The Correlation of Selfie Addiction
and Self-Esteem Levels
Among The Junior High School Students
of Bacnor National High School
Dwight s. Alipio
Kent Lorenz R. Ruiz
Maricar Rosimo
Alex Apelado
Carlo Siblag
Researchers
Chapter 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS
BACKGROUND
Introduction
Each of us in one way or another is fascinated by the pictures on the fact
that consists of a tow universal and this is explained very simply: just a shot
we all encourage curiosity to see how we have come despite the reactions of
each of us. They are subjective and are related to image internal, mental
scheme that we perceived ourselves having to do with how we see ourselves
and how we want others to see us. For the youth, the act of taking selfies and
overall usage of various social media platforms are an integral part of life.
The trend of capturing own images has become a phenomenon of the new
culture of the society. The culture which has been gaining popularity as of
today, has not only gained the attention of young children, but also the
adults and artists alike. Generally selfie has become a popular culture
among the young people. It is fun and fascinates the young mind.
Hence, as adolescents of today’s generation, we
are inspired and motivated to conduct a study
regarding this present trend, which then aims to
identify the relationship between self-esteem
levels and the number of selfies people take and
post, as well as the uses and gratifications of
taking and posting selfies, to further understand
the trend of selfie.
Statement of the Problem
1. What is the demographic profile of the
respondents in terms of the following:
a) Age
b) Gender
c) Ethnicity Origin
d) Curriculum Level
2. Why do you take or post selfies?
Statement of the Problem
3. Is there a significant difference between the
gender of the respondents and the number of
selfies they take and post?
4. Is there a significant difference between the
ethnicity origin of the respondents and the
number of selfies they take and post?
5. Is there a significant relationship between
selfie and self-esteem?
Research Hypotheses
This study was guided by the following hypotheses:
1. There is no significant difference between the
gender of the respondents and the number of
selfies they take and post.
2. There is no significant difference between the
ethnicity origin of the respondents and the
number of selfies they take and post.
3. There is no significant relationship between selfie
and self-esteem.
Research Paradigm
Input Process Output Outcome
Profile of the Determination Relationship Improved
students of the between selfie
correlation of selfie and behavior
Selfie selfie addiction self-esteem
addiction and self- Boosted self-
esteem levels esteem
Self-esteem levels
levels
Scope and Delimitation
This study mainly focused on selfie which is one of the
popular and trending topics on social media today. It
focused on the investigation of the correlation of the level of
selfie addiction and self-esteem levels of the Junior High
School students of Bacnor National High School. The
researchers employed survey method to collect data
responses of the students. Data collection was done upon
the prior time given. It was limited to the locale of the
study, Bacnor National High School and the students of
Junior High School Department of the same institution.
Chapter 2
REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE AND STUDIES
Foreign Literature
Selfies are a double-edged sword. For some people, posting selfies is a self-
confidence booster, and for others, selfies are the reason that make them feel
bad about their lives and having insecurities about their appearances.
According to Murphy-Gill (2014), most teenagers spend considerably more
time and money to look attractive to others and consequently boost their
self-esteem. A selfie generation female teenager says, “What you look like is
what’s defining you. It’s like you’re defined by how pretty you are. This is
me because this is what I look like. Further, the Today/AOL Body Image
survey indicated that about 55 percent of girls and 34 percent of teen boys
feel that social media makes them feel more self-conscious about their
appearance. About 58 percent of teen girls say “seeing pictures of other
people living glamorous-looking lives on social media makes me feel bad
about myself” (Dahl, 2014).
Local Literature
One of the trends today is taking selfies. It is believed that self-portrait or selfies
have been practiced many years ago. It just happens that there are increasing
number of people who use the word “selfie” whenever they take pictures of
themselves through the influence of social media. According to Wilson (2014), the
City of Makati, Philippines ranks the highest number of people, taking selfies with
258 selfie-takers per 100,000 people. This article is an implication that Filipinos
are a huge fan of selfies. Selfie behavior or taking selfies are not always
advantageous, problems with personal relationships and decrease in intimacy may
be encountered when an individual shares too much photos on social media
(Houghton, 2013). In some instances, according to Silverman (2013) selfies are one
of the components of cyber bullying that can lead into degradation of an
individual. Youth who takes selfies is often believed to be a sign of getting
approval from their peers by posting it to social media like Facebook and
Instagram, and once they failed to gain or attract attention and approval they
Synthesis
The literature presented in this section provide information about self-esteem of
individuals and how it was related to selfie. The abovementioned literature are related to
the current study because these indicate the positive and negative sides of selfie to one’s
self-esteem. Researchers found out that selfies are double-edged sword, which serves as a
confidence booster and the reason of insecurity. Moreover, due to teenagers’ obsession
with selfies, they spend a lot of time and money just to get the attraction of other people
and boost their confidence. Others comprehend that apart from the positive effects that
selfies could give, these could also bring negativity in the sense that people compare own
self to others. These literature also focus and emphasize the external cues and factors to
which selfie and self-esteem conspire. Furthermore, Filipinos are huge fan of selfies, but
the act of taking numerous selfies is not always advantageous, mainly because sharing
too much online decreases intimacy. Also, once an individual fails to attract attention
through his post from his/her peers, there’s a high chance of cyberbullying cases and self-
degradation.
