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Examples of vertical camera angle manipulation. From left to right, the presented images illustrate selfies photographed from an above, frontal, and below perspective. The portraits are modeled by a research assistant to maintain confidentiality of the sampled Tinder users.
Source publication
When taking a self-portrait or “selfie” to display in an online dating profile, individuals may intuitively manipulate the vertical camera angle to embody how they want to be perceived by the opposite sex. Concepts from evolutionary psychology and grounded cognition suggest that this manipulation can provide cues of physical height and impressions...
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Citations
... Prior research suggests that it primarily helps to ease selfpresentation concerns, allowing for more genuine selfexpression (Bayer et al. 2016). In contrast, online dating platforms involve romantic relationship formulation, with the goal of facilitating matchmaking between strangers (Finkel et al. 2012), thereby making information disclosure and trust-building critical in the initial interaction stages (Sedgewick et al. 2017). Therefore, in the context of online dating, ephemeral sharing functions as a privacy management tool that potentially lowers privacy barriers during initial interactions. ...
In the dynamic world of online dating, a key challenge faced by platforms is the cold-start problem, where newly matched users are hesitant to engage due to privacy concerns. Our solution, ephemeral sharing, addresses this by balancing privacy with the need for personal information sharing. This feature allows personal photos to disappear and become untraceable soon after being viewed, reassuring users about their privacy. We conducted a large-scale randomized experiment with more than 70,000 users to evaluate the impact of ephemeral sharing. The results are compelling: users who could share ephemeral photos were more likely to send personal images alongside with their matching request, especially those with human faces, leading to more matches and higher engagement. Significantly, this effect was more pronounced among users who are more sensitive to their privacy. Furthermore, ephemeral sharing was found to reduce users’ concerns related to data collection, dissemination, and identity misuse, thereby increasing the willingness to share personal information. This approach not only enhances user privacy but also stimulates more active engagement on the platform. For dating platforms and similar platforms, adopting ephemeral sharing can revolutionize user experience. It provides a strategic advantage by boosting user personal information sharing and enhancing privacy, crucial for maintaining meaningful communication in online dating. This feature represents a significant step forward in designing user-centric, privacy-conscious platforms.
... However, the study examining this was entirely based on the attractiveness of faces and did not include the contribution of bodies towards these judgements, or whether other visual perspectives used in social media images impact these judgments. Research suggests that on dating applications such as Tinder men are more likely to use selfies taken from below, whereas women are more likely to use selfies taken from above [21]. These results have been partly replicated and extended to include selfies in other contexts such as Instagram. ...
... Another potential mechanism though which a selfie-stick may influence attractiveness ratings is through the effect of perceived social characteristics. The enhanced selfie-angle achievable with a selfie-stick may also enhance the social cues linked with attractiveness (appearing smaller) [21] thus increasing the individual's rated attractiveness. These competing observations may explain why experiment three only found increased attractiveness and not slimness for selfie-sticks compared to regular selfies; the body may appear rounder and less slim, but the social attributes linked to the appearance and position may make the image more attractive. ...
Taking and posting selfies is a popular activity, with some individuals taking and sharing multiple selfies each day. The influence of the selfie angle, as opposed to more traditional photo angles such as the allocentric images we see in print media, on our aesthetic judgements of images of bodies has not been explored. This study compared the attractiveness and weight judgements that participants made of images of the same bodies taken from different visual angles over a series of four experiments (total N = 272). We considered how these judgements may relate to disordered eating thoughts and behaviours. Selfies were judged to be slimmer than images from other perspectives, and egocentric images were judged to be the least attractive. The way participants rated bodies seen from different perspectives was related to their own disordered eating thoughts and behaviours. These results contribute to our understanding of how we perceive the images we see on social media and how these might be related to how we feel about our own and other people’s bodies.
