A Selfie is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a digital camera or camera phone held in the hand or supported by a selfie stick. Selfies are often shared on social networking services such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. They are usually flattering and made to appear casual. Most selfies are taken with a camera held at arm's length or pointed at a mirror, rather than by using a self-timer.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Kardashians, just think and tell me a similarity between them, what a ridiculous question? You might wonder. The similarity is nothing but the selfie. Such is the amazing magnetic power of selfie. It can attract people of different hues and shades.
The term "selfie" was discussed by photographer Jim Krause in 2005, although photos in the selfie genre predate the widespread use of the term. In the early 2000s, before Facebook became the dominant online social network, self-taken photographs were particularly common on MySpace. However, writer Kate Losse recounts that between 2006 and 2009 (when Facebook became more popular than MySpace), the "MySpace pic" (typically "an amateurish, flash-blinded self-portrait, often taken in front of a bathroom mirror") became an indication of bad taste for users of the newer Facebook social network. Early Facebook portraits, in contrast, were usually well-focused and more formal, taken by others from distance.
In 2009 in the image hosting and video hosting website Flickr, Flickr users used 'selfies' to describe seemingly endless self-portraits posted by teenage girls. According to Losse, improvements in design—especially the front-facing camera of the iPhone 4 (2010), mobile photo apps such as Instagram and Snapchat led to the resurgence of selfies in the early 2010s.
It is no wonder that the term selfie was declared "The International Word of the Year" by Oxford Dictionaries. It seems that the story of the selfie is quite ancient.
The first selfie was taken by Robert Cornelius, an American photographer in the year 1839. Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikoaevna in 1914 was the first teenager to take her own picture using a mirror. Very futuristic indeed.
The Kardashians are not the only ones to dominate the selfie bandwagon. Selfies have also gained foothold in space. Selfies are taken by astronauts in space.
The selfie buzz has also rocked the animal kingdom. In 2011 a crested black ape stole a wildlife photographer’s camera and when it was later found, the camera contained hundreds of selfies including a grinning female macaque.
Selfies have also been taken beyond Earth. Selfies taken in space include those by astronauts, an image by NASA's Curiosity rover of itself on Mars,[20] and images created by an indirect method, where a self-portrait photograph taken on Earth is displayed on a screen on a satellite, and captured by a camera.
In 2011 a crested black macaque stole a wildlife photographer's camera, and when the camera was later recovered it was found to contain hundreds of "selfies", including one of a grinning female macaque. This incident set off an unusual debate about copyright.
In October 2013, Imagist Labs released an iOS app called Selfie, which allows users to upload photos only from their front-facing smartphone camera.[23] The app shows a feed of public photos of everyone’s selfies and from the people they follow. The app does not allow users to comment and users can only respond with selfies. The app soon gained popularity among teenagers.
Do selfies affect your health?
Research studies have linked excessive selfie posting to body dysmorphic disorder. This definitely sounds scary. This is a psychological disorder where a person becomes obsessed with imaginary defects in their appearance.
People with body dysmorphic disorder are at a higher risk of developing major depression. This puts them at a greater risk of suicides. I feel after reading all these, you will never ever pose for a selfie.
Another research study concluded that, sharing selfies too frequently can lead to decrease in intimacy among friends and romantic partners. Another research study found that women who base their self-worth on their appearance or other’s approval are more likely to share photos online. The researchers suggested that these photos may not be doing any good to increase their self-worth.
Selfies associated with narcissism and psychopathy
Ohio State University Researchers found that men who posted more photos of themselves online, scored higher on measures of narcissism and psychopathy. That is not the end there is still more to come.
The study says that men who are more likely to edit their selfies before posting, scored higher in narcissism and self-objectification, which measures how much they prioritize their appearance.
What is narcissism? The person believes that he is smarter, more attractive or better than others, but he may suffer from some underlying insecurities. The psychopath is antisocial behavior, where one lacks the ability to love and form meaningful relationships. The person may have extreme egocentricity and he may fail to learn from experience.
Now let us move to self-objectification, this means a person values himself mainly for his appearance, rather than for other positive traits. In women this self-objectification may lead to depression and eating disorders.
The researchers are quick to point out that women who post more selfies also show higher levels of narcissism and psychopathy.
Positive selfie ideas
Have you heard the phrase? “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”, so in this day and age, when the selfie craze has gripped the whole universe, I am sure you wouldn’t want to be left out.
So, heed to the wise ideas of Dr. Pamela Rutledge, she is the Director of Media Psychology Research Center. You would be glad you did.
You can create
ü Inspirational moment selfies
ü Memory lane selfies
ü Best friends for ever selfies
ü Workout selfies
ü Thank you note selfies
ü Hear me roar selfies (when you do something brave)
ü Mood bomb selfies (take selfies according to your emotions)
ü The big moment selfies
These are some great thunderstruck ideas you can follow. You can create some awesome selfie journals to cherish the fabric and richness of your life. Instead of sharing it with the whole world, you can enjoy these golden moments of your life, with the people who mean the world to you.
Take away
It is smart to move along with the times, but it would be smarter to play it safe. According to a study performed by Nicola Bruno and Marco Bertamini at the University of Parma, selfies by non-professional photographers show a slight bias for showing the left cheek of the selfie-taker. This is similar to what has been observed for portraits by professional painters from many different historical periods and styles, indicating that the left cheek bias may be rooted in asymmetries of brain lateralization that are well documented within cognitive neuroscience. In a second study, the same group tested if selfie takers without training in photography spontaneously adhere to widely prescribed rules of photographic composition, such as the rule of thirds. It seems that they do not, suggesting that these rules may be conventional rather than hardwired in the brain's perceptual preferences.
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