The Selfie

While I have never taken a selfie, I can see how much fun they can be. A person takes a quick self-portrait or, better yet, several friends squeeze together for a shot to capture the moment of their being in the same place at the same time. Interestingly, I have yet to see any selfie that did not have at least one smiling face in it. Given that, how bad can they be? The conventional wisdom may be that the selfie is new to our current times, but the fact is the phenomenon of the selfie has been with us for hundreds of years. Rembrandt, for example, painted over 40 self-portraits. He, of course, was just one of the many great and not-so-great artists that took the time to capture their own image and share it with others.  


Doing so via self-phone is what is new about the selfie. Other than that, the concept, according to author Steven Johnson, is about 600 years old. Imagine that. Hundreds of years of all of us passing along images of ourselves. As is the case with all forms of communication, the tools and channels at our disposal are much more sophisticated. In addition to cell phones, we have such things as Facebook and twitter to share information about ourselves with any and everyone. These, of course, go beyond mere pictures, but also give us the opportunity to share our thoughts and observations. Even if we are introverts, we are still able to interact with others without even stepping outside our homes.


One of the great things about communication is that it speaks to our ability to engage with others. At the same time, even if we do not want to or are in the mood for any back-and-forth with others, communication serves as a means by which we can still share. "Here's a picture of me." or "This is what I have been doing." or "This is how I am these days." It is all good. While the concept of the selfie may not be as comprehensive or even fulfilling as actual interacting with others, they serve a definite purpose when it comes to helping us meet our basic need to connect. To that, I say, "Long live the selfie!" May it be with us for at least another 600 years.  .