1. Selfies can be categorized into three types: aesthetic selfies which portray the poster as having no shame, ugly selfies which show an unattractive photo with captions acknowledging its ridiculousness, and experiential selfies which document where the poster has been or what they have done. 2. Studies show that selfies are often taken at social gatherings or vacations as a way to document experiences and share with others online. However, oversharing selfies online can lead to embarrassment if the photos are shared more widely than intended. 3. While selfies allow people to curate their self-image through editing and filters, their proliferation online also enables unwanted social comparison that could potentially harm self-este

1. Explicating and analyzing the social media self-portraiture trend

2. “From the White House to suburban homes across the world
via shiny plastic Hollywood, we are all peering into dirty mirrors
and contorting ourselves to snap a selfie”...
... But what are selfies, why do we take them, and
what do they mean for our online presence?
Image by netmole (Photobucket)

3. Selfies can be categorized in three types, and we can imagine a
poster saying something different with each one:
aesthetic selfie
“I have no shame!”
ugly selfie
“I know it’s ridiculous, but ..."
experiential selfie
“I am doing something cool!”
Image by Philippe Boivin (Flickr)

4. Women (and, much less frequently, men)
share images of themselves
in various poses, expressions, outfits and styles
asking if or showing that they look good.
“It is almost as if people were scrutinizing their faces for perfection”,
says comedienne Katrin Hier.
Content from WA Today; NY MagImage by esc.ape(d) flickr

5. Posters on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
have taken to posting
conventionally unattractive photos
of themselves with tags like
# nomakeup and #prettygirlsuglyfaces.
“It sort of deconstructs our obsessive relationship with showing only our perfect selves”,
says Sonya Renee Taylor, founder of The Body Is Not An Apology
Content from NYMagImage by Matt Reinbold (Flickr)

6. A study conducted by
Curtin University found that
selfies are most frequently taken at
holiday destinations or social gatherings.
“It’s a statement about where I’ve been and what I’m been doing,”
say Curtin University researchers.
Content from WATodayImage by Greg Gladman (Flickr)

7. In a rapidly digitizing world where some argue that
the public/private distinction has eroded almost completely,
does sharing our selfies offer us
more or less control over our own likeness?
Image by Fredric Poirot (Flickr)

8. “You’re in charge of the image produced,
and all editorial decisions are yours!”
The ability to manipulate photos with
Photoshop or an Instagram filter
gives us more control over the
images we make public.
With a few clicks, we can create a more appealing visual self.
Image by Jessica Leung (Flickr) Content from WAToday

9. Dr. Andrea Letamendi posits that
the selfie is emblematic of the looking-glass self,
the psychological theory that suggests we develop a sense of self
based on our understanding of how others perceive us.
… Only now we control those perceptions,
meaning we can control our self image, too.
Image by Randy Weiner (Flickr) Content from Mashable

10. However, digital media enables us to
share images quickly and with many people...
Even people we may not be comfortable seeing (let alone saving) them.
It can be embarrassing when pictures are proliferated
beyond our immediate circles of trust and social interaction.
Image by flatworldsedge (Flickr) Content from WAToday

11. It is for this reason that
Instagram has yet to overcome Facebook
as the platform most often used to share selfies.
“...People still think the privacy settings on Facebook work better,”
says Dr. Jon Stratton.
Image by Paul Bica (Flickr) Content from WAToday

12. Insofar as we can control what we look like but not who sees us,
we are forced to mold our visual selves to be universally palatable.
Image by Abdullah Al-Nasser (Flickr)

13. In addition to our notions of privacy, selfies may harm our self-esteem.
When we are able to access our peers’ photos
and gain insight into their lives,
we increasingly participate in social comparison.
Image by TheBusyBrain(Flickr)

14. Social comparison only becomes problematic when we fixate
or over-compare to the extent that it begins to harm us...
Content from MashableImage by mirwav (Flickr)
... And even so, the harm may not
stem from the photos
themselves, but from pre-existing
struggles with self-esteem.

15. Perhaps the selfie trend is good for people with low self-esteem.
We receive much-needed reassurance when others confirm that
we look good or that our desired effect has been achieved.
Tama Leaver says that the narcissism latent in selfies is of a good kind
– one that is demonstrative rather than promotional.
Image by HA!Dedeigns (Flickr) Content from WAToday

16. Included in this
demonstrative effect is the
use of our social medial
profiles, including selfies,
to brand and market ourselves...
...which may an essential component of employability in the digital age.
Image by Kate Lee (Flickr) Content from MacLeans

17. In posting, we are necessarily trivializing and embarrassing ourselves,
he says.
Image by Michelle Brea (Flickr) Content from MacLeans
However, Andrew Keen believes
this form of narcissism is
an extreme and negative one.

18. Image by Scott* (Flickr) Content from MacLeans
But perhaps selfies in and of themselves are morally neutral,
it’s how we use them that is good or bad.

19. We should avoid their self-deprecating and voyeuristic applications...
... in favour of using them as
a presentational form
that depicts us at
our most true and at our best.
Image by Kris Krug* (Flickr)

20. Online and real-world phone art galleries are already being curated.
Some even believe that we should see
selfies as an independent subgenre of photography
and treat them as art.
Image by Stuck In Customs (Flickr) Content from Macleans

21. We will see ourselves not in the mirror, not in prints,
but through the front-facing camera lens.
The medium including the
modeling, photography and editing
are representative of
the digital generation.
Image by John Beihler(Flickr)

22. works cited
Analyzing the “selfie” trend. By Angelina Irinici. Macleans OnCampus. February 2013.
http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2013/02/13/analyzing-the-selfie-trend/
The rise and rise of the 'selfie‘. By Bim Adewunmi. The Guardian April 2013
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2013/apr/02/rise-and-rise-of-the-selfie
“Selfies' just as much for the insecure as show-offs. By Jillian McHugh. WAtoday. April 2013.
http://www.watoday.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/selfies-just-as-much-for-the-insecure-as-showoffs-20130403-2h6ow.html
The Social Psychology of the Selfie. By Christine Erickson. Mashable. February 2013.
http://mashable.com/2013/02/15/social-media-and-the-selfie/
Ugly Is the New Pretty: How Unattractive Selfies Took Over the Internet. By Rachel Hills. NY MagMarch 2013
http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/03/ugly-is-the-new-pretty-a-rise-in-gross-selfies.html