Do Sexy Selfies Make us Seem Stupid?

There’s scarcely a woman who goes out for an evening with friends or her significant other who doesn’t feel compelled to take a selfie. That’s not a judgement, it’s pretty much a guarantee in this day and age and we all do it. Just as much as we feel the need to photograph our food (though that’s getting a little annoying in restaurants now), the need to document our every move with a deluge of similar selfies shows no signs of waning. Then there are those who feel that sharing something like progress pics throughout their workout regime is of paramount importance. Or the standard ‘here’s me in a bikini looking sexy’ shot.

Lots can come of sharing selfies on social media; your friends will happily ‘like’ your photo or comment on the fact that, in this particular selfie (which is probably take 12 of 15 different shots), you look like a ‘ride’, while other social media connections may find themselves falling ill with a bad case of FOMO (that’s fear of missing out, if you happen to have been residing under some large, soundproof rock for the last year). And as suggested below, there are those who don’t interact whatsoever with your post but make judgements to themselves around the meaning of your selfie and what it might say about you.

Shockingly, as per The Telegraph, a new study shows that young women who post ‘sexy’ selfies on social media are seen to be ‘less pretty’, ‘less likely to get a job’ and ‘not someone you’d want to be friends with’. And this feedback isn’t coming from elders or from men, it’s coming from our peers.

When asked by the Oregon State University to share their thoughts on girls who post ‘sexy’ profile pictures versus those who keep it ‘conservative’, 58 girls between the ages of 13 and 18 and 60 women between the ages of 17 and 25 gave higher scores to the latter in the following categories: physical attractiveness, social attractiveness and task competence.

Interestingly, it was the task competence category that gave the most staggering results with most women perceiving those who share sexy posts to be least likely to complete tasks.

Commenting on the study, researcher Elizabeth Daniels told The Telegraph:

?This is a clear indictment of sexy social media photos.?There is so much pressure on young women to portray themselves as sexy. But sharing those sexy photos online may have more negative consequences than positive.”

What do you think? Are you conscious of how your photos on social media will be perceived? Do you think sexy selfies make women appear less capable of success? Or do you disagree entirely? Share your thoughts below.

Caroline Foran @CarolineForan