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?
What I hate in social media is that people think that the only ones who have the right to take selfies are those who are beautiful according to society’s standards. When a person isn’t considered to be beautiful by the majority, people feel like they have the right to make someone feel bad by commenting sarcastic comments about how a person looks. I’ve seen others do this and it’s kinda stupid about how they take the time to comment something negative about it.
Selfies can only get annoying when you look back at it. I sure don’t want to see my fetus self looking like a browless being.?
My mom hates it when young people take selfies in random places. She feels the need to comment about it all the time. I’m not sure why but I think it’s the older people who don’t understand the concept of selfies.
My mom takes selfies too, I don’t think it has something to do with age. Just the understanding.
Selfies have always existed. The only difference now is that we call it selfie and that it’s not polaroids and film anymore. We only hate it because we overuse it and others get annoyed by it.
Stop sticking your nose in someone else’s business. Plus, it’s their social media account and it’s not like it’s going to affect your life if the person beside you is taking a selfie, or if the person you follow posts too many selfies. Nobody gives a crap if you always post food on your feed, or if you always take pictures of your meal even if Gordon Ramsey thinks it looks like dog poop. To each our own! Let people do what they love and love themselves! Geez! ?
Selfies aren’t vain but it depends on how you do it. Just don’t go crazy and post 10 selfies per hour and flood people’s newsfeeds. Not funny.?
Try being a man and being judged for wanting to take a selfie of your hair that you styled for hours. Men sometimes love to take pics too. It’s not just ladies. People think we’re immediately gay if we take selfies.
If I was happy in a certain location, like I’d take a selfie while I’m on a vacation and my background is the beach, I’d take a selfie. Who cares if people think it’s narcissistic. If you’re jealous it’s not my problem.
Everything that millenials love are hated on. I know, we’re the generation of selfies and social media. But come on, why should people give a damn if I feel like my eyeliner is on fleek and I want to stab you with how sharp my cat eye is? People need to stop hating over trivial matters. Whenever a friend of mine takes a really good selfie and her makeup game is on point, I like/heart that photo. Let others feel like they’re beautiful and let’s not judge them with it.
This is my favorite comment.?
My mom probably posts more selfies than I do. I’m not sure what that says about the two of us.?