The effects of gender, culture, and age on selfie angle: interdependence of evolutionary and sociocultural processes

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.