London - You may think that sexy selfie gives others the impression you are irresistible.
But far from boosting your online image, scientists have found that women who post provocative photos of themselves on social networking sites are actually perceived to be more unattractive and less bright – by other women.
Psychologists at Oregon State University made two Facebook profiles for a fictitious 20-year-old called Amanda Johnson.
The profiles were identical except that one showed a clean-cut Amanda in jeans, a shirt and scarf, while in the other she was wearing a low-cut red dress slit to the thigh and a garter belt.
The profiles were shown to 120 female women aged between 13 and 25, who were asked to rate Amanda for attractiveness, whether she would be a good friend and whether she would be a capable worker. In all three areas, non-sexy Amanda scored higher rankings than sexy Amanda.
The results were published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture. Lead researcher Elizabeth Daniels said: “This is a clear indictment of sexy social media photos.
“There is so much pressure on teen girls and young women to portray themselves as sexy, but sharing those sexy photos online may have more negative consequences than positive.” - Daily Mail