From the author: Recently, a journalist from one of the local publications asked for a comment on the information spread online that British scientists recognized selfies (taking photographs of oneself and posting them on social networks) as a mental disorder. The commentary was not included in the final article in full. I am posting the full text here. Regarding the assumption that selfies are some kind of new mental disorder, I agree more with many Russian colleagues. Most of them indicate that taking a selfie in itself cannot be a disease. In some cases, it indirectly, as a sign, indicates other psychological disorders (for example, the so-called “neurosis of modernity” - narcissism). But only when this hobby becomes obsessive and turns into the only way of self-expression. If this is simply one of the forms of self-presentation, along with other methods of communication (including, of course, offline communication), then there is no need to sound the alarm. Most likely, the myth on the Internet is inflated much more than the real conclusions of the researchers. There are many examples of people taking selfies in different parts of the world and under different circumstances. And then they post it online in order to convey greetings in this form to friends who are physically far away. And it’s great that there is such an opportunity. I personally use it and am happy to see photographs of my loved ones. Meanwhile, some colleagues note the consequences of sad trends in this hobby. Namely, that we communicate less and less in person, more and more often online, it seems easier, but it does not satiate us fully. A selfie can be a desire to appear to others, to declare that I exist, that I am open to communication, that I am interesting. But in this virtual way. We begin to increasingly evaluate each other based on different photographs, avoiding experiences and our feelings from real relationships, and, as a result, we lose intimacy.