Is He A Psycho? Look at His Selfies

We all know at least one person who bombards our newsfeeds with unending pictures of themselves.

"Here's me at the gym."

"Here's me admiring my muscles in the restroom mirror."

"Here's me sporting a new haircut."

"Here's me sporting the same haircut at a different angle." 

While many of us find their rampant posts to be irritating and inconsiderate, most endure and tolerate their virtual babble. However, new research suggests that we should beware of our selfie-addicted friends.

Scientists have recently linked posting selfies to narcissism and psychopathy.

The latest findings showed that men who post more pictures of themselves than others were significantly more likely to score higher on tests of narcissism and psychopathy. What's more, selfie edits suggest higher narcissism and vanity in men.

"It's not surprising that men who post a lot of selfies and spend more time editing them are more narcissistic, but this is the first time it has actually been confirmed in a study," lead researcher Jesse Fox, an assistant professor of communication at The Ohio State University, said in a news release.

"The more interesting finding is that they also score higher on this other antisocial personality trait, psychopathy, and are more prone to self-objectification," Fox added.

The latest study involved 800 men aged 18 to 40. Participants were asked to fill out questionnaires about their social media activity and tendency to engage in antisocial or self-objectification behaviors. Study results indicated that posting more selfies was to narcissism and psychopathy. However, the study showed no links between photo edits and psychopathy.

"That makes sense because psychopathy is characterized by impulsivity. They are going to snap the photos and put them online right away. They want to see themselves. They don't want to spend time editing," Fox explained.

Researchers noted that the findings don't mean that all selfie addicts are narcissists or psychopaths. While participants in the study all scored within the normal range of behavior, men who post more selfies were significantly more likely to exhibit antisocial traits.

The latest findings were published online in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.