New York, Oct 6 (IANS): Not feeling like going to office? Post a "sick selfie" to prove to your boss that you are not feeling well.

According to a survey, more people are posting images pretending to be unwell with the Twitter hashtag #sickieselfie.

"Showing off a hangover and to prove illness to friends or co-workers emerged as the most common reasons for uploading a 'sick selfie'," revealed web coupon site vouchercloud that conducted the survey.

Researchers asked 2,300 respondents between ages 18 and 45 about when and why they post selfies.

Nearly half of them admitted to uploading images pretending to be unwell.

"Each participant disclosed to researchers prior to the study that they currently own a smartphone with a camera device and have active social media accounts".

While 19 percent admitted they had posted "sick selfies" to show they were not well, 41 percent revealed they had clicked the self-portraits while at home.

Nearly 15 percent of people said they wanted to gain sympathy from friends and loved ones while nine percent wanted to gain attention from friends or followers, Detroit Free Press reported.