A girl next to me at the grocery store the other day had on the cutest yellow dress. She’d braided her hair in an intricate crown around her head and her winged eyeliner was on point. In short, she looked awesome. Four seconds into our wait, she smiled at her phone and snapped a selfie. The guy behind her rolled his eyes and may have even muttered something about the growing narcissism of the “selfie generation.” I mean, I didn’t exactly hear him, but he totally looked grumpy enough.
It’s an observation I’ve heard and read about a lot lately. Some people equate selfies with being vain and narcissistic. Given the way these articles talk about people snapping pictures of their faces all day, it’s easy to see why selfies are associated with the self-absorbed. But people who frown every time they see someone take a picture of themselves are missing the point.
…cries of narcissism lurk in the comments section…
Taking a selfie and sharing it is, first and foremost, an act of self-love. It’s a moment you wanted to preserve, a day you felt confidence in your appearance. Group selfies capture close friendships—quite literally, with everyone crowding to get in frame. Solo selfies capture happiness and self-confidence. Call me crazy, but these sound like feelings worth celebrating.
Posting a selfie on social media is the traditional next step. Here again, cries of narcissism and vanity lurk in the comments section. By sharing a moment in which you felt confident, you pass on a message of confidence to your friends and followers. And don’t stop at your own selfies. Appreciating the beauty that others feel in themselves is just as important. My best friends are gorgeous and live far away: their selfies never fail to brighten my mood. Let the moments when other women felt good inspire you to see beauty in others. It can only lead to seeing beauty in yourself.
Taking a selfie and sharing it is, first and foremost, an act of self-love.
Sharing selfies does more than just give you a confidence boost, though. By papering the Internet with mostly unedited images of women, the selfie trend is the first step in reversing what Photoshopped advertisements have done.
Instead of preying on women’s insecurities, selfies thrive on our confidence. The influx of women feeling good and sharing the feeling with their friends spreads a positive message across a medium traditionally used for body shaming. It’s the first step towards tossing aside Photoshopped beauty ideals and embracing self-confidence instead.
The best way to contribute to the movement is to take genuine selfies in moments when you feel beautiful or happy. Don’t self-objectify by Photoshopping or hyper-sexualizing your selfies to match magazine models. Don’t use selfies to get likes and combat your insecurity. It is possible to go overboard, so make sure that you’re not flooding your Instagram or letting selfie-snapping take over every moment. Instead, make sure that every selfie you take and share is one that celebrates a feeling of happiness, confidence, and love. Enjoying those moments is the first step to building more happiness, confidence, and love in every aspect of your life.
Make sure that every selfie you take and share is one that celebrates a feeling of happiness, confidence, and love.
Selfies are hardly a new trend: people have been getting in front of cameras for a long time (and, before the camera, commissioning portraits of themselves). But never has it been more important. Those who cry “Narcissist!” when they see someone holding their phone out at arm’s length and smiling don’t understand the importance of the movement. It’s more than just the moment you feel cute, though that is the foundation. It’s about spreading self-love and celebrating the beauty in you. What could be more worthwhile than that?
What prompts you to take a selfie and share it?
Instagram is probably the best platform to use if you want quality selfies instead of poorly taken selfies that are mostly pointless. Instagram is the best platform that can really showcase your photography skills and “model” skills. I don’t even go on other social media sites that much because it’s so full of people who thrive in likes and not self-love. Instagram can be the same but at least I’m liking quality stuff rather than people who can’t love themselves.
Cries of narcissism doesn’t always lurk in the comments section. Most of the time it’s in the captions of the ones who post it too. We should also learn to distinguish what’s vain and what’s a celebration of self-love.
I kind of agree with this one. I do see a lot of people who create narci captions or fishing comments.
Just like feminism, this vanity thing about selfies is very hard to correct. We’ve looked at other people like this who love selfies for so many years already. It’s become normal.
women logic: dont stare at me… puts hundreds of photos online of herself for people to stare at -_
Nope, selfies aren’t vain for me. Definitely not. I don’t post my selfies to get attention, but to celebrate the feeling of a smooth application of makeup and zit-free face! ?
Every time i see some idiot take a selfie i want to rush over to them and beat them senseless with their own phone.
I imagine it takes a lot of time and effort to beat someone senseless with a weapons as pathetic as a phone.
I think it’s not about not seeing the point. Personally I feel awkward taking a selfie in a public place, even when I’m with a bunch of friends. Unless I’m in a tourist spot or traveling, that’s acceptable. But in common places and I’m going to take a selfie, I’d feel awkward because I feel like it is kinda vain. But maybe that’s what society made us think and feel? I don’t know either. I only take selfies when I feel like nobody’s watching and I can take selfies and pose in peace!
You’re right. I feel like all eyes are on me whenever I would take selfies, but I think it’s the idea that selfies are vain that makes me feel like that. It’s like taking selfies can give me guilty feelings.
Social pressure to be ‘beautiful’ is a political weapon, designed to keep women in a mental prison .
Yes there is huge pressure to be beautiful on women but as a woman I know most of this pressure is from other women. Along with the norm of not liking your own body.
Selfie culture really exemplifies the narcissism many women have in our culture. They look so good and love stroking their own egos. They also use their sexuality to gain advantages in society, then they complain they’re being sexually objectified and oppressed. Unbelievable.
Why don’t girls take selfies without makeup and their hair undone, because the guys they insist on dating wouldn’t look at them.