Natalie Schield Selfie Responce

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been taking selfies with my friends to remember every memory together. In this article, I believe they have the wrong idea of what a selfie is. 

A selfie to me is a picture taken to remember a good outfit, a great hair day, or a time with friends. To Jessica Leigh Maddox, she believes it is taken because one’s narcissistic personality. In some ways, yes, they do overlap, but there is nothing wrong with self-love. I will not fully disagree with Maddox, because I do believe we idolize over other’s selfies, but to a certain extent. After a while, we begin to understand what other people think of us and how we look should not matter. 

At one point in the article, it questions the masculinity of men taking selfies. If we’re all completely honest with ourselves, we all know one dad that has sent selfies to their kids or wife. Does that mean it questions the masculinity of a father? I truly will never understand how people make fun of men taking selfies. What if they want to take a selfie of themselves and their brand-new car, or while they’re out traveling. That shouldn’t take away from their masculinity. 

The age range of taking selfies expands from how long it takes you to learn how to use a phone, and all the way up to your old age. A meme that Maddox uses directs selfie taking to only teenagers, which is completely incorrect. If she is trying to make a point that people who are taking selfies remind her of teenage girls, she is completely invalid. My brother who is now four years old, will constantly use Snapchat to take selfies of him with each filter. My Pop, who is in his late 60’s, will take pictures of him and my Amma on my phone. It doesn’t matter what age you are, it will always be okay to take a selfie. 

Through my eyes, the difference between a self-portrait and a selfie is how they are viewed. A selfie is how we see ourselves through our phone lens, and a self-portrait is how someone else views us through their camera lens. Selfies are personal. We either choose how people see them or determine who sees them. Never should people have to question the masculinity of a selfie, the gender of it, or why it is being taken.