The Selfie Chronicles: It’s Not That Bad… Is it?

In my recent article, The Selfie Chronicles: Why did I just Do That? (http://localhost:8888/test/the-selfie-chronicles-why-did-i-just-do-that/), it was discussed what the origins of the selfie and why so many people are hooked into doing it. However, answering those questions isn’t enough for us to understand more about the portrait phenomenon.

Selfies have been around for centuries, and people have yet to peg a universal purpose for it. And because of this, it has diverse meanings, to anyone and everyone. Is it helping you brand yourself? Or is it just another thing that feeds of human nonsense? Plato certainly thinks so. It was said that self-portraits was shunned, notably by the respected philosopher, for what he deemed their “imitation of nature”. He might have thought that the first selfie prototypes weren’t on par with the majestic beauty of the nature he saw at that time.

What’s so bad about it anyway? It’s just taking a couple of snapshots of you, right? Well in fact, selfies has been associated with narcissism, according to a study by Dr. Pamela Rytledge. In her article in Psychology Today, she stated that selfies can be detrimental to a person’s mental health and that indulging in them is indicative of narcissism, low self-esteem and attention seeking behavior.

The bad part about is that some experts and physicians feel that society is collectively engaged in deep denial about how dangerous it is to interact with screens without setting limits on how much time is spent on doing so. The human in human interaction is almost slipping away from our grasps due to the advance of the technology of communication and the convenience it provides to people. Most of us are now facing screens instead of the actual faces of the person we are talking to. It’s like we would rather read the compliments we get, than to actually hear them.

But rest assured, taking too many selfies is not a mental disorder. However, it is a symptom for a mental illness called Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a mental illness that involves belief that one’s own appearance is usually defective, although the perceived flaw might not be nonexistent. Their thoughts may cause severe emotional distress and interfere with their daily functioning. They may avoid social situations and isolate themselves, even from family and friends because they fear others will notice their flaws.

Relating to the selfie, a person can take numerous selfies before deeming one of them as “the perfect selfie”. Most of us give it three or four tries before we are satisfied with the outcome, but one Newcastle native had outdone even the most enthusiastic selfie-taker out there. And let me tell you, it’s not a pretty sight.

His name is Danny Bowman. His selfie-taking addiction started when he was 15, during which she was so desperate to attract girls. He spent 10 hours a day taking more than 200 selfies trying to find the perfect image. This has caused him to drop out of school and lose almost 28 pounds in weight. He didn’t leave his house for 6 months, and when he failed to take that flawless shot he was aiming form he tried to kill himself by attempting an overdose.

There are always two sides of a coin and certainly this is not the only side the viral phenomenon has. And although it has its points, it also has its good sides. It’s just a matter of the context of the action done moderately. On my next article, I will discuss the good sides of taking a selfie. Our journey is not over yet! But first, why do you think it’s bad to take a selfie? What do you think are the pros and the cons in doing selfies?

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