Those who are habitual selfie takers are prone to having low self-esteem, says a study. The research, conducted by money-saving app VoucherCloud, found that over half of young people take selfies at least once a week.

Nearly 60 percent of youngsters admitted that behind their smile is a low self-esteem. Only 13 percent said they felt "confident in my own skin".

"A selfie is subject to lighting, Photoshop and a whole host of other factors so often people actually look very little like they do in real life," Matthew Wood, managing director of vouchercloud.com was quoted as saying in media reports. The study involved 2,071 British men and women aged 18-30.

It revealed that 39 percent preferred taking pictures of themselves rather than their family, partner or pets."It seems as if the selfie trend is just growing more and more. This is a phenomenon which will be around for some time," Wood added.