Selfies and a Culture of Self Obsession

In the world that we live in today, selfies have become a frequent thing that we see around us: the norm. Some of us may immediately drop everything and join in, while others simply stand by, disgusted by what has become of humanity. I tend to be among the second group. Unless I am invited into the image, I find myself rolling my eyes and sighing.

It’s not because I’m angry that I wasn’t asked to be in the picture; more often than not, it is because, to an extent, I’m ashamed of our generation. This is how we choose to tell others about our trips and experiences? Instead of actually taking a photo of the potentially beautiful place at which we are, we block it out with our faces.

People need to get this into their brains: generally, others care more about where you are and how cool a thing you are doing more than your face. However, over the past twenty years, people have become more and more self obsessed. This self obsession has always been present, but hasn’t necessarily been paid much attention to.

In the late forties and throughout the fifties, people were struggling to get back on their feet after the Second World War, therefore, they were not focusing so much on broadcasting themselves as they were on helping themselves and others. In the sixties and seventies, people became very self-absorbed. Not in the sense that they thought of themselves as better than others, although there were obviously those like that, but more in the sense that they were in their own little worlds, listening to up-and-coming British rock bands and smoking certain narcotics that became popular then.

In the eighties and nineties, television started to become more popular. Cable television came out, and music videos became more popular, which meant that celebrities became more, well, celebrated. This only promoted the idea that people could care a lot about themselves, since many celebrities seemed to do the same. Then, when the internet came about, social media began to emerge. This simply allowed individuals to speak about their lives and activities more publicly. I believe that this is really when society began to care a massive amount about others’ thoughts of them.

But, a few years ago, when selfie-sticks made their debut, I nearly lost all my faith in humanity. If someone used a selfie-stick, it was like they were letting everyone know that they cared so much about taking pictures of themselves that they went and spent money on a device that was supposed to enhance their “selfie taking experience”. On the other hand, selfie-sticks allow for more people to be involved in the photos, which makes some feel left out.

However, that upside is insanely outnumbered by downsides of selfies and selfie-sticks. As children, we are taught to think about others before we think about ourselves, but thanks to the invention of the selfie, that is being applied less and less in the lives of teenagers and adults today.

For example, at the furthest end of the spectrum of narcissism, there are those who will take a selfie in front of an important person, or a struggling person, because either they want people to know that they saw someone famous, or helped someone that was not as fortunate as they. Wanting others to know how cool they are, or what good they did in the world, they go and ruin the moment by posting a blurry image of themselves, broadcasting their images.

Overall, I believe that selfies are the epitome of narcissism, and are generally used so that people can either broadcast themselves and their image, or to make themselves feel good about something that they’ve done. Although selfies can be epic, and might even break the internet *ahem* Elle deGeneres, overall, they are not a positive addition to the society that we live in today.