They elicit snap judgments that don’t hold water.
The science:
You’re more likely to judge someone as less outgoing and more lonely and unlikable if their feed is full of selfies than you would if they primarily posted photos taken by another person, according to a new study. This is especially true of fitness posts (think: flexing in the mirror).
Expert insight:
The more selfies someone shares, the higher the chances are that you’ll make this snap judgment, says study author Chris Barry, Ph.D., professor in the department of psychology at Washington State University in Pullman.
It could be that images captured by outsiders show people in a more holistic sense (from different angles and from head to toe), making them seem more personable. People also tend to associate selfies with narcissism.
The bottom line:
Barry and his team found that based on personality assessments, these surface-level evaluations often don’t reflect people's true traits.