... More likely, though, this is a matter of shooting angle. A 2017 paper on the head poses heterosexual people tend to adopt when they take selfies for Tinder profiles is revealing (Sedgewick et al. 2017). In this study, women are shown to be about 50 percent more likely than men to shoot from above, while men are more than twice as likely as women to shoot from below. ...
This chapter examines the reinvention of historical forms of pseudoscience, such as physiognomy and phrenology, through artificial intelligence-enabled facial recognition. The scientifically racist misuse of machine learning is illustrated through analyses of two examples. In the first case, Agüera y Arcas, Mitchell, and Todorov trace the history of pseudoscientific practices that attempted to discern criminality from the face, and examine how Xiaolin Wu and Xi Zhang’s deep neutral network similarly relies on erroneous and essentialist ideas about the ‘criminal face’. They then turn to the second example, showing how Michal Kosinski and Yilun Wang’s DNN (deep neural network) does not reveal people’s sexual orientations, but rather exposes social signals and stereotypes about gender identity and sexuality. Agüera y Arcas, Mitchell, and Todorov conclude using machine learning to infer individual and presumed essential traits such as criminality and sexuality is a pseudoscientific practice, and can perpetuate forms of injustice under the guise of scientific objectivity.
... Therefore, group settings boost self-presentational motivations. These motivations are partly good dispositions of individuals, but they rely on situational factors to provoke them (Sedgewick, Flath, & Elias, 2017;Peng et al., 2021a, b). Harris and Ogbonna (2006) conceptualize and test service sabotage, and they suggest that frontline personnel related to customer service are involved. ...
Purpose
In this study, the authors develop a path model and investigate the effect of pandemic-oriented customer mistreatment on service sabotage through the lens of self-presentation theory. Moreover, the authors question the role of service climate as a moderator of the relationship between service sabotage and service performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected via a survey of 165 F&B frontline employees in restaurants in Iran. The hypotheses are examined using confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling and ordinary least squares regression.
Findings
The findings reveal that POCM has a substantial and positive effect on service sabotage, and service climate mitigates the effect of service sabotage on service performance.
Practical implications
The study introduces and conceptually defines the term POCM. Furthermore, the authors apply the self-presentation theory as the overarching theory to explain underlying conditions in customer mistreatment and service sabotage. Moreover, although prior literature has described the saboteur–customer relationship as a one-line interaction, this study contributes to employee sabotage as a multi-linear transaction.
Originality/value
In this study, the authors identify new perspectives on the dark side of hospitality services in crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors argue that pandemic-induced changes are essential not simply because they change customers’ moods and lower their patience threshold, but they further provoke ostentatious behaviors in saboteur–customer relations. These findings shed new light on the literature and provide managerial implications for enhancing hospitality performance.
... One of the potentially important but scarcely investigated selfie aspects is the camera angles of selfies which are used to manifest individuals' characteristics and achieve important social functions. Generally, there are three kinds of selfie angles, that is, the upward angle (being viewed from below), the downward angle (being viewed from above), and the straight angle (being viewed parallelly) (Makhanova et al., 2017;Sedgewick et al., 2017). According to the grounded theory of cognition, vertical spatial orientation is mentally associated with an individual's cognition about some abstract concepts to a great extent (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999), such as masculine and feminine traits. ...
... There are a few studies that have examined differences in selfie angles between males and females, whereas the findings are inconsistent (Eggerstedt et al., 2020;Makhanova et al., 2017;Sedgewick et al., 2017;Soranzo & Bruno, 2020). For example, collecting 557 selfies on Tinder (a popular mobile dating application), Sedgewick et al (2017) found that males took selfies more with an upward angle, whereas females' selfies were more with a downward angle. ...
... There are a few studies that have examined differences in selfie angles between males and females, whereas the findings are inconsistent (Eggerstedt et al., 2020;Makhanova et al., 2017;Sedgewick et al., 2017;Soranzo & Bruno, 2020). For example, collecting 557 selfies on Tinder (a popular mobile dating application), Sedgewick et al (2017) found that males took selfies more with an upward angle, whereas females' selfies were more with a downward angle. Soranzo and Bruno (2020) re-examined the finding of Sedgewick and collaborators and revealed the same result in males and different results in females that females tended to use the straight angle on Tinder. ...
