Selfies

Selfies receive a lot of flack these days, despite their growing popularity, and truthfully, they have for a while. The stigma attached to selfies, seem to be that the person who posts them, especially if they do so regularly, must be one of two things. Either they are completely full of themselves, and dying for everyone else to join them in their self-adoration, or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, they are devoid of any self confidence and desperate for someone to tell them that they are not ugly like inside their own heads; to tell them they are beautiful, and maybe, hopefully, one day, they will believe it themselves.

However, I believe we shouldn’t instantly stick either of these labels on selfie posters. Sure, for some, one of those scenarios may be true, but for me it goes a little deeper. I fall somewhere in the middle if I’m being honest. Sometimes I snap a selfie because I’m feeling confident and happy with the way I look at that moment, and want to capture it before it disappears, because I, like the person from option number two, struggle with my self-image and confidence. And the odd “like” or compliment does feel good, I can’t lie about that. But it is usually more than that.

Selfies hold a level of fascination for me. It amazes me that we can look so different from ourselves in one photo as opposed to another. It could be nothing more than the lighting, the angle, the colour we are wearing or even a difference in what mood we were in when the camera snapped. But our pictures show different versions of us, like we show different versions of our personality to the world. Me in picture A, can look almost nothing like me in picture B, as if the camera is as confused as I am sometimes, about who I really am.

It’s a form of self-discovery you might say. I look into the eyes of the girl who is both me and not me, and I wonder. Who is she really? What version of her is the real one? What does she need and how can I help her? So, in a sense, when I post a picture of myself it’s not always a superficial display or a cry for attention. It’s a way of finding myself or knowing myself better. And I think, or hope, that I’m not alone in this. So please, if you grow tired of seeing someone's face posted online, just scroll past. It’s fine, and they will never know anyways. But maybe think before judging a person in a selfie too quickly or harshly. They may just be trying to figure it all out.