Michael Tyrrell - Rethinking the Selfie

This article raised many interesting points about the vastly popular and controversial new style of self-portraits, giving detailed research surrounding the positive and negative aspects of selfies. It discusses perhaps one of the most common critiques of selfies, in which opponents declare that this idea of photographing oneself merely fuels narcissism in our society: “Within these fluid demarcations, the ability for one to take a picture of themselves in the selfie is at odds with those who critique selfie-taking practices and dub them narcissistic” (3). Despite a clear negative tone taken by the authors regarding this criticism, my personal reaction is to agree that there is some truth to this. With new social media such as Snapchat and Instagram even further increasing the number of selfies taken, it is natural for the subjects of these photos to become self-obsessed over time. While this is true, however, the opposing side largely over exaggerates the role of the selfie in society. Another interesting aspect of the article is its discussion of the role in which selfies play with “Others” or any minority that is set apart from the heterosexual white man. The influence of selfies with Others are vital in building confidence and leading to success despite the privileges these groups often lack. For this reason, the article investigates how the advantaged often oppose the role of selfies in society, in particular how they build up Others. In addition, there is an overwhelming stigma against masculinity with selfies, in which men are taunted for photographing themselves. This can also be seen as another way that the positive and empowering aspects of the selfie are dismissed, as men merely dismiss the habit as something that the less dominant members of society use. They highlighted this concept with several Internet meme and images taken from the Internet, attacking the masculinity of selfie takers. Another major theme represented in the article deals with the concept of iconoclasm in mass media, stating, “Iconoclasts fear that those who produce images are irrationally obsessed with them, even though this may not be the case” (18). Continuing on, well-known media such as The Huffington Post and WSJ are called out specifically for generating a misplaced fear around the selfie. To summarize my final thoughts, I found the article provoking and gave a much more detailed look into the role of the selfie than what there initially seems on the surface. I found the stance of the author to be refreshing, as I assumed based on the research-based nature of the article that the author would likely be an older, critical writer, and was therefore surprised.