Please help me understand the selfie thing

[cashflyer]

Originally Posted by Gogar

So I think naturally, many women take selfies where the background is less important. More men take selfies with "stuff" in the background.

Pretty well observable in the two photos above your post!

Unlike Rick, I am 48 and have taken selfies.
I often travel alone, and if I want myself in a photo then I have few options other than "selfie" (or trust a stranger with my phone or camera).

I do not have a facebook account, and I don't post selfies for "likes".

My selfies tend to be documentary in nature; that is, documenting places I have been. Ie: Me in front of the Arc de Triumph, Me with the Road Atlanta front stretch in the background, Me flying a helicopter (though that is not really a selfie, as it comes from GoPro footage), Etc.

It's not narcissism that requires me to be in the photo. It's a desire to say "See.... I really was there."

And of course not every photo is a selfie. Just a few for proof. Otherwise, I think my photo albums are akin to the days of bringing home a bag of slides from your vacations.




Not me:

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by pavulon

Facebook is vanity and stupidity on parade.

This, my hatred for it grows daily .

[GH85Carrera]

I have never posted a selfie on Facebook. I have taken few selfies. When I met Dennis Gauge (The mustache guy) from my classic cars I took a selfie with him mostly because I knew my brother in Alabama watches that show. I have taken pictures of some of my meals as well. Special occasion meals at some fancy place are worth taking a photo of the food. If that bothers someone tough cookies, I don't give a flip.

I took a selfie with my wife along the Pacific Coast highway in 2014 with the pretty blue ocean in the background. Mostly to record it on my phone as locations.



I likely will be taking selfies on my upcoming trip up into the land of Yankees. It has nothing to do about my narcissism, but just a way to record the trip and share with friends and family, and NOT on facebook.

[ckelly78z]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I'm 45, have never taken a selfie, never will.

^^^^^Same here , but 51 next week. For the most part I think the word "selfie" is mis-spelled, it should be "selfish", because you are assuming that other people want to see 20 closeups of your face......kinda egotistical if you ask me.

Some of these people who suffer from "death by selfie", truly did get thier 15 minutes of fame that they so desired.

[sc_rufctr]

[gacook]

The only time I take "selfies" is if one of my kids (or my wife) are in the pic with me. Pics of just me? I have no need.

[RF5BPilot]

Maybe at some level, young folks feel somewhat lost and invisible. Many of them have electronic interests...which leave no markers of even having existed. Previous generations were encouraged to have interests that demonstrated abilities. How much can most kids do to cars these days? Build R/C stuff from scratch? Build electronic components? I can't remember the last young woman I met that showed off her sewing or craft skills....much less woodworking or car wrenching. I'm sure they're out there.

Sure, some may be an obsession with self. We all grew up with folks who never lost a chance to glance at themselves while passing a mirror or window. But some of this may simply be a simple version of, "I selfie, therefore I am."

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by pavulon

Facebook is vanity and stupidity on parade.

Quite true in many ways, but look at it this way...it's given millions of people a reason to get out of bed in the morning. After all, if it's not on Facebook, it didn't happen.

[pavulon]

I believe adult selfies to be the insecure (the core of narcissism, btw) fueling with attention and external validation of which they cannot get enough. As a result, seeking this continuous approval becomes a large part of their identity which is facilitated by social media. It's only going to get worse as more and more adults with insecurity issues are getting approval to troll for the feed every hour of every day and everyone else needs to be tolerant of it.

Originally Posted by RF5BPilot

Maybe at some level, young folks feel somewhat lost and invisible. Many of them have electronic interests...which leave no markers of even having existed. Previous generations were encouraged to have interests that demonstrated abilities. How much can most kids do to cars these days? Build R/C stuff from scratch? Build electronic components? I can't remember the last young woman I met that showed off her sewing or craft skills....much less woodworking or car wrenching. I'm sure they're out there.

Sure, some may be an obsession with self. We all grew up with folks who never lost a chance to glance at themselves while passing a mirror or window. But some of this may simply be a simple version of, "I selfie, therefore I am."

[rusnak]

I took a selfie with football coach Pat Hill when he came to our pumpkin patch. I thought it was really cool of him to do that. My girlie takes selfies with her girlfriends when they go out. It doesn't bother me really.

[Eric Hahl]

The first selfie in space, before selfies where a thing. Buzz Aldrin. 1966!

[stealthn]

Apparently we won't be able to take selfie's from space either


Planetary Resources cancels 'space selfie' project

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Eric Hahl

The first selfie in space, before selfies where a thing. Buzz Aldrin. 1966!

Thanks for this, Eric...there's a bar set so high it will never be surpassed.....

[sc_rufctr]

[Otter74]

A year and a half ago my girlfriend and I were in Istanbul on vacation. One day we were on a boat on the Bosporus and observed a family that I will guess was Indonesian, or maybe Malaysian. They appeared to have plenty of money, very turned-out, mom and dad in their 50s and a pair of daughters (I'd guess) in their 20s, with carry-on wheelie bags (?!) It was a beautiful setting with more to soak in than you could manage, and these two women spent the entire trip taking selfies, co-selfies, pictures of each other. All more or less the same. We found this endlessly amusing and bizzarre.

I once took a single selfie for some reason I've long forgotten and would probably find a bit silly if I remembered it. My girlfriend, who will never take a selfie in her life, found it on my camera once and spent a long time teasing me for it. We are 41 and 40.

[Hugh R]

I bought a selfie stick from Amazon a few weeks ago for $13 and its bluetooth, I bought it because the wifey and I were in Pismo Beach and she wanted to send a pic of us to our daughter in NYC. She kept saying "hold it up higher, your finger is in the way, etc." I like it, I don't do FB or twitter or any of that stuff.

[Dixie]

My girl loves selfies, yet she hates FB. She never posts them on FB. She only posts them where her friends can see them. My point is, selfies are a modern means for women to stake their hierarchical worth. They do not post them for us.

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by Capt. Carrera

selfies are a modern means for women to stake their hierarchical worth. They do not post them for us.

^ + Eleventy Gozillion. You completely nailed it.

[vash]

i'm cool with it.

but i dont facebook..hard to be on facebook *****ing about the people on facebook.

[TheMentat]

A lot of it is marketing. Most of the "10s" that are constantly just posting selfies on Instagram/Facebook are doing it for work. They get paid for product placement, with the $$$ amounts based primarily on the number of followers / likes they get. I was reading about it recently, and it just seems so foreign to me. At the same time, I find the economics of it all just fascinating:

Why Snapchat’s Influencer Economy Runs on Hot Tubs, Selfies, and Whey Protein