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Doctors: Impulsive Selfie Taking Dubbed 'Selfitis'

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — "Selfitis" is when a person is compelled to constantly take photos of themselves and post them on social media, and doctors say it's a genuine mental condition backed by new science.

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Sisters Taelor and Tia Smith and their friends say they snap hundreds of selfies a day.

"Sometimes I feel you know everything doesn't translate on camera, but then to turn and see oh my good my teeth look great, my eyebrows match this is great," Taelor said.

A recent study in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction suggests compulsive selfie-taking can lead to "selfitis."

"A selfie addiction is when a person is almost obsessively taking selfies--multiple times a day--and posting that to whatever it might be--Snapchat, Facebook or Instagram," Dr. Ramani Durvasula said.

Psychologist say those who suffer from selfitis are generally seeking to boost their confidence, get attention, improve their mood, make memories, conform with their social group and be socially competitive.

And they say if more than 50-percent of your photos are selfies and you're using filters frequently those are red flags.

"More studies are showing this--more time spent on social media sites negatively affects people's self esteem, can make a person less able to cope, more likely to have anxiety, depression--that sort of thing," Dr. Durvasula explained.

To help avoid selfitis, it's advised that you put your phone down and create "Selfie free zones."

Taelor says she's not obsessed, she's just a "selfie connoisseur."

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Doctors say constantly taking selfies can also be considered an addictive behavior.

They say the best way to help someone who does this is to not like or validate their photos on social media.

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