Foreign Studies
Selfies are an indicator of low self-esteem, social dependence, or attention seeking
behavior (Peek, 2014). Voucher Cloud, a money saving application conducted a
study to examine the relationship between self-esteem and the people who take
more selfies (Blades, 2014). The study involved 2,071 British men and women
between the ages of 18 and 30. The results revealed that 39% of the participants
preferred taking pictures of themselves rather than their family, partner or pets.
The results indicated that the participants were found to have low self-esteem, and
they confessed “having prudish inhibition and insecurities about their physical
attributes.” When asked about how they felt about their appearance and
relationships, only 13% of the participants mentioned that they felt confident in
their skin and 60% admitted to having low self-esteem. Hence, it is construed that
the number of selfies and self-esteem levels were indirectly correlated (Blades,
2014).
Local Studies
Lopez, Santos, Abad, Saab, Olete, Canceran (n.d.) determined why and how
narcissism as a social behavior is innate with the millennial squires.
Respondents were all Senior High school students of Colegio de San Juan de
Letran-Bataan Basic Education Department. The findings revealed that the
symptoms of narcissism were having a large sense of self-importance, taking
a lot of selfies, pictures of where they are and what they do and posting it to
the wide array of social media, being too conscious of their physical
appearances may it be on their looks, especially with their hair for boys and
using cosmetics for beautification for girls and in general, on what clothes
they were wearing on their own perspective or of others, longing for
authority and/or a prominent position just to dominate others among
millennials revolve around a lot of factors including social media, self-
esteem, parenting and bullying.
Synthesis
The foreign studies presented in this section provide information about self-
esteem of individuals and how it was related to selfie. The abovementioned
studies are related to the current study because these studies mainly focus on
selfie as an indicator of low self-esteem, social dependence, and attention-
seeking behavior. It was also revealed that teenagers nowadays tend to take
pictures of themselves rather than their families and partners, and
consequently have insecurities about their physical attributes. Hence, selfie
and self-esteem were indirectly correlated. These studies also focus on how
narcissism is innate with the millennial Researchers also found out that one
of the symptoms of narcissism were taking a lot of selfies of what people do
and posting it to the wide array of social media, being too conscious of their
physical appearances.
Chapter 3
METHODS AND
PROCEDURES
The researchers used a quantitative type of research
through correlational method. The respondents were
the 391 Junior High School students of the Bacnor
National High School. Slovin’s Formula was used to
calculate the sample size The main instrument used
was an adapted and modified questionnaire. The
students were asked to answer the questionnaire. The
researchers analyzed the gathered data using
Statistical Probability for Social Sciences (SPSS).
The researchers used frequency distribution to summarize
the data. T-test was used for knowing the significant
difference on the selfie addiction of the students in terms of
their gender. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), on the other
hand, was used for knowing the difference on the selfie
addiction of the students in terms of their ethnicity origin.
The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient
(PMCC) was used to determine the correlation of selfie
addiction and self-esteem levels among the respondents.
Chapter 4
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS,
AND INTERPRETATION OF
DATA
Figure 1
Age of the Respondents
Figure 2
Gender of the Respondents
Figure 3
Curriculum Level of the Respondents
Figure 4
Ethnicity Origin of the Respondents
Figure 5
Uses and Gratifications of Taking and Posting Selfies
Table 1
Significant Difference Between Gender and Selfie Taking
Levene's Test
for Equality of
Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Sig. (2- Mean Std. Error
F Sig. tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper
If you take Equal
selfies, variances
how many assumed
selfies do 1.770 .184 .085 -9.29197 5.38294 -19.87527 1.29133
you take
per week?
Equal
variances
not
assumed .086 -9.29197 5.39522 -19.92577 1.34184
Table 2
Significant Difference Between Gender and Selfie Posting
Levene's Test
for Equality of
Variances t-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Sig. (2- Mean Std. Error
F Sig. tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper
If you post Equal
selfies, how variances
many selfies assumed
do you post 1.678 .196 .070 -4.99908 2.74658 -10.39908 .40091
per week?
Equal
variances not
assumed
.071 -4.99908 2.75259 -10.42329 .42512
Table 3
Significant Difference Between Ethnicity Origin and Selfie Taking
If you take selfies, how many selfies do you take per week?
Df
Sum of Squares Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups
919.500 5 183.900 .064 .997
Within Groups
1109320.454 385 2881.352
Total
1110239.954 390
Table 4
Significant Difference Between Ethnicity Origin and Selfie Posting
If you post selfies, how many selfies do you post per week?
Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups
272.877 5 54.575 .073 .996
Within Groups
289015.430 385 750.689
Total
289288.307 390
Table 5
Correlation of Selfie Taking and Self-Esteem Levels
If you take selfies,
how many selfies
do you take per Mean of self-
week? esteem levels
If you take selfies, how many Pearson Correlation
selfies do you take per week? 1 -.075
Sig. (2-tailed) .138
N
391 391
Mean of self-esteem levels Pearson Correlation
-.075 1
Sig. (2-tailed)
.138
N
391 391
Table 6
Correlation of Selfie Posting and Self-Esteem Levels
If you post selfies,
how many selfies
do you post per Mean of self-
week? esteem levels
If you post selfies, how many Pearson Correlation
selfies do you post per week? 1 -.063
Sig. (2-tailed) .211
N 391 391
Mean of self-esteem levels Pearson Correlation
-.063 1
Sig. (2-tailed)
.211
N 391 391
Chapter 5
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS,
CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Findings
1. Profile of the Respondents
1.1 The respondents of this study belong to the age
bracket of 11-18, which reinforces the fact that
adolescents at this age range of group are socially
active and are more involved in the selfie trend.
Findings
1.2 The respondents are predominantly female with
57.8% frequency, which implies that girls tend to take
and post more selfies than boys, and selfies have the
ability to allow teenage girls to express individual
moods in a way not possible before.
Findings
1.3 Majority of the participants are Grade 7 (29.7%).
This result is attributed to the fact that Bacnor
National High School is the nearest school within their
place. In addition, there is also a greater chance of
increased number of dropouts due to certain causes
like poverty.
Findings
1.4 Almost all of the respondents are Ilocanos. This
reinforces the fact that the venue of the study is within
the municipality of Burgos, and most of the people
there are Ilocanos.
Findings
2. Uses and Gratifications of Taking and Posting
Selfies
2.1 Many of the respondents are posting selfies
because it is entertaining with the highest frequency
and percentage of 109 (27.9%). This result is
attributed to a possibility that the respondents need
some media to release their tensions.
Findings
3. Selfie Addiction and Self-Esteem Levels
3.1 It was found out that there is no significant
difference between gender and the number of selfies
people take and post. Males and females have equal
number of selfies taken and posted.
Findings
3.2 Additionally, in terms of the ethnicity origin,
there is also no significant difference between the
ethnic group and the number of selfies people take
and post.
3.3 Lastly, it was also revealed that selfie addiction
and self-esteem levels has no significant relationship.
Conclusions
In the light of the findings, it can be concluded that male
and female respondents do not differ with the number of
selfies they take and post.
Moreover, it was also revealed that the respondents’
ethnicity origins do not affect their selfie addiction. In other
words, the number of selfies they take and post do not
depend on their ethnicity origin. It does not mean that selfie
addiction differ among various ethnic groups such as
Ilocano, Ifugao, and Gaddang.
Conclusions
Lastly, selfie addiction has no impact on the self-
esteem of the respondents. Students who take
and post selfies and the ones who do not are just
the same in terms of self-esteem levels.
Recommendations
1. The school administrators should immerse parents and
students into series of awareness programs regarding the
current selfie phenomenon and on how it could affect one’s
self-esteem, including the advantages and disadvantages of
this present trend. It is also recommended that they should
strictly implement rules and regulations pertaining selfie
addiction, like minimizing the usage of mobile phones within
the vicinity of the school, especially during class hours,
which enables students to easily take pictures of themselves.
Recommendations
2. The teachers should enforce behavioral counseling emphasizing
on self-motivation and self-control on unnecessary selfie behavior
and social media use, giving quality time to family and friends. It is
also recommended that they should enact moral education of
children from an early age to help them realize that appearance is
not everything as there are other aspects of personality, intelligence,
and good nature of a person. In addition, they should creatively
find ways to embrace the act of taking selfies inside the class, like
using a digital teaching strategy which engages students to be more
productive, thus giving them the opportunity to feel their worth and
be confident with themselves.
Recommendations
3. The parents should set limits or boundaries for their children in
using their mobile phones. They should educate their teens on the
mental and emotional dangers of selfie and social media addiction
and advise them not to post anything too personal. It is also
recommended that they should encourage their teens to unplug and
step away from their mobile devices, expose them to direct
experiences with the world, and let them live the life beyond the
screen. Moreover, parents should really help their teens form an
identity independent from their online profiles. Empower them to
explore their strengths and develop their skills.
Recommendations
4. The students, as the primary beneficiaries of this
current study, should restrict themselves in taking and
posting selfies, as this can decrease their self-esteem
levels. They should focus more on activities which
could foster their self-esteem rather than the one
which could decline it. Furthermore, it is
recommended that the students should be aware and
of the different pros and cons of taking and posting
selfies.
Recommendations
5. The future researchers should focus on individuals in other age
brackets, in order to fully understand whether selfie has a
relationship on self-esteem and its other influence in emotional state
and motivation which may have a different result from this study. It
is also recommended that they should utilize different variables to
their own advantages relating more on specific qualities they want
to find out and how it could affect the result of the study. In line
with this, future researchers can gather statistical data that can
represent a larger sample size where it can accurately measure the
selfie behavior of an individual.
Thank You!
