I’m
dating a wonderful man who is indeed addicted to selfies. He finds it entertaining since he's kind of documenting his beard growth and comparing himself to his Pre-beard Era - it is something similar to Stone Age, but of greater significance for the human kind.
On the other hand, I used to find them completely pointless. I don't even like having my photo taken, why would I take photos of myself on my own?
Until I realised that this is the reason why selfies are so popular. When someone else takes a photo of you, you risk a) looking ridiculous, b) looking ridiculous and fat or c) looking ridiculous and fat and having this picture posted on facebook. But when you take a selfie, you can change your pose restlessly until you find a version of duckface that doesn't look very duckface-like but still give you a sultry look, until you twist your face into a grimace that looks funny but in a cool way, etc. Being able to control the photographic result - or better, manipulate it into what you want it to look like - is the real reason behind the rise of the selfie.
So, I started taking selfies. I'm serious. I'm not kidding, not even a little. There is even a folder on my laptop's desktop named "Proof on Why Snapshot (the programme I used for taking photos with my web camera until the aforementioned man decided it wasn't good enough and therefore deleted it, leaving me with no software for taking photos at all - imagine my despair after that!) Is So Stupid". It's brilliant, I know it, just imagine how the rest of my folders are named and organized...
Here comes the selfie with no makeup on. I thought they were called "belfies:, until I urbandictionaried the term and found out that the word "belfie" is a composite of the words "butt" and "selfie", which I guess implies me taking a photo of my butt. This. Is. Never. Going. To. Happen.
The smiling selfie. Also known as the "Colgate Selfie" or the "She's Not Aware That Her Semester Exams Start in 2 Weeks Selfie".
The selfie I took using props to hide the lack of makeup, the signs of sleep deprivation and the fact that it was actually a bad hair day. Hence the added filter. Remember what I meant about manipulating the end result?
The "Blowing a Kiss to No One in Particular Selfie". Well, I sent it as goodnight to my boyfriend, but still.
A selfie taken to indicate the level of boredom studying can induce. Like no university student was not already aware of that.
The selfie I had while I had the "adopt me" face on. If I had Instagram I probably post it to inform you about how I'm mourning about having my cherishes mane trimmed or something equally earth-shattering. Thankfully enough, I don't own a smartphone, so no hashtags for this lady.
When I started taking selfies, I was thinking into turning it into an one-month experiment, but I am not consistent or narcissistic enough for that. However, there are some stuff I'd like to share about this process (there are more selfies saved in my computer, but I didn't want it to become a too photo-heavy post):
- It can be extremely fun. Especially if you do it with friends, family members or bf/gf. Or if you find yourself bored to death during a university lecture.
- It is not always as pointless as I used to think. When I take a selfie in order to send it to someone, e.g. my mom, it could easily perceived as a sign that I'm happy and healthy/ actually studying/ excited to be in Barcelona/ etc.
- It works as a kind of diary; a photographic documentation. Remember what I said at the beginning of my post about a Pre-beard Era?
- It is actually good practice for non-selfie photographic material. You can discover your good - and most importantly your bad - angle, your best pose or the pose that looks really fake and silly, so you will be able to alternate between them depending on the theme of the photo.
What's your view on selfies? Yay or nay?
Un beso enorme,
YAY!
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