Forget selfie shame, if you’re feeling good, we’re all for celebrating that. Not only have selfies been proven to improve your mental health, according to research by psychologists at the University of California, snapping selfies for social media tends to make us more confident in ourselves, and happier overall.

But we have to admit, getting the right shot usually takes more than one attempt.

Which is why, in the name of being real, we’re fully embracing a recent survey which exposes the average number of attempts it takes us to get a selfie we’re happy with. 

And it seems we’re not alone in not getting the perfect snap first time.

The Florida House Experience, a health treatment centre in Florida, USA, asked 1,024 people the average number of selfies they take before feeling satisfied that they’ve nailed it.

As we expected, only 5% of women revealed that one take is all it takes. Whoever these people are, we applaud them.

For the majority, however, it takes a more realistic number of two to five attempts before they’re happy. 

Personally, we’re probably more likely to sit in the six to ten attempts category, of which 28% of women fessed up to. 

The centre, which focuses on rehabilitation and body positivity, created a infographic of the findings, which you can see below. 

The research also looked at how much ‘tweaking’ people tend to do before posting an image of themselves, as well as how many likes it takes to feel good about a selfie. 

44% of women said that they would spend several minutes (between one and three) editing their photo before posting it, alluding to using filters or even editing apps to change their appearance. 

These topics touch on the darker sides of social media and selfie-taking, such as the addiction we have to positive affirmation through likes and new followers or the online pressures which can lead to dissatisfaction, loneliness and isolation.

As with most aspects of social media, there are good and bad sides. If snapping a selfie makes you happy, then more power to you – and the faster you can get it done, the quicker you can get on with living your ‘real’ life. 

Images: Andrei Coman / The Florida House Experience