Why do they post photos?
Published: 06.07.2021
Almost every internet user has their own profile on social networks where they post photos. Only on Instagram, more than 50 million photos are uploaded every day. People enjoy sharing details of their lives and receiving feedback.
There are several reasons why people post photos. Let's consider the most common motives for this behavior and what different photos in profiles mean from a psychological perspective.
A person is a social creature. It is important for people to feel the need for recognition and belonging to certain groups. By posting photos, users receive likes and comments, thus satisfying their ego, feeling acceptance, and support.
In everyday life, it's difficult to receive a lot of compliments all at once. Posting photos on social media allows you to instantly receive approval even from strangers, boost your self-esteem and significance. For some people, constantly showcasing photos online becomes an addiction. Not receiving the desired response, they get upset and constantly think about how to improve themselves and impress others.
The main thing is to know the measure. There is nothing wrong with sharing a photo of a successful outfit or bright impressions from a vacation. But it is not worth turning your whole life into a public demonstration online, otherwise it can be difficult to find satisfaction in reality.
It is worth enjoying pleasant moments rather than thinking about how to present oneself to others from a more advantageous perspective. Moreover, there is no need to chase after other users who are demonstrating their success. Often, photos on Instagram are staged, carefully edited, and have little to do with reality.
Why do people post photos on the internet?
The main reasons for posting photos on social networks include the following:
1. Boasting. People want to feel no worse than others, show off their strengths, and feel successful. It's good when photos reflect the owner's real status. But often girls and guys take pictures with other people's luxury items, rented or borrowed things from friends.
Do not show off what you do not possess. All secrets will become known. A braggart risks not receiving approval and admiration, but a storm of criticism.
2. Earnings. Well-promoted pages on social networks with thousands of followers provide the opportunity to earn money through advertising. Girls can post photos in branded clothing, shoes, promote skincare products, hair care products, technology, food, etc. But before attracting advertisers, it will take quite a lot of time to build up an audience.
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3. Demonstration of creativity. Many creative individuals start blogs with the goal of popularizing or selling the results of their creativity. Photographers, chefs, makeup artists, and artists can find new clients and receive feedback on their work.
4. Selling oneself. Girls often post naked and sexual photos on Instagram. In this way, they attract the attention of potential sponsors and seek to sell themselves at a higher price. Sometimes married women post provocative photos. In this case, it is not about selling oneself, but about provoking jealousy in their husband and seeking attention that is lacking in the family.
5. Keeping a diary and creating a personal photo album. These photos are posted not for the general public, but for oneself and close people, in order to preserve important memories. Typically, such pages on Instagram or Facebook are private and intended for viewing by a small number of people.
What do photos that people post on social media mean from a psychological point of view?
Psychologists claim that it is possible to create a psychological portrait of a person based on their photos on social media. Let's consider what certain photos mean and what they can reveal about their owners.
- Why do people constantly post selfies? If a girl or a guy posts too many selfies on Instagram, it indicates self-centeredness, narcissism, and egocentrism. Everyone takes selfies occasionally, but if they are posted several times a day, it already indicates an exaggerated focus on one's appearance. Often, such people lack love and recognition, so they try to attract attention to themselves in this way.
- Why do people post joint photos? Often girls display photos with their significant other. There may be two reasons for this behavior: 1. To show others that the girl is not alone, to demonstrate that she is loved and valued.
- Why do people post photos of their family and children? It's wonderful when a person has a strong and happy family, beautiful children, and feels proud of them. But when a person's social media page is filled only with family and children's photos, it means that they have completely dissolved into their family and are compensating for this lack in other areas.
When a woman only posts photos of her children and hides her own pictures, she puts her own personality in the background, giving all her energy to her offspring. Normally, a person's social media presence includes photos of their family, work, hobbies, and leisure activities. Having an imbalance towards one side indicates a lack of fulfillment in other areas of life. - Why do girls post photos with flowers? Girls who take pictures of themselves with bouquets of flowers may seem beloved and in demand at first glance. But behind such photos there may be a need for reciprocity, a lack of attention. Usually, if women are often given flowers, they do not feel the need to show off such photos.
- Why do men post photos online? Men, just like women, need approval, praise, and compliments. But, unlike women, men's photos often showcase not sexuality, but success.
Guys post photos against the backdrop of expensive yachts, cars, and luxurious places. All this indicates a desire to show off their material wealth and high status. However, often people are just trying to appear successful without actually being so in real life. Truly wealthy individuals do not need to boast or showcase their wealth. Those around them already know about their high status, so there is no point in displaying expensive items for show. - Why do girls post glamorous photos? Constantly changing outfits, shooting themselves in different looks, speaks of narcissistic personality traits. Assuming sexual poses, exposing parts of the body, photos in swimsuits and lingerie call on the opposite sex to pay attention to them. Most likely, girls with such photos are unhappy in their personal lives and are looking for a worthy and wealthy candidate.
- Why do people post sports photos? If a person's life is not connected to professional sports, and their profile constantly features photos from workouts, it indicates bragging.
More often than not, sports photos are not shown with the aim of motivating others to lead an active lifestyle, but rather to demonstrate one's toned and sexy body. People put in a lot of effort to be in great shape, so it is important for them to receive praise and enthusiastic feedback on their results.
2. Posting beautifully retouched photos with your boyfriend and smiling faces may indicate that not everything is as good in the relationship in reality. By creating an ideal love image, girls may be compensating for conflicts and misunderstandings in the couple.
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There are many explanations as to why people post certain photos. Frequent pictures with pets may indicate the sensitivity and vulnerability of their owners, an excessive attachment to animals. Food photos may show a desire to showcase their culinary skills. Revealing photos of girls may be posted so that their ex-partner sees them and regrets losing them. A person who shares photos at work may want to show their colleagues their success in their professional life.
Interpreting photos of social media users can be done in different ways. Sometimes a person puts a completely different meaning into a photo than others think. In any case, the opinions of others are not a reason to not share the photos you like.
And if you want your photos not to be discussed on the internet, just save them as a memory, print out a Light album and show them to those people who will truly appreciate them.
