Think people look better in selfies? They probably do. Here’s why:

Lens Distortion - Front-facing cameras changed the selfie game. They also change our facial proportions. Faces slim out, thanks to the wide-angle distortion. A chubbier face can lose a few pounds, chins and jawlines can be accentuated with just the adjustment of an angle. Eyes look bigger...but be careful, noses do too when that camera is too close.

The Mirror Effect - We’re used to seeing our own faces in mirrors...which is the reverse of what the world sees when they look at us. Selfies capture us as we really look to the world, and with the added benefit of being able to take a million from different angles and weed out the best, we can find images we love - and love to share.

Filters and Fixes - We’ve all done it. Filtered eye bags, brightened up a dull photo, adjusted the light balance. Filters and fixers can be a selfie-saviour when the lighting isn’t even or the flourescent lights of a bathroom are less-than-brilliant. And if something makes you feel better about yourself or boosts your beauty self-esteem, why not? Selfies are a frozen instant, and probably chosen from a few hundred versions of the same image before the perfect pic was selected and shared.

The good news is that people prefer the photographic image of you (which is to say, the “real” you), versus what you see in the mirror, which technically, isn’t accurate. We’re just so used to seeing our familiar, reflected faces looking back at us that sometimes the selfie-shock sets in and we ask “is that really what I look like?”. It is. And people love it. You should too.