Selfie, which is used to manage impressions online, has garnered a substantial amount of empirical attention in recent years. However, little is known about what factors influence the angle of an individual’s selfie. To address this gap, this study examined the main and interactive effects of gender, culture, and age on selfie angles. A total of 1702 users’ (M = 31.08 years; 52% males) selfies were selected on dating websites in China and the United States. A three-way ANOVA test and a series of one- simple t-tests were utilized to analyze the data. Results indicated that the main effect of gender on selfie angles was significant. Specifically, compared with males, females tended to take selfies from a more downward angle. More importantly, the three-way interaction effect among gender, culture, and age on selfie angles was significant. Subsequent simple effect analysis indicated that in the young adults’ group, the effect of gender × culture was significant. While in the adults’ group, there was no significant interactive effect between gender and culture on the selfie angle. These findings indicate that instead of taking selfie angles as pure variations between males and females, selfie angles should be examined and understood within specific cultural contexts and age groups.
... For example, they exclude features such as eye, skin, and hair colour and texture, which are relevant to facial attractiveness. They also rely on 2D images; not only does this lose important facial information such as facial projection, but it also introduces potential biases if participants tilt their faces at different angles while being photographed (Sedgewick, Flath, & Elias, 2017). These limitations could be improved upon by obtaining images of participants' side profiles or even 3D images that can subsequently be landmarked and/or rated. ...
... Men's height is seen as an attractive trait by women, and tall men may be perceived as more attractive. Multiple studies have consistently found that women are more likely to associate with men who are taller than themselves and taller than the average male, so taller men are considered to be more sexually active [9] [10] [11]. Thus, male height can to some extent predict the chance of monthly sexual encounters [12]. ...
... Third, we sought to determine whether face masks modulate choices of camera angle in the sel e composition. It has been reported that males tend to favor angles from below whereas females prefer angles from above or at eye level (Sedgewick, Flath & Elias, 2017, Bruno, Uccelli, Pisu et al, 2020. Suggesting that this sex-related difference is related to different communicative intentions, it has been documented that choice in camera angle is modulated by the type of social media (the general photo sharing application Instagram vs the dating application Tinder) chosen for posting (Soranzo & Bruno, 2020). ...
... The rst concerns the choice of camera angle. Previous studies have reported that choices of camera angle are related to the sex of the taker, with males preferring angles from below and female preferring angles from above or at eye-level (Sedgewick, Flath & Elias, 2017, Bruno, Uccelli, Pisu et al, 2020. In addition, a related study provided some evidence that camera angle is modulated by communicative intention, such that angles from above become less frequent in female sel es posted on Tinder in comparison to Instagram (Soranzo & Bruno, 2020). ...
Widespread use of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated interest in their effect on interpersonal communication. We asked whether face masks modulate posing during selfie-taking and whether they affect the attractiveness of the poser. We collected a dataset of selfie pairs (one with and one without the mask) from a population of university community members. Results replicated well-known posing biases in selfies, including a preference for displaying the left cheek and a sex-related difference in facial prominence. However, these biases were modulated by face masks, which caused a marked increase of frontal poses in comparison to three-quarter poses (for both left- and right-cheek face rotations), and a weaker but still significant increase in facial prominence of both male and female takers. In contrast, beauty ratings did not differ between mask and no-mask selfies by the same individuals. These results support models of selfies as means of non-verbal communication, whereas do not support recent reports that face masks enhance facial beauty. (word count = 170)
... Hence, besides the strong association between depression symptoms and hypersexual behavior among DA users, we found that specific sociodemographic characteristics of our recruited population are more related to the use of DAs. These aspects partially support social differences previously demonstrated in DA use according to gender, sexual orientation, and relationship status [5,[46][47][48]. Moreover, they represent a new useful point of view to better define the psychological and social profile of typical users of DAs. ...
