Selfie craze

The trend is blowing across the world. People can be seen clicking themselves away, anywhere and everywhere, in gay abandon. Some don't hesitate to even risk their lives to take snaps against the background of the most unearthly place at the most uneartly hour, ignoring the option of Photoshop. The selfie craze has always remained a mystery for me. My friends explain it away as self indulgence. There is no denying the fact that obsession with one's looks is the sole motivator, but I think there are other, not-so-obvious, reasons behind the selfie craze. I don't think any serious research has been carried out on the trend so far. I request my FB friends to enlighten me on this and suggest more factors that could have given rise to the craze.
One question that has been haunting me for some time is don't ppl get bored of looking at themselves again and again. Or do they see a new avatar every time they click a selfie.