1. The people who take selfies infrequently and are self-righteous about it.
2. The people who do take selfies often and lie about it.
3. The people who take selfies regularly and post about it.
If you say you don't fall into any of these categories, you're probably a number 1 and you're in denial of your self-righteousness or you're a number 2 and you're still lying about it. As for me, I would say I fall into category two. Though I don't take selfies super often, most of the ones I take never see the light of day. The last purely vain selfie I posted was in September. But though the selfie culture gets a lot of hate, most of us have participated and I think there may be some pros to it.
First, we need to stop blaming millennials for selfie culture. The truth is selfies have been around for ages, they just weren't called selfies back then. Before the camera, people of nobility would hire artists to paint portraits of themselves to hang in their homes. These ancient selfies would take hours to produce. You'd have to love yourself a ton to stand for hours while an artist paints a photo of you. Thank goodness it's a lot faster now.
(Portrait d'une noble génoise)
After the camera was invented, selfies started early. Taken in 1839, this is the first known selfie.
It's a pretty good one, if I do say so myself. And don't think for a moment that mirror selfies are merely a thing of the modern day. Not even the earliest of its kind, here's a mirror selfie from 1900.
(see more at http://www.news.com.au/technology/these-old-selfies-dating-back-to-the-1800s-will-blow-your-mind/story-e6frfro0-1226741497253)
#OOTD #ModestIsHottest #HideTheAnkles
Selfies are not a millennial invention? Who knew? But though we didn't invent the selfie, we certainly have redefined it. With front-facing cameras, color technology, editing software and a plethora of filters, we have made selfies a form of self-expression and a way to raise self esteem.
When you really think about it, the willingness to post a picture of yourself on the internet, to an audience of hundreds to thousands to potentially millions of people takes quite a bit of confidence. Not only are you sharing a close-up of your face: beauty, flaws, and all. But you are opening yourself up for criticism whether you ever hear about it or not. Selfie posting can be a mask for some to hide unhappiness or fear, but for others it takes off the mask. It displays themselves to the world, showing that they love themselves and want everyone to know. For me, posting a selfie usually equates to me wanting to show myself off because I feel good.
Selfies can also encourage creativity. There are so many aspects of a selfie that are chosen by the taker. The angle that the photo is taken, the lighting, the facial expressions, the coloration, the filtering, the caption and more. Though not a typical art form (and many wouldn't dare regard as art), people are able to express themselves through the pictures they take. They are able to create an image that is not only of their own creation, but they are the subject as well. It is purely themselves.
I think that's why I get a little defensive when someone remarks condescendingly about selfie-taking. The truth is I am a huge supporter of the culture. People are posting themselves in a way that they have created (probably with some assistance from Instagram or other editing apps). But if someone feels good enough about themselves to post a picture that opens them up to hatred and criticism from their online friends, who am I to complain about it being on my news feed? Post on, my narcissistic, creative, beautiful friends, post on.
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