Digital Identity has become an ever-important part of today’s society. It is used for almost everything. Introductions to new people, school applications, work applications and almost any new interaction with people. It has become filled with objectification, narcissism and envy-seeking vacation pictures. It has given rise to the selfie, the center of self-absorption. Selfies have been adapted greatly during the rise of modern social media, and are now a very commonly shared form of entertainment. According to Vulture, they have evolved into an instant, gratifying image that portrays the best of a person. They have become more casual, more free and more perfect. It is a phenomenon that has been picked up by all people, it is no longer just a trend the kids have picked up. Presidents, politicians, celebrities, grandparents and the like have all adopted the new idea of the selfie. It is an easy thing to do, and thanks to today’s phones and cameras, is so easy that it can be done with just the click of a button. The new technology landscape allows people to try again and again until they can get the picture right. They are able to show or tell. They can be used to show certain aspect of one’s body, or share a message. They are often posted to social media in order to share a certain message with their intended audience, and are always well planned. They have their own history, their own evolution and inevitably, their own future. The art of the selfie is an ever changing field, and they have come a long way since the time they first originated.
It is very interesting to analyze these selfies, as they really are a work of art. What seems to be just a simple picture is actually a well thought out, planned and executed work of art meant to communicate to an audience, no matter how small. Selfies have taken the world by storm, actually passing by the number of people killed by shark attacks. What originated as a safe and fun way to share in expression has actually gone so far as to kill people. As mentioned in an article written in The Wire, this has become true. They believe that the selfie has deviated from its original purpose of sharing content and user generated photographs, but has actually become a monster. One that has ruined vacations, travel, sacred moments and even taken lives. The author of this article believes that the selfie has turned from a fun memory or memento from a family trip to, now, an illusion that fun was had on a trip.
It is a very interesting point to be made, and something I have definitely seen change across the time that I have been alive and on vacations with my family. When I was younger, my mother would often take pictures of my brother and I in front of monuments or other places, but this was for the memories for our family. These pictures were not edited, filtered, tuned and posted for the world to see. In more recent years, however, the vacations I have gone on have allowed me to notice a shift in the picture-taking. I used to be embarrassed being one of the few children taking pictures in front of monuments, but nowadays it appears that nobody is really looking at the monuments and are now only taking pictures of them. Following the taking of the picture, people often spend a while editing, adjusting lighting or other parameters in order to make it the ‘perfect picture’ so that their following can be jealous of where they are. This has turned world exploration and vacations as a whole into a status operation rather than traveling to learn the cultures of the world.
Looking forward to how social media affects my life and how I interact with it, I would say that I often fall into the trap of the phenomenon that I have mentioned above. Whether it is myself, or my friends around me, I have noticed that, especially abroad, people often do things ‘just for the picture.’ Whether that is traveling to more touristy destinations, or skydiving in Interlaken, I have noticed that this generation of college kids will go do things just to get the shot to show their friends. Social media, especially those such as snapchat and instagram have been major causes for this change. They are skyrocketing in popularity among the college and high school students and even younger, and everyone wants to be deemed ‘cool.’ This has become part of the standard that makes someone cool on social media and is a major factor for students to study abroad or travel internationally. I would say that this has caused less sincerity and authenticity in the taking of pictures as the motivation for this has become impure.
Pilon, Mary. “Instagram Is Ruining Vacation.” Wired. Conde Nast, June 20, 2017. https://www.wired.com/2016/04/instagram-is-ruining-vacation/.
Uncredited/A2013. “Art at Arm’s Length: A History of the Selfie.” Vulture, January 26, 2014. https://www.vulture.com/2014/01/history-of-the-selfie.html.
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