The use of Dating Applications (DAs) is widespread, and in some cases could be associated with psychosexological issues. Hence, we decided to investigate hypersexual behavior and depression symptoms among DA users and non-users. We recruited a snowball convenience sample of 1000 subjects through an online platform in 2020 for a cross-sectional study. One hundred and nineteen (11.9%) were classified as DA users and 881 as non-users. All subjects completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory (HBI), to assess hypersexuality, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to evaluate depression symptoms. We primarily found higher levels of hypersexual behavior and depression symptoms in DA users compared to non-users. In particular, HBI Total (users = 42.27 ± 16.37 vs. non-users = 31.85 ± 12.06; p < 0.0001), HBI Coping (users = 17.92 ± 8.01 vs. non-users = 13.52 ± 6.03; p < 0.0001), HBI Control (users = 14.73 ± 6.68 vs. non-users = 10.71 ± 4.95; p < 0.0001), HBI Consequences (users = 9.62 ± 4.33 vs. non-users = 7.60 ± 3.37; p < 0.0001), PHQ-9 Depression (users = 12.82 ± 6.64 vs. nonusers = 10.05 ± 5.84; p < 0.0001). On the whole, we found that hypersexual behavior and depression symptoms strongly characterize DAs users; this evidence could represent an important associated factor in DA use for sexual purposes.
... Typically, while a low angle suggests power over the viewer, eye-level indicates equality, and high angle implies power of the viewer (Jewitt & Oyama, 2001;Kress & Van Leeuwen, 1996). Studies that have examined point of view in visuals tend to be descriptive examining the depiction of power relations through camera angles (Boulton, 2007;Bruno et al., 2020;Sedgewick, Flath, & Elias, 2017). For instance, in print ads for hip-hop clothing depicting child models, the camera angles tended to be eye level, calling for equal power relations with the intended audience of affluent parents (Boulton, 2007). ...
... Studies on selfies have also examined camera angle and the power relations it implies. Sedgewick et al. (2017) content analyzed the use of camera angles in 557 selfies on Tinder, and found that while men used mostly low angles indicating power over the viewer, women used high angles indicating less power. Bruno et al. (2020) got similar findings on examining selfies wherein men tended to use low camera angles while women preferred eye level or high camera angles. ...
... Findings from this study confirmed that point of view, i.e., the angles through which subjects are depicted, strongly generated likes and comments across Instagram and Facebook, specifically low point of view, indicating power over the viewer. Camera angles can establish power relations between the viewers and the subjects in the visuals and studies have found that the use of camera angles to imply power relations depends on the purpose of communication, whether it is to establish equal power relations to connect child models with affluent parent customers (Boulton, 2007) or to reinforce stereotypical power relations in mating contexts (Bruno et al., 2020;Sedgewick et al., 2017). Similarly, one probable explanation for our finding could be that organization-generated visual communication of airports employed mostly low camera angles to symbolically suggest power over the viewer, perhaps acknowledging that one of the purposes of organization-generated visual communication of airports is to establish airports as spaces of spectatorship where travelers are enthralled by the viewing of aircraft (Adey, 2007). ...
The ubiquity of social media platforms that increasingly foreground visuals over text has led to a rise in organization-generated visual content. This study addresses an underexamined question about this phenomenon: which characteristics of organization-generated visual content are associated with higher levels of public engagement in social media? Engagement is conceptualized as indicators of first level engagement such as likes and comments that represent affiliation with and support for the organization. Employing a visual social semiotic framework, a randomly selected sample of visuals posted on Instagram and Facebook by four leading airport brands in 2019 (N = 400) was coded for representational, interactive, and compositional meanings. Findings revealed that across platforms narrativity of images, and interactive features of distance and point of view enhanced engagement, while the compositional feature of framing increased engagement on Instagram. Implications of the findings for effective organization-generated visual content on social media are discussed.
