film 260: our selfies, ourselves

Explicating and analyzing the social media self-portraiture trend

Our Selfies, Ourselves

“From the White House to suburban homes across the world via shiny plastic Hollywood, we are all peering into dirty mirrors

and contorting ourselves to snap a selfie”...

... But what are selfies, why do we take them, and what do they mean for our online presence?

Image by netmole (Photobucket)

Selfies can be categorized in three types, and we can imagine a poster saying something different with each one:

aesthetic selfie “I have no shame!”

ugly selfie“I know it’s ridiculous, but ..."

experiential selfie“I am doing something cool!”

Image by Philippe Boivin (Flickr)

Women (and, much less frequently, men) share images of themselves

in various poses, expressions, outfits and styles asking if or showing that they look good.

“It is almost as if people were scrutinizing their faces for perfection”,says comedienne Katrin Hier.

aesthetic selfies

Content from WA Today; NY MagImage by esc.ape(d) flickr

ugly selfies

Posters on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have taken to posting

conventionally unattractive photos of themselves with tags like

# nomakeup and #prettygirlsuglyfaces.

“It sort of deconstructs our obsessive relationship with showing only our perfect selves”, says Sonya Renee Taylor, founder of The Body Is Not An Apology

Content from NYMagImage by Matt Reinbold (Flickr)

experiential selfiesA study conducted by

Curtin University found that selfies are most frequently taken at

holiday destinations or social gatherings.

“It’s a statement about where I’ve been and what I’m been doing,”say Curtin University researchers.

Content from WATodayImage by Greg Gladman (Flickr)

In a rapidly digitizing world where some argue that the public/private distinction has eroded almost completely,

does sharing our selfies offer us more or less control over our own likeness?

Image by Fredric Poirot (Flickr)

“You’re in charge of the image produced, and all editorial decisions are yours!”

The ability to manipulate photos with Photoshop or an Instagram filter gives us more control over the images we make public.

With a few clicks, we can create a more appealing visual self.

Image by Jessica Leung (Flickr) Content from WAToday

Dr. Andrea Letamendi posits that the selfie is emblematic of the looking-glass self,

the psychological theory that suggests we develop a sense of self based on our understanding of how others perceive us.

… Only now we control those perceptions, meaning we can control our self image, too.

Image by Randy Weiner (Flickr) Content from Mashable

However, digital media enables us to share images quickly and with many people...

Even people we may not be comfortable seeing (let alone saving) them.

It can be embarrassing when pictures are proliferated beyond our immediate circles of trust and social interaction.

Image by flatworldsedge (Flickr) Content from WAToday

It is for this reason that Instagram has yet to overcome Facebook

as the platform most often used to share selfies.

“...People still think the privacy settings on Facebook work better,”says Dr. Jon Stratton.

Image by Paul Bica (Flickr) Content from WAToday

Insofar as we can control what we look like but not who sees us, we are forced to mold our visual selves to be universally palatable.

Image by Abdullah Al-Nasser (Flickr)

In addition to our notions of privacy, selfies may harm our self-esteem. When we are able to access our peers’ photos

and gain insight into their lives, we increasingly participate in social comparison.

Image by TheBusyBrain(Flickr)

Social comparison only becomes problematic when we fixate or over-compare to the extent that it begins to harm us...

Content from MashableImage by mirwav (Flickr)

... And even so, the harm may not stem from the photos themselves,

but from pre-existing struggles with self-esteem.

Perhaps the selfie trend is good for people with low self-esteem. We receive much-needed reassurance when others confirm that

we look good or that our desired effect has been achieved.

Tama Leaver says that the narcissism latent in selfies is of a good kind– one that is demonstrative rather than promotional.

Image by HA!Dedeigns (Flickr) Content from WAToday

Included in this demonstrative effect is the

use of our social medial profiles, including selfies,

to brand and market ourselves...

...which may an essential component of employability in the digital age.

Image by Kate Lee (Flickr) Content from MacLeans

In posting, we are necessarily trivializing and embarrassing ourselves,he says.

Image by Michelle Brea (Flickr) Content from MacLeans

However, Andrew Keen believes this form of narcissism is

an extreme and negative one.

Image by Scott* (Flickr) Content from MacLeans

But perhaps selfies in and of themselves are morally neutral, it’s how we use them that is good or bad.

We should avoid their self-deprecating and voyeuristic applications...

... in favour of using them as a presentational form

that depicts us at our most true and at our best.

Image by Kris Krug* (Flickr)

Online and real-world phone art galleries are already being curated.

Some even believe that we should see selfies as an independent subgenre of photography

and treat them as art.

Image by Stuck In Customs (Flickr) Content from Macleans

We will see ourselves not in the mirror, not in prints, but through the front-facing camera lens.

The medium including the modeling, photography and editing

are representative of the digital generation.

Image by John Beihler(Flickr)

works cited

Analyzing the “selfie” trend. By Angelina Irinici. Macleans OnCampus. February 2013.http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2013/02/13/analyzing-the-selfie-trend/

The rise and rise of the 'selfie‘. By Bim Adewunmi. The Guardian April 2013http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2013/apr/02/rise-and-rise-of-the-selfie

“Selfies' just as much for the insecure as show-offs. By Jillian McHugh. WAtoday. April 2013. http://www.watoday.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/selfies-just-as-much-for-the-insecure-as-showoffs-20130403-2h6ow.html

The Social Psychology of the Selfie. By Christine Erickson. Mashable. February 2013.http://mashable.com/2013/02/15/social-media-and-the-selfie/

Ugly Is the New Pretty: How Unattractive Selfies Took Over the Internet. By Rachel Hills. NY MagMarch 2013http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/03/ugly-is-the-new-pretty-a-rise-in-gross-selfies.html

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