Selfie, Anyone?

In today’s social media-ridden world, photos flock the web. And a big majority of these photos are digital self-portraits which now quite commonly go by the term, “Selfie”. Many people may initially dismiss them as attempts at being attractive, but according to “My Selfie, Myself“, by Jenna Wortham, these simplistic photos carry more meanings than what they appear to be.

Traditionally most self-taken photographs are documents of our lives capturing events or telling a story of what happened at the time.But now as we move through time in an ever increasing society of social media, Selfies are becoming another form of communication. Instead of simply texting a message, a quick image of yourself can show how you’re feeling for the day instead. Also, made apparent through sites such as Vine and Twitter, the world we observe through social media becomes more interesting when people insert themselves into it.

Dr. Pamela Rutledge says, “It’s unconcious. Our brain process visuals faster, and we are more engaged when we see faces. If you’re looking at a whole page of photos, the ones you will notice are the close-ups and selfies.” So whether a Selfie is a way to promote your image, record a digital diary or a form of communicating, it’s up to the individual to how they interpret it.