SELFITIS

What Does SELFITIS Mean? (Using SELFITIS Online)

The Quick Answer

SELFITIS means "Obsessive Taking Of Selfies."

More Observations...

The term SELFITIS was first used in 2014, in a spoof article that claimed that the American Psychiatric Association had deemed it a mental health disorder. However, in 2017, a research paper published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, by Nottingham Trent University in the UK and the Thiagarajar School of Management in India, reported that SELFITIS is a genuine ailment. The researchers were careful to point out that their results were preliminary and that the subject of SELFITIS requires further research. However, they are certain that the condition exists and have developed a behaviour scale which can be used to assess its severity. The scale was tested using a survey of 400 participants in India, which was chosen as the country has the largest number of Facebook users, as well as the highest number of deaths as a result of trying to take selfies in dangerous locations. As a result of this testing, the researchers identified three levels of SELFITIS:

• Borderline SELFITIS. People who take selfies at least three times a day, but do not post them on social media.
• Acute SELFITIS. People who take selfies at least three times a day and do post them on social media.
• Chronic SELFITIS. People who feel an uncontrollable urge to take selfies all the time and who post them more than six times a day.

Researchers found that typical SELFITIS sufferers were attention seekers, who were often lacking in self confidence and who were hoping to boost their social standing and feel part of a group by constantly posting images of themselves.

Image for SELFITIS

When I write SELFITIS, I mean this:

A very bad case of SELFITIS.

Summary of Key Points

"Obsessive Taking Of Selfies" is, by far, the most common meaning for SELFITIS when it is used in a text. (Bear in mind that it could have another meaning if used in a different context.)

SELFITIS
Definition:	Obsessive Taking Of Selfies
Type:	Slang Word (Jargon)
Guessability:	2: Quite easy to guess
Typical Users:	Adults, Teenagers, and Under 13s

Examples of SELFITIS in Sentences

Here are examples of SELFITIS in conversations:

• Nicole: Some people say I've got acute SELFITIS.
• Rob: That's not fair. I think you were vain and insecure long before selfies were invented.

• Steve: Why are all the photos you post always only of you? Have you got SELFITIS or what?
• Steph: Maybe. But, then again, it might just be because I don't want my friends to see how ugly you are.

An Academic Look at SELFITIS

SELFITIS is a noun (i.e., a naming word). It was officially accepted as a word by the Oxford English Dictionary in 2014.

What Did We Say before Texting and Social Media?

Before the digital era, selfies didn't exist. However, we might have used words such as "Vain," "Poser," or "Self-Obsessed" to describe the character traits of the type of people who now suffer with SELFITIS.

Example of SELFITIS Used in a Text

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