ENDS
