A “selfie” is defined as a picture of yourself, typically taken by yourself. They date back centuries when great leaders of our world had their self-portraits painted. Nowadays, our self-portraits have taken on a different form and have become quite an epidemic. Candid photos, duck faces, bathroom mirror pictures, and many other poses that are taken with a front-camera are regularly strung across our feeds on a variety of social media platforms. Wherever you go, there are constantly people using their front camera to snap a picture of their “good face day.” Millennials have been renamed the “selfie generation” due to the high level of narcissism that is present within our society.
Selfies have been deemed responsible for more deaths than shark attacks. This may be due to the fact that most individuals take pictures of themselves while driving or even walking across the street. It really is just that important to get that perfect snap of your face while swerving in and out of traffic or almost getting hit by a car.
Personally, I do not have an issue with selfies in moderation. Taking a picture of yourself when you have a good hair day, at an event, or even on a holiday is more than acceptable. However, I feel that when people are constantly posting pictures of themselves it becomes an issue. If a person’s Instagram consists only of pictures of themselves, their selfie privileges should be revoked.
Taking a picture should commemorate a special moment or milestone in your life. I hate to break it to most people, but no one wants to see you snap a picture of yourself bored while waiting for the bus. There are some moments that are relevant enough to share with the world and there are others that are best kept behind closed doors.
Selfies are merely a waste of our time. That moment you spent taking a picture of yourself when you looked good, felt bored, did homework or even were in a class occupied time from your day. Filling up these spaces in our day with a picture of ourselves disturbs up the moments of everyday life.
I feel that selfies have had a negative impact on our generation. I will admit that I have taken an occasional selfie on a good hair day. But there is a lot of stress in getting an ideal image of one’s self. There are countless steps that go into capturing a so-called “perfect” selfie. First, the lighting must be perfect. Secondly, the angle must be just right. Lastly, the facial expression you pose with reveals a lot about you, so choose wisely. Sounds like an anxiety-ridden process, right? The worst part is waiting to see how many Instagram “likes” your photo will get. This picture of yourself could quite possibly be a confidence booster or simply a huge disappointment.
Selfies create unnecessary anxiety and reinforce our generation’s sense of narcissism. We are constantly concerned with our self-image and our own successes. We quantify our happiness with the number of likes a photo of ourselves accumulates online, rather than enjoying life’s simple pleasures. I think that the so-called “selfie generation” is extremely self-absorbed and egotistical. We must revert back to a time when posting a great selfie was not looked at as an accomplishment, but simply as a waste of time. Rather than attempting to capture every moment with a photograph, try to simply live it.
Those that have thousands of followers on Instagram and plenty of Snapchat friends pride themselves on having such a strong presence on social media. Perhaps, they should become more concerned with their presence within their physical world. Personally, I think taking a photo of yourself is harmless in moderation, but it has become a way of life for many millennials. We all need an ego boost at times, butwe should not allow the gratification of a like on our Instagram selfie control our lives. Try to only take a picture of yourself or others to capture a real memory rather than an insignificant detail from your everyday life. Begin to enjoy the minute details of your life and refrain from disrupting them with a photo of yourself.