Nonverbal communication in selfies posted on Instagram: another look at the effect of gender on vertical camera angle

Background: Selfies are a novel social phenomenon that is gradually beginning to receive attention within the cognitive sciences. Several studies have documented biases that may be related to nonverbal communicative intentions. For instance, in selfies posted on the dating platform Tinder males but not females prefer camera views from below (Sedgewick, Flath & Elias, 2017). We re-examined this study to assess whether this bias is confined to dating selection contexts and to compare variability between individuals and between genders. Methods: Three raters evaluated vertical camera position in 2000 selfies– 1000 by males and 1000 by females—posted in Instagram. Results: We found that the choices of camera angle do seem to vary depending on the context under which the selfies were uploaded. On Tinder, females appear more likely to choose neutral, frontal presentations than they do on Instagram, whereas males on Tinder appear more likely to opt for camera angles from below than on Instagram. Conclusions: This result confirms that the composition of selfies is constrained by factors affecting nonverbal communicative intentions.