Image-oriented information is becoming increasingly important on social networking services (SNS); the background of this trend is the popularity of selfies. Currently, camera applications using augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are gaining traction. An AR camera app is a smartphone application that converts selfies into various interesting forms using filters. In this study, we investigated the change of keywords according to the time flow of selfies in Goolgle News articles through semantic network analysis. Additionally, we examined the effects of using an AR camera app on appearance satisfaction and self-esteem when taking a selfie. Semantic network analysis revealed that in 2013, postings of specific people were the most prominent selfie-related keywords. In 2019, keywords appeared regarding the launch of a new smartphone with a rear-facing camera for selfies; in 2020, keywords related to communication through selfies appeared. As a result of examining the effect of the degree of use of the AR camera app on appearance satisfaction, it was found that the higher the degree of use, the higher the user’s interest in appearance. As a result of examining the effect of the degree of use of the AR camera app on self-esteem, it was found that the higher the degree of use, the higher the user’s negative self-esteem.

As consumers take greater control over products and brands they consume, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and user-generated content (UGC) are now being considered as one of the most critical product sources for consumers. Most notable in recent years has been the widespread emergence of eWOM in social media. The proliferation of a variety of social networking sites (SNSs), propelled by the development of mobile technologies (e.g., smartphones), has allowed consumers to share, more quickly and easily than ever before, product information, reviews, and consumption experiences. Perhaps one of the newest and most effective ways to communicate brand information and experiences in digital environments is the ‘brand-selfie.’ Every day, millions of selfies (i.e., a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media) are taken and then posted on a variety of SNSs all over the world, providing people the opportunity to show multiple facets of the self (Bazarova et al., 2013). Further, there are consumers who voluntarily post selfies with brands/products they possess (so called brand-selfies) and brand-related hashtags (e.g., your #brand). Through brand-selfies, consumers not only express themselves by connecting with and extending through brands, but also influence peer consumers’ brand attitudes and purchase decisions by sharing brand information. In order to better understand how the selfie can succeed on SNSs as a new form of eWOM, in the present study, we attempt to identify key predictive variables that may lead consumers to post brand-selfies and engage eWOM in social media. We do so by comparing how such variables differ between those who post brand-selfies and those who do not. Specifically, this study examines whether brand-selfie-posting behavior is influenced by two individual difference factors (i.e., narcissism and materialism), and whether it is associated with consumers’ beliefs that SNSs are brand/product information sources. Using a survey administered by an online panel, a total of 305 participants who had had the experience of taking and posting selfies on SNSs participated. Discriminant analysis identified the characteristics of consumers who post brand-selfies, and those who do not. Findings suggest that narcissism, materialism, and belief that SNSs are a brand/productinformation source are significant factors in stimulating SNS users’ brand-selfie posting behaviors, and that they could be used to differentiate between brand-selfie posters and no-brand-selfie posters. Of these factors, consumers’ perceptions of SNSs as a source of brand/product information best predicted brand-selfie posting behaviors, followed by materialism and narcissism. Areas for future research are discussed.

Selfie refers to self-portrait photography, which became widespread practice with handy digital photographing technologies and the proliferation of social media. There are only a few studies on selfie and most of them examine the psychological profiles of selfie takers. However, we conducted a qualitative study to understand diverse goals embedded in the selfie practice and meanings of the practice. Eighty one undergraduate students enrolled in a university in South Korea, who reported to take selfies frequently, were recruited for in-depth interviews. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for thirty minutes to an hour, asking their selfie-taking behaviors including general information (when, where, how, why), skills and techniques, related memories and experiences, and sharing and online posting. Transcripts and observations were analyzed through multiple steps of coding. Data revealed numerous strategies in selfie photography and statements about why those strategies are important, that is, goals of selfie practice. We present findings in the following structure: Operation of selective selves → Subordinate goals → Superordinate goals We abstract the essential feature of selfie as augmented control as a result of integrative and selective operation of the three selves as the one who photographs, the one who is photographed, and/or the one who owns and uses the selfie. Participants’ strategies reflect this complexity. For example, tips for camera angles and lighting are related to self as a subject who photographs. Knowledge on facial expressions reflects self as an object that is photographed. Photoshop skills are obtained as self who uses the photographs. Five goals at the subordinate level emerged: Attractive appearance, social activities, testimonial, fact check, and story-telling. These are the immediate goals gained through taking, using, and possessing selfies. Different goals are formed based on relatively different importance of each of the three selves. For example, to post a selfie that tells one’s feeling about new season, the photographer chooses to focus on the self as a subject who writes a story and portrays in photographing rather than the self as an object of the photograph. Superordinate goals are derived from the subordinate goals: Narcissism, self-discovery, self-expression, reminiscence, display, self-monitoring, and belongingness. As in the relations between selves and subordinate goals, some subordinate goals are related to more than one superordinate goal. Some superordinate goals also result from more than one subordinate goal. We conclude that selfie provides augmented control in producing and using pictures and the selective operation of the three selves enables consumers to obtain various individual and social values through the selfie practice.