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?
I think we need to realize that people are allowed to like themselves. Liking the way you look and wanting to document it is not some horrible thing. We need more self love in the world because self hate sucks
so taking pictures is related to mental disorders. guess everyone whos been a in a pictures is sick.
I take selfies sometimes and I just don’t see how it would be such a bad thing. Hell, my mom has taken at least a few selfies but that doesn’t make it an issue. Sure, selfies are annoying most of the time but there isn’t any harm in taking a picture of yourself.
People keep phrasing this as if the trend in taking selfies is causing all of these harmful mental illnesses where it seems that it is just more commonly occurring as an expression of them.
i’ve taken a lot of selfies recently but its cuz i’m new with this cellphone cam and other people look at me funny when i practice on them. ?
Young people take selfies. Young people are narcissists. Young people also haven’t found an identity yet, which is why they have this dismorphisis disorder thing. by the time they reach age 25 they won’t have time to worry about stupid things like that and they’ll realize they aren’t the center of the earth.
Selfies are tied to narcissism ? People have been taking pictures of themselves since there have been photo cameras. That’s back in the 19th century. Come on.
Oh well… It’s called Selfie for a reason. It’s the definition of narcissism.
funny topic. someone asked me for a selfie & i realized i haven’t taken one in awhile, like… you want the link to my last story or something? that’s the best you’ll get right now. lmfao. did make me wonder if i’m having any self image issues for a sec. lol. isn’t that crazy how we are?
Feeling good and confident and positive about yourself and your experiences is such an amazing and inspiring thing! There’s nothing wrong with that.