Singh 1

Rhetorical Situation:
Topic: My paper focuses on the cultural shift from self-exploration to public
exhibitionism via the digital medium of selfies
Audience: The younger generation who greatly promote selfie culture, as well as
sociologists and psychologists who analyze social changes
Media Outlet: The New York Times- Editorial and Opinion section
Purpose: To analyze not only the shift from privacy to public exhibitionism, but also to
study the implications self culture has on societys mental health and perception of self.
Genre: Essay/ Editorial

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Pragya Singh
Professor Andrea Pisani Babich
Engl 137
9 November 2014
#SelfieNation:AGrowingCultureofDigitalExhibitionism
Atanarmslengthaway,onesexistencecanbedocumentedwithonesimple
snapshotthankstothepoweroftheselfie.Throughmassivechangesincamera
technologyandtheexplosionofsocialmediaoutlets,selfieculturehastakenoverthe
masses.EllenDegenerestookonewhilehostingtheOscarsandevenPopeFrancisisa
participantinoursocietysgrowingobsessionwithselfdocumentation.Theselfiehas
becomesuchaniconictrademarkofthemillennialgenerationthatithasbeenaddedto
theOxfordEnglishDictionary.Withincreasingpopularityoftheselfiecomesa
heightenedconsciousnessofselfandnarcissism.Selfieculturehasprovidedaplatform
forsocietys shift from self-exploration to public exhibitionism,andithasparadoxical
implicationsonperceptionofselfworthandidentity.
Althoughitseemsasthoughtheconceptofselfieshasbeenrecentlybornfrom
thecurrentInternetage,humanshavebeenobsessedwithselfexplorationforthousands
ofyears.Thehumanpursuitforidentitycanberootedbacktotheancients,andit
continuestobeanextremelyimportantaspectofmodernsociety.Greatchangesin
technologyledtogreatchangesinhowhumanswentaboutthisselfexploration.The
inventionofthemirrorinthe15thcenturyallowedartiststodelveintotherealmofself
portraits.VincentVanGogh,PabloPicasso,andFriedaKahlowereonlyafewthemany
artistswhocreatedmasterpiecesthroughthestudyofselfdepiction.The1860ssawthe

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emergenceofthecamera,whichallowedthecommonpublictohaveanaccurate
representationofthemselves.DevelopmentofdigitalandPolaroidcamerasgreatly
simplifiedthepicturetakingprocess,savingtimeinthedarkroomandmakingitmore
accessibletotheaverageperson.Finally,cellphonecamerasbroughtabouttheselfieas
theaveragepersonknowsittoday.Frontfacingcamerasallowpeopletotakehighquality
picturesofthemselvesquicklyandeasily,equippedwiththerightfilterstogetthemost
flatteringlight.PsychologistPamelaRutledgetakestheanalysisoftheselfieshistory
onestepfurther:Westerncivilizationhasarichhistoryofselfportraiturethatcontinues
toexpandwithtechnologicalinnovations.Whereoncetheyweretheprovinceoftheelite
eitherinstatusorskill,cellphonesandInstagramhavedemocratizedselfportraiture,
makingthemlesspreciousandmorefun(Rutledge).Eachimprovementintechnology
slowlydiminishedthesanctityofselfdocumentation,insteadleavingbehindatrivial,
accessibleaspecttothemedium.Wherebeforetherewassenseofprivacyandintimacy
inselfportraiture,societysshifttowardsdigitalpublicityviaselfieshasturnedthegenre
fromanartformtocommonplace.
Theselfieisrootedinthemillennialgenerationsneededforpublic
documentationandapproval.Ourlivestakeonacompletelydifferentformintheonline
world,andsocialmediaoutletsgiveusaplatformforpublicdisplay.Theselfieand
socialmediaaresocloselyrelated,itisalmostimpossibletoseparatethetwo.The
emergenceofMySpacein2006gavebirthtotheconceptofpostingcasualpicturesof
oneselfbyoneself.Threeyearslater,theexplosionofFacebookspopularityledtoan
increaseofpublicprofiles,andinturn,selfieuploads.Inthepastfewyears,selfieshave

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becomeamainstreamwaytopublicallydocumentapersonslife,capturingamilestone
orasimple,quotidianmoment.Societyisdistancingawayfromtheideaofprivacyand
insteadturningtowardspublicexhibitionism.AsTomasChamorroPremuzic,professor
ofbusinesspsychologyatUniversityCollegeLondonstates,Inthepastdecade,social
mediahastakenustouncharteredterritoriesofegotisticadulationbyenablingeverybody
tobroadcasttheirlifeandbethestaroftheirown24/7hourshow:consumersbecame
actorsandconsumableproductsatonce(ChamorroPremuzic).Nowwithsocial
networkingappslikeInstagram,Twitter,andSnapchat,publicimageiseverything.As
humans,thereisanobviousdesireforthatpublicimagetobedisplayedinthebestlight.
Perhapsthatisthegreatestappealoftheselfie:thecompletecontrolonehasoverit.Dr.
AaronBalick,apsychotherapistwhohaswrittenabookonthehumanmotivations
behindsocialnetworking,explains,Aselfieisanexpressionofanactiveonlineidentity,
somethingyouhavesomecontrolover.Youmighttakelots,butyou'llpublishtheones
youlikeeveniftheyaresillyorunflattering(SelfPortraits).Thereislargeappealin
havingcompletecontroloverthetypeofpublicimagethatyoupresentonline,butof
coursethereareconsequences.
Thegreatestcontroversyoverselfiecultureisitsimplicationsonselfworth,and
whