Selfies have become a major part of the developing society around media and technology. A “selfie” is essentially a self-generated “portrait”, with an emphasis on the “self” part. Linguistically, the term “selfie” implies some term of endearment, with the “-ie” at the end (dog-gie, fish-y, kitt-y), giving the idea that you’re taking this “endearing” picture of yourself. Selfies are completely informal pictures, yet have an aspect of intimacy attached to them; you don’t have to be out with that person to see them up close and personal. You can see them at any point during the day, without having to actually physically be with them. These little “portraits” are glimpses into the lives of the person taking them at any given moment in time. The purpose of a selfie is not to represent who that person is. Selfies tell you about that person at a given moment. The intention of taking a selfie is to emote: “This is what I feel like now”, “this is what I’m wearing now”, “this is where I am now”, and nothing more.
The growing popularity of selfies, however, contribute to drawing more focus on oneself. A person frequently appears to be seeking attention in the constant posting of selfies (shouldn’t we expect this, though?). The more moments you spend trying to take a selfie and then posting it for others to see, the more it appears that you’re trying to seek approval from them. Privacy exempts others from knowing aspects of our personal lives, yet we take selfies to draw others back into our personal lives. The irony of it all is the fact that we beg for privacy, yet we use media and technology in ways that contradict that want. So, why are you taking selfies?
