The Rise of the Selfies

An article in TIME, Sept. 1, 2014, by Jeffrey Kluger stated “We’re all born to adore ourselves, but not all of us grow up.” In the article, Kruger sites Developmental psychologist Mark Barnett of Kansas State University who states “It’s an evolutionary imperative for babies to be selfish and narcissistic at birth in order to get their needs met.” It was an interesting article that shows children start to grow out of this narcissism by kindergarten . . . mostly. Unfortunately, some never do. In the issue there was also a partial personality inventory “Are You a Narcissist? I took it and I am not, which didn’t surprise me. I’m uncomfortable being the center of attention.

The article and the darling picture of a little girl admiring herself in a mirror, made me think of the selfies that have become so popular. And when I read in the newspaper about someone at a sporting event in England taking a selfie of themself that somehow included Her Royal Highness, who was then quoted as saying she was not amused, I wondered how others thought of this rise of selfies. Obviously, the Queen doesn’t think much of it, but other famous people seem to be cool with it – even Pope Francis.

 

It’s not exactly a new phenomenon. Artists for centuries have been painting self-portraits and wealthy people have hired artists to paint them or a family member, and with the invention of photography, individual and family pictures were taken by a photographer. With the advent of cheaper cameras, almost everyone had one and took pictures, but not of themselves, unless they had a camera that could be timed long enough for the photographer to hurry and get in place with a group being photographed. Most pictures of ourselves were taken by others.

But now we live in the age of the selfie; a fast self-portrait showing where you are, what you’re doing, and who we think we are, according to Jerry Saltz in his article “Art at Arm’s Length: A History of the Selfie in  Vulture. Unlike portraits done by professionals in the past, these are done by amateurs and he feels “most selfies are silly, typical and boring; guys flexing muscles, girls making pouty lips (‘duckface’), people mugging in bars, posing with monuments or someone famous like Queen Elizabeth, for instance, who was not amused.

In another article in Aljazeera America, Jared Keller writes “Some social psychologists read serious meaning into the selfie, seeing it as a positive mode of identity formation and an important way of presenting and reinforcing a personal image on the Web’s vast social stage.”

Molly Fosco in the Huffington Post thinks “The harshly judged practice of self-picture taking, while perhaps excessive or annoying at times can actually be a really simple way to feel really good about yourself.” Apparently, in her opinion, it helps raise one’s self esteem.

Others view the selfie as an extension of modern narcissism. In Psychology Today Cornell professor of psychology, Peggy Drexler writes “selfie subjects feel as though they’re starring in their own reality shows with an inflated sense of self that allows them to believe their friends or followers are interested in seeing them lying in bed, lips pursed, in a real world head shot. It’s like looking in a mirror all day long and letting others see you doing it.

Some statistics: Women take far more self-portraits then men (4.6 times as many in Moscow.) People are more likely to be smiling in Bangkok or Sao Paulo than Moscow or Berlin. The estimated average age of people taking selfies is 23.7 with New York City the oldest average age of 25.3 in the five cities analyzed.  I’m sure more and more on this topic is now or will be studied. I saw one article that I didn’t bother to read about selfies and mental illness. Maybe I should go back and read it.

At the end of Jared Keller’s article, he asks if selfies are a benign positive form of expression and self-promotion, or a more ominous cry for attention. But he thinks the answer to this question may have to await a larger base study in the future to find out if these casual acts of self-love are positive or negative.

For a blog on forgetfulness I did a while back, I tried to take several pictures of myself with my camera. They were all so horrible I deleted them. Even if I had a phone that takes pictures, I’m quite sure I’d never take one of myself.

How about you? Have you taken any selfies?

What do you think about so many people taking selfies today?

Do you think it’s a good trend or not?