Selfies as The Symbol of Social Media

With the existence of popular social media platform like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., it’s no wonder why people are so focused on basing their self-worth on other’s opinions.

Selfies could be considered the symbol of this current modern age. Most people find it a way for expression while others might think that it is self-absorbed, entitled, and narcissistic representation of new hipsters going into the mainstream. People can bitterly admit that not everything you see is real, which is actually a something I’d describe social media.

A lot of us want to be perceived as someone who is living a good life. Dazzling smiles and flawless faces can be achieved through hundreds of editing applications. It’s slowly becoming a habit for everyone including me to do this. It’s very worrying how those thoughts can turn into involuntary actions. It’s taken vanity to a whole new level. Selfies are simply a mask, a false self.

Selfies could be an escape from reality. Socially, behind every picture is a person with a story. Could those carefully edited unblemished faces were actually painted with bruises from domestic abuse? Flattened bellies to hide those growing bumps? Or just simply trying to hide the hideous double chin? Perhaps selfies are a way to free ourselves from these harsh problems. We’ve become too superficial, looking to see only the surface for us to judge someone.

These photos have made a major influence among people, which can be worsened to influencing children. Selfies are setting impossible expectations and high standards. When people fail to achieve meet those high standards, it can lead to self-destructive methods In addition for insecurities, selfies could have caused the rise of depression and anxiety. There’s an image of perfection crafted, but behind those filters lies an insecurity-stricken person. People have become used to the feeling of being inadequate. Ultimately, I think selfies are unhealthy for our self-esteem. It’s trying to feed it with the amount of likes or shares an image produces. There will be a time where even that can’t be enough. We all just want to be showered with love and attention, inflating our ego.

We begin to notice these flaws and try our best to hide them. It’s like trying to cover all the mottled bruises to create a layer only outsiders can see. Selfies is like trying to deceive people, only showing the good parts. In a way, selfies could be someone seeking for attention. The amount of people liking a photo can be added as points to satisfaction to our self-esteem. We want to be viewed as something to be jealous over. We want to be viewed as glamorous. People associate social media with self-worth, so taking more self-portraits is more than frequent. People want to try different identities, trying to put more masks, looking for ways on how to view themselves differently and being able to identify the aspirational self. Maybe selfies are not only associated with narcissism, but maybe self-respect. We are able to take hundreds of photos until we can produce a photo that properly represents the image of what we want to look like and how we want others to view us as.