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The newest word attracting a lot of hype and flak, all at once is the ‘selfie.’ If you tell me that you have had a smartphone for sometime now and you haven’t ever taken a selfie, in all probability I might tick you off as a liar. All the furore about the posting of selfies on social media platforms, being treated as a means of attention seeking is slowly dying down.
A selfie speaks a lot, not about the person who posted it, but the feeling with which he posted it. Someone was pleased with himself to think it was worth presenting to the world and henceforth made the effort to post it publicly.It has a lot to do with the self confidence of the person-the fact that he is comfortable in his skin and elated to share it.
But some people who beg to differ on this topic.They believe that selfies encourage self obsession to a point of being vain.You often come across people trying to make digs at selfies, based on this theory of vanity.The point worthy of thought here is that, the culture of posting selfies might actually end up making one believe that you HAVE to look good if you have to show yourself to the world.But my counter reaction to this statement is, ‘Why not?’ Don’t we all stop in front of the mirror just for that one moment, every time before we step out of the house, just to check if we are at least presentable to the world…if not look good?
The Oxford Dictionary defines vain as βhaving or showing an excessively high opinion of oneβs appearance, abilities, or worthβ. So does posting a photo of yourself online equals to meaning that you have an excessively high opinion of your appearance? When we share all aspects of our lives from joys, sorrows, anger,disappointments,successes and failures-just about everything on social media, what’s wrong with bringing out that one shot that makes you glow with inner confidence?! Why should you deprive yourself that moment of celebrating your own self?
“There is a primal human urge to stand outside of ourselves and look at ourselves” said Clive Thompson, author of the book ‘How technology is changing our minds for the better.’ That probably explains the invention and popularity of the selfie concept.
The only concern worth raising here is the extreme obsession that comes with this whole culture of taking and posting selfies.It is about those moments of self doubt that occur when you get ‘overty-involved’ in the whole compulsion to click a perfect selfie next time around, which may breed self doubt triggered thoughts like “Am I looking too fat?” or “Is there some way I could cover those blemishes?”
In the event of going overboard, the selfies posted might actually start reflecting a show-off quality which might not go down well with the audience.Here are some questions you could ask yourself before sharing a selfie:
Is there an aesthetic quality to the picture?
Is it about your new hair cut or the spontaneously natural smile that showed up in the picture? Or is it talking about your visit to a place that could interest the onlookers-maybe standing against the backdrop of the stadium watching a particularly popular ongoing match of cricket.If the point of posting the picture is just coz you think you look great in it, how is it going to be of interest to your audience?
How often do you share your selfies?
But of course, people love seeing your pretty face but you do need to give people a break.Keep a decent amount of time gap between every share.Sharing selfies almost every other day just gets too over the top.
Is it in good taste?
A very vital deciding factor for the picture to be shared should be, whether it is post worthy or not.A particularly indecent shot which excessively flaunts your assets, or a click of you eating with your mouth open is definitely not tasteful enough to be posted.
Is it a good click?
Is it a good photograph? Is the lighting proper? Is the angle right? You don’t wanna be posting pictures that show you in unflattering angles and lighting.
If you are doing it right, I don’t see any reason for you to stop yourself from calling yourself a ‘selfie’ lover! When you start doing it in moderation, you actually might get inspired to click other great stuff besides your own pictures.It might make you develop an interest in various other topics that would be great to share with people.
It is said the choicest pleasures of life lie within the ring of moderation.The pleasure of reveling in a feel-good moment and showcasing it in moderation is a great way of utilizing this technological convenience without going overboard and being too much in the face.
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I don't like selfies. To me, those who bombard the social media with pictures of themselves should get a real hobby. I don't care what they're doing at the time.
Besides, who would want to see a picture of an old lady? I prefer to use a professional photo portraying my better days. π You might detect a touch of jealousy. Visiting from UBC.
Selfies are the craze …I too have posted a few… Good thing about selfies are that you face the camera confidently and happily unlike when someone else clicks you..
Nice post here..:)
I don't like selfies at all. To many girls post really inappropriate ones all over social networking sites. I think it's pretty vain…
I don't mind selfies if they are interesting to those who view them but they rarely are interesting beyond a close circle of family and friends. They seem to be a kind of way of boosting your ego and proof that you met someone, know someone or have been somewhere, but it doesn't really matter to me whether you have a picture of yourself there. If you talk about it, I believe it. I can see a use though when getting the right shot for a public photo or something without boring someone else having to take lots of pictures.
Francene…I've seen an amazing pic of yours on your blog…not a selfie though! So we do have an interesting and beautiful lady here…no matter what her age is.Yes I agree, a lot of the selfie obsessed crowd could do well with other hobbies indeed.
