question about chainsaw maintenance

so, ive been doing some spring cleaning, including sectioning a few downed trees and ive noticed that when i cut branches that are less the 14 inches across (the width of the blade) i always put the branch right up to the body of the saw, to keep it from kicking up

now, that got me wondering, will the chain closest to the body of the saw wear out quicker then the rest that way?

should i cut with the whole length of the saw to keep it from dulling up ?

what do you guys think ?