Believe it or not, taking selfies can make you happier. In today’s society, we are always needing ways to destress and improve our mood, and selfies can do just that. According to one study, (found here,) maybe millennials are on to something with all their photo snapping. Like it or not, selfies have become mainstream. The study focuses on three parts of wellbeing – self-perception, self-efficacy and pro-social by taking a smiling selfie, pictures of things that you love and make you happy and pictures that make others happy respectively. All too often we hear about the negative things technology is doing to the human race, and now it’s time to see the other side – what it does to make us happier. For a guide and resources on digital photography, please click here.
1. Help to boost your confidence
Taking a smiling selfie can make you more confident as well as make you feel more comfortable with your pictures. Even faking a smile can help boost your confidence levels. This works best over time, so get into the selfie habit if you need a boost of confidence. We all know what it is like to hate every picture of yourself, and selfies put you in the driver’s seat. Practice taking selfies and that foolish feeling will disappear, and then you can start living a more confident life. Plus you’ll have it documented!
2. Front-facing camera is a secret to increased happiness
Again, faking a smile boosts your mood, even if you really aren’t feeling it. We all know this, but how many of us do this on a regular basis? Taking smiling selfies is one way to increase the amount of smiles in your day. Taking pictures of things you love and that make you happy also helps to boost happiness levels, as it makes you more mindful of the things and people already in your life that make you happy. All of the things selfies can do increase your happiness.
3. Reduce Stress
Being more mindful in general helps to reduce your stress levels, but when you take a photo of something that makes you happy, you realize how close happiness really is. This helps you destress by reminding you of what you already have, as well as boosting your mood – which is generally pretty low when you’re stressed.
4. Having a better connection with friends and family
In today’s cyber world, it’s hard to get face time with friends and other loved ones. Selfies can help with that. Taking photographs of something someone else would love can help you feel more connected to the person you are sending them too – and gives you a chance to get out of your own head for a while. Plus it can count for face time, especially in today’s hectic world, as you can “be with” people you normally wouldn’t see very often due to distance or lack of time. This can be of benefit to those with depression, as feeling connected is often one of the most important things in treating it.
5. More Grateful
Being more grateful is something a lot of us tend to forget, especially during hard times. But taking pictures of yourself and other items puts things into perspective, and can overall boost your gratefulness, which in turn boosts your happiness. You could combine selfies and a gratitude journal to get even more of the benefits of gratefulness. A little reminder not to take things for granted, and to remove the blinders from your every day life.
6. More Mindful
Being more mindful is very important to happiness, especially when life is getting you down. Taking photos of yourself increases your mindfulness as you look for your best side, and taking pictures of things that make you or another person happy reminds you that those things are there, usually right in front of you. It takes the blinders off for awhile and remind you of all the things that make you happy, even if only for a moment.
The responses people give are important too – we all like likes, emotes and comments when we put a part of ourselves out there. Emotes, likes and comments also help to make us feel more connected, which you guessed it, makes us more happy. Just don’t become addicted to them, as that may possibly reduce your overall happiness. Who would have thought that the front facing camera on your smartphone might be the secret to happiness?