Why do we love 'selfies'? James Franco attempts to explain the reason.

The ator is qualified to tackle this issue as he is guilty of posting various self-portraits on social media sites and has even been dubbed 'the selfie-king' by the TODAY show on NBC.

The 35 year-old actor wrote a column in The New York Times this past Thursday (Dec 26th) talking about the Instagram craze and how it is the best way of gaining attention, especially for someone who is well-known.

"Attention is power. And if you are someone people are interested in, then the selfie provides something very powerful, from the most privileged perspective possible," Franco wrote.

The '127 Hours' star compared selfies to the movie industry and has a certain method when sharing a picture with his fans, "I've found that Instagram works much like the movie business" he said.

"You're safe if you trade 'one for them' with 'one for yourself,' meaning for every photo of a book, painting or poem, I try to post a selfie with a puppy, a topless selfie or a selfie with Seth Rogen, because these are all things that are generally liked."

Franco admitted to not trusting a person on Instagram if they do not have any selfies on their page because he doesn't know who or what he is looking at.

"I am actually turned off when I look at an account and don't see any selfies, because I want to know whom I'm dealing with" he wrote. "In our age of social networking, the selfie is the new way to look someone right in the eye and say, 'Hello, this is me.'"

Selfies are a new way of communication and according to the Oscar hopeful, they are exciting and helpful in many ways.


One of Franco's many selfies