Every time I hear someone hate on the selfie my eyes roll. The selfie has become a large part of Western culture. Still it is mocked and constantly hated on. But why? Why are people so judged for taking pictures of themselves?
What is the reason to not take selfies? In a world that is so full of horrible people doing horrible things, why do people spend so much time and energy hating on people loving themselves? If someone feels confident enough in how they look and feel to post a picture online, good for them. Posting a selfie, especially if you're not totally confident in how you look (few of us are) is actually pretty brave. The internet is a harsh place where people filled with their own insecurities feel the need to comment negatively on others' appearances. We, as a society, need to remember that no one, not even celebrities, are perfect, and they shouldn’t have to be. We mock celebrities for using Photoshop in magazines to hide their flaws and then search for any hint of imperfection when seeing them in any other format to make ourselves feel better.
Why do people post selfies in the first place? Does it really matter? More and more studies crop up about what types of people post selfies and why they feel the need to. But, at the end of the day it still doesn’t give people the right to bully someone if they don’t like the picture or the person in the picture. Maybe someone is normally really insecure but feels good about this one picture that they took and wants to post it. Maybe someone wants attention and validation from the likes they receive from their peers. Maybe their best friend thought they looked so good they begged them to share it. You never know, and you don’t need to know.
There are still times when it is okay to speak out against someone else's selfie, though. For example, when someone might decide to culturally appropriate a certain hair style or style of dress, that can be a problem. Whenever anyone culturally appropriates something, especially a religious symbol or icon, it lessens the meaning of that item in the eyes of people who don’t fully understand it. This washes away the culture behind it. Memorial selfies are also frowned upon. Like when you take a smiling selfie at some memorial meant to honor hundreds or millions of people that died, it’s kind of messed up. Memorials are places to reflect and remember, not to become a backdrop for your next Tinder photo. There was even a project this year started to shame people who posted insensitive selfies at the Berlin Holocaust Memorial. The project was called the ‘Yolocaust’ and drew a large, positive response from historians and families of the victims who were upset by such photos.
So if no one is doing anything wrong, leave the selfie takers alone. If the number of selfies someone takes is annoying to you then you have the power to unfollow them. If you don’t like the way someone looks you, again, have the power to unfollow them; or, ya-know just not like their picture and keep scrolling. Also, maybe start thinking why you dislikes selfies so much. Maybe you just dislike yourself.
