Running Head: THE “SELFIE ” PHENOMENON: AN EXPLORATION The "Selfie " Phenomenon: An Exploration

The “selfie ” phenomenon is pervasive in today’s society, and constitutes an important part of social media use; however, there have been no studies examining "selfie " taking behaviour. To address this omission, 235 participants (51 males; 183 females; 1 transgender) between the ages of 18 and 60 (M = 25 years) completed an online survey assessing a variety of psychological factors and personality traits as well as “selfie ” taking activities. Correlational analysis revealed associations between psychological facets and personality traits to the number of selfies taken, and the amount of time spent editing these selfies. Group comparisons between “selfie ” (n = 193) and non-“selfie ” takers (n = 42) also suggest that the former are higher in extraversion and agreeableness. However, contrary to expectation, the two groups did not differ significantly in neuroticism. Additionally, group comparisons between “provocative selfie” takers (n = 34) and non-“provocative selfie ” takers (n = 159) indicate the former are higher in extraversion, openness to experience, authentic pride, and inflated physical view. However, the two groups did not contrast significantly in appearance shame. The implications of these findings and directions for future inquiry are discussed