The New Social Currency: What Those Selfies <i>Really</i> Mean

While the notion of taking a selfie or #ootd shot for social media is commonplace in today's society, the real question of understanding those beautifully composed shots is often overlooked in our quest to be inspired. Research undertaken by The Outnet, the online shopping destination, and Pulsar, an audience intelligence platform, have recently revealed a deeper understanding behind that square image. Analysing over 33 million posts across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for posts tagged with #thrill and #joy, the research findings have proved useful in understanding the significance of a selfie. For example, did you know that in Singapore, the day people talk about joy most frequently on social media is Sunday?

Here are some other interesting points to note from the findings:

1. They are a way to express our belonging to a "style tribe"

As much as we value our individuality and unique style, #ootds are a way for people to show that they belong to a "style tribe", as the report calls it, with each tribe having a particular aesthetic, fashion and lifestyle codes. Philo-philes, anyone?

2. They are a way to celebrate personal growth

Selfies are the most popular way that people use to celebrate personal growth and achievements on social media—and rather than being just a means of self-promotion, selfies also seemed to be the new status symbol. Selfies centred around personal growth also were the biggest drivers for discussions of joy.

3. They are the postcards of the 21st century

Travel also featured heavily on social media as a way of updating friends, family and followers about the destinations one has visited. The findings also showed that around 10% of all Instagram posts analysed with mentions of thrill and joy included a mention of summer and sunshine, and that the top ten geotagged cities throughout the month of analysing data were New York, Paris, London, LA, Dubai, Miami, Berlin, Sydney, Melbourne and Hamburg.

"The global research findings will be integral to our strategic business planning, helping us to better understand not only our customer but also how the global consumer behaves across social media, especially in relation to thrill and joy, which are focal key words for us a business," said Andres Sosa, Executive Vice President of The Outnet.

And there you have it, the lowdown on what it really means to take an #ootd in this day and age.

By Pakkee