I am making a pretty extreme departure from the heavy subject matter of my first post, to a subject matter of the utmost vanity. But, it's on my mind.
Last night, I got into a discussion with three of my girl friends about selfies. The overwhelming consensus (which included everyone but me) was that selfies are a terrible thing. My three friends all agreed that they are narcissistic and attention-seeking. One friend went so far as to say that she feels "awkward and embarrassed" for the person taking selfie. The whole conversation made me feel pretty awkward myself, because I've posted a selfie or two on my own instagram feed. I've tried to do so with as much self-awareness as I can muster, but I still sometimes worry. After our night ended, I promptly went home and combed through my instagram archives to figure out just how many selfies I have posted. For those curious (haha, no one is reading), of the 344 pictures currently in my feed, I have 12 selfies. Those 12 include selfies with others in them and are not all only of me.
This brings me to my next point. A selfie does not mean a picture of only yourself. Posting pictures of yourself with another person is still a selfie. In my opinion, it is no less "narcissistic" if you add in another person. You're still posting picture of you. And don't get me started on posting incessant pictures of one's children. This is simply a socially acceptable form of narcissism.
But I digress. My feelings are mixed when it comes to selfies. On the one hand, I somewhat agree with my friends. What is the point of posting a picture of yourself? Each time I've posted a picture of myself (whether it be a selfie or a picture that someone else took of me), I agonize over whether my followers will wonder why I've just posted a picture of myself. We certainly all know the gals that ONLY post selfies, often the exact selfie that I posted above. In the car, smilin' for no one. We ALSO know the gals who only post pictures of themselves with another person AND the ones who only post pictures of their children. Do you see what I'm getting at? We all have our instagram bad behaviors.
So when is okay to selfie? (Yep, I just verbed that shit.) What if you just got a new shade of lipstick or a fresh new haircut? Is it okay to share a photo of yourself then? Maybe you're just really proud of an outfit that you threw together that morning? Is that okay? I say yes! I want to be able to look back and remember that I felt pretty when I got my new haircut or new lipstick. I want to remember the perfect fall day when I walked with my two dogs through the park across from my house. I want to remember MYSELF in those moments just as much as I want to remember the colors of the leaves or how cute my husband looked. When used in moderation, I LOVE selfies (both single and group). I also love seeing pictures of people's children. It's fun (and often inspiring) getting a peek into another person's daily life, sense of style, wardrobe, make-up, hair color, etc. Selfies also serve as a daily reminder of how adorable my friends are! I'm quite curious to hear what others think, because I was definitely in the minority last night. I suspect there may be a difference in opinion between blogging/blog reading ladies and non-blog ladies, as the selfie culture is much more prominent in the blogosphere. When it comes down to it, I have a pretty serious appreciation of the selfie. There is a fine line to walk with the selfie but when walked well, I think it can be a pretty fabulous thing!
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