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By Soo Kim
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A video of a boyfriend who failed to "understand the assignment" when asked to snap a photo of his girlfriend in front of a scenic backdrop has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was shared by @kerimeawayyy and has amassed 4.2 million views since it was first posted on April 14.
A message overlaid on the video reads: "When you ask your bf [boyfriend] to take a pic of you floating bc [because] this is the clearest water you've ever seen."
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The footage shows a view of crystal-clear waters in what appears to be an island backdrop. The clip then shows a still image of a woman in a bikini, floating just below the water, with her arms above stretched above her in a V-shape. The angle of the shot appears to make both her legs as well as torso look thick and short, while she appears to have no neck.
A caption shared with the post says: "This is why the reference photos are so necessary."
The desire to capture the perfect photo so isn't entirely surprising in the modern age because "selfitis" is a "genuine mental condition," noted a study published in March 2020 in the IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences.
The study explained that the "selfitis" term was first coined in a hoax news story in 2014 that claimed that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) had "established a new mental disorder called "selfitis" and stated that obsessive photo taking, and posting, is a way to gain attention, compensate for low self-esteem, and compensate for lack of intimacy."
The "selfitis" phenomenon has been explored by several studies since, including one published in 2018 in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.
The 2018 study identified six underlying factors of "selfitis," which include "environmental enhancement [a sense of feeling good, self-expression, creating better memories], social competition, attention seeking, mood modification, self-confidence, and social conformity."
'Too Funny'
TikTok users could relate to the scenario in the viral post.
"Please this is too funny" said @kaitlin314.
"Omg my husband would do this too," noted mackenzie.
Bek May agreed, saying "Yes!! My husband takes the worst pics of me."
"They never understand the assignment," said lillia.
"My husband just said, 'That's a bad pic?'" wrote isabelle berzanskis.
"Literally showed this to my bf and he said, 'I don't get it'," said lea.
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
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