Why the interest in selfies?
Vanity, narcissism, mental health issues, or simply a need to be *seen*. What's the motivation for posting pics of yourself alone or with others?
A quick Google search reveals that the selfie phenomena has generated much interest from psychologists, sociologists, mental health experts, and social media gurus. I began to wonder why.
But first, a caveat…
I recognize that the social media world is filled with images and messages designed to create insecurity or a sense of lack; to generate angry responses and to divide us. It—social media—can be a very dark place for some people, especially those who are searching for validation and identity. I’m old and sometimes wise, and there are still Facebook posts that make me want to pull the sheets over my head. I won’t be talking about that dark side here.
I am attempting to put on the page my thoughts about the societal interest in selfies and to figure out where I stand on the issue. Since the above-named experts are interested, this so-called phenomena must be a real thing, or is it?
Here’s what I’m thinking…
I am a person who is guilty of posting occasional selfies on Facebook. I thought I was modeling the crocheted hats I make, but I learned that one friend didn’t realize that I made those hats, and just thought I was posting a bunch of selfies with weird hats. She said something at the time that recently clicked: “You made those hats? I thought those were selfies.” Reading between the lines, I believe she thought I was being self-centered. Hmm. I didn’t look at it that way, but I could be wrong.
What about making my face into a sticker and using it in texts with family members— does that count? Making funny (I think) videos of myself to share with my sisters? Narcissistic? And then there’s my latest passion (addiction?) for making reels from photos I’ve taken. While all of these aren’t selfies per se, they are means for me to say something about myself. Even though I’m not sure what I’m trying to say.
Isn’t it all about recognition? Does every selfie or other self-related post have to be driven by vanity? Maybe it’s just a public exploration of an idea or a way to capture a joyful moment in time. We are all trying to say something aren’t we? There’s a good chance no one is interested in our internal world or even what color we paint the kitchen, but so what?
Yes, the *social* in social media implies a conversation, connection, or mutual acknowledgement, not a one-way barrage of ME, but, am I allowed to post things with no expectation of a like, a heart, a comment, or a critique? Recognition, I think is behind every expert-explained motivation, whether it’s narcissism, conceit, insecurity, a mental illness, or professional self-promotion. The engine behind the selfie surge I believe is simply recognition.
Recognition is not just awards, accolades, and praise. Some of us don’t want that kind of attention. The social media trail I leave is littered with evidence—subtle and not-so-subtle—that I exist. I don’t need a gold star or a certificate from anyone. But I do need something for me from the big ME. If this doesn’t make sense, perhaps you’re a rare being without an inner critical voice. Bless your heart, buttercup. The rest of us just do the best with our split personalities and hope the extremely well-adjusted you is not on Facebook or making TikTok videos.
I began showing more of ME on social media as a challenge to myself. I’m almost 73 years old and have made a life’s work of avoiding attention, revealing little, and longing for people to see ME, but to also accept ME. Contradictory goals right there. So I’ve recently decided to give up on the acceptance part and just let the inner me rip. So far, the world hasn’t ended.
Self-recognition has a history, after all. Famous self-portraits (painted and photographed), autobiographies, the thinly-disguised protagonist in works of fiction, etc. When you get down to it, any artistic expression is essentially a portrait of one’s self; a glimpse into the interior life of an artist, writer, or creator; an exploration of their fears, frustrations, grievances, or passions that can be expressed no other way. At some point in life, don’t we all discover that we need an outlet for all that is churning around inside of us? Or is that just me?
From Marcel Proust (via Alain de Botton in How Proust Can Change Your Life:
In reality, every reader is, while he is reading, the reader of his own self. The writer’s work is merely a kind of optical instrument which he offers to the reader to enable him to discern what, without this book, he would perhaps never have experienced in himself. And the recognition by the reader in his own self of what the book says is the proof of its veracity.
Well, today we have Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc as media for validation. Who knows what our predecessors would have done with access to those tools! By seeing ourselves in a fictional character (as Proust notes above), we feel validated. We feel seen. If we can’t or often don’t find validation in the external world—real or fictional—we may be inclined to create validation through more accessible means—posting our pictures, stories, or videos on social media platforms.
So this leads me to ask, “Are we truly looking at a new phenomena?” Or, with all the new tools at people’s disposal, are we witnessing in real time an innate human need to be seen? It’s not new that people both famous and obscure have always wanted to leave their mark in some way; a mark that may endure long after they are gone from the physical realm. Cave paintings, monolithic sculptures, earthen mounds, etc, are clues from the past about a vital, intelligent, and spirited population. Did they intend these as self-expression, as clues about their inner lives?
The experts tell us that often there was a religious impetus. Frequently there was a compulsion to placate or praise a god, gods, or other deity. Still, those choosing the best means to achieve these goals were expressing something of their inner worlds in the outer world. Even if there was a religious impetus or an attempt to placate the gods, these builders and artists still made creative choices to convey outwardly what they felt inwardly. There was no formula then, nor is there one now. Lascaux, Easter Island, the Seven Wonders of the World, were not selfies by today’s standards, but surely a way of saying “we existed,” though the experts may rightly disagree with my interpretation.
Does an expression of self need to be a recognizable replica of us—eg, the typical selfie—or can we be more abstract? Is the more abstract version of the self that is seeking recognition (eg, a self-generated reel or a piece of art one has created) more palatable to the social media crowd than a picture of one standing in front of a floor-length mirror or clowning in front of bathroom stalls? Maybe we can relax a bit and let people enjoy their self-expression no matter what form that takes.
Finally, the New York Times recently published an article about the selfie-taking rats. I’ve only seen excerpts from the article since I unsubscribed, but the gist of it is that once rats were trained to take selfies by rewarding them with sugar, they wouldn’t stop. So…OK. Does that really prove they like to take pictures of their little rodent faces? I don’t know, but one of my favorite bloggers (John Naughton) posted this comment after someone took exception to this characterization of the study:
John Seeley thinks I’ve been a bit hard on the selfie-obsessed rats.
A word on behalf of the rats …
Though I liked your linkage of people, Skinner boxes and Meta etc, I want to indicate that the rats were involved in the life-serious food-and-survival quest. Why waste rat time gnawing through a plastic tower, a camera or cables when some guy is providing sugar for very little effort?
Touché. On the other hand, the ‘sugar’ in the human case is dopamine! (John Naughton)
So, the reason we post selfies has nothing to do with physical survival. The dopamine burst is pleasant, but not something that we need to survive. That’s one way we are different from the rats in this study. Still, we would be wise to recognize when we are doing things (posting selfies for example) without an awareness of our motivations. Harmless fun or something critical to one’s mental health? I’m always in favor of self-awareness, of better understanding the why behind my actions, and of knowing when I am acting to fulfill a need that might be handled in a healthier way. My only advice then to selfie posters (and I include myself): Take a beat and ask “Why am I doing this?”
Well, that ends my tangled post on selfies. Thanks for hanging on until the end. So much more to this topic, but for now I have a reel to create.