Thanks for stopping over π
Preeti that's definitely an advantage of clicking your own self…you can just be what you want to be without being conscious π
Sophie, I know what you're talking about…I've seen a few of those really inappropriate ones.Wish people would display some sense in what they are sharing.
Ana you resonate my thought here…as long as they are able to capture some kind of interest by clicking it somewhere interesting they've been to or something new they've tried with their looks it makes sense.A lot of people overdo it in a wrong way and hence the acceptance for this concept is low.
People have always taken selfies. It's just gone viral now.
Yeah Nick, it sure has gone viral!
I'm in two minds about selfies. Some posted are really lovely. But posting too often may be construed as vanity. Have I posted any? No, I like holding the camera and clicking other things π But maybe if someday I take a real good selfie of myself I might post it! Good topic Vinodini.
you give some excellent guidelines on how to make the most of a selfie. I wont take them but my daughter and her friends use them like I would have used a photo album two decades ago. It is their way of 'swapping postcards', collecting souvenirs and sharing their life. The younger people are much more hive oriented than those of us who came before. I dislike photographs of myself at the best of times but they love them.
http://ceciliaaclark.blogspot.com.au
Gosh !
Such a cool post. I never thought this much abt selfies or how much good they look etc etc. I hav clicked once or twice but never felt like posting in social media. Some selfies are good but when we hav to see a selfie every day it gets boring !
Good post Vinodini
I rarely take a selfie of just me – but if I'm with my children and we want to record what we're doing, we take a selfie of us all together. Until recently, I tried hard not to be in any photos, but I realised it was important for there to be pictures of me and my children, so I'm trying to get comfortable with being in them now
Visiting from from A-Z Challenge
I never really thought about it this way, as self confidence. My 11 year old daughter takes them all the time for fun on my phone of different expressions and she doesn't worry if she looks goofy which I envy a bit. I get very self conscious if I take a "bad" picture which is basically any picture that shows my age π I like seeing the selfies that are obviously the first shot with little concern about appearance. When someone takes 17 first to get the best shot then it may be about vanity. Thanks for giving me something to think about. Conlee http://www.conleericketts.com/1/post/2014/04/v-is-for-vision-by-conlee-ricketts-atozchallenge.html
Thanks Suzy.I feel you could give it one try if you yet haven't tried it…maybe somewhere interesting that you have visited π
Yes Cecilia… its more rampant among youngsters.And they sure could do with some tips there π
Thanks for dropping by!
Thanks Afshan.Well the world is talking about this rage and yes, everyday posting of selfies is so not cool!
Mahala, those are my favorite kind of selfies, the ones with my son! They are sure to be good memories to preserve for future.Thanks for stopping over π
Nice to see you here Conlee. Yeah taking 17 retakes definitely becomes a concern.Kids these days are the least conscious ones when it comes to clicking selfies.But I've noticed that the more relaxed you are, the better your pics turn out to be.
I like selfies. Sometimes you want a picture of yourself and there's no one there to take it. I think they are a part of the social media world. I do suppose there is a vanity component to it for some people but I think for the most part it's just fun. It's something technology allow us to do that's still relatively new so it might not last.
Good to have you here Grazona. Yeah selfies definitely come handy when you feel like having some pictures of your own but have no one to click them for you…it sure is convenient!
Hey Vinodini, love ur points and what's the harm in doing it? Like ur points and you made a strong case. Well! I tried but fail in doing a good selfie. I do feel that selfies tend to go overboard..hehe
There is self love and there is a self obsession! I myself don't like selfie-loaded timeline. People instead of getting a decent click prefer shooting a selfie where three or four people try to fit in the frame but no one actually fits in except the person in middle! There can be better photography styles. A random selfie among other photographs doesn't look odd! π
Hahaha! I know a lot obsessed with selfies. Daily selfies, same angles different clothes and background. I take photos of myself too but don't post them.
Thanks Vishal.If you've tried and not had good results practice can make you better π There's no harm in taking some as long you don't go overboard π
yeah Sesha…i've noticed that too…when more than 2 people try to fit into a selfie, the people on the sides don't get good visibility π
Maane…as long you enjoy taking them but not sharing them…go on.But I really think a few good ones can be shared for fun once in a while!
Selfies are a completely generational thing. I'm 49, and most people my age and older would prefer a photo of themselves to be flattering — not very likely in a selfie. Generations younger than me have grown up with sharing completely fresh and unstructured photos of themselves, which my generation and older are completely uncomfortable with, as a rule. But I have become fascinated with that unstructured aspect of social media image sharing. I love selfies (that other people take!) My arms are short and I find my own attempts at selfies are never what I'm hoping for.
Julia, your take on structured photography during your times has me thinking further…it never occurred to me of selfies being unstructured…but you are right…so much more to delve on this topic.
Thanks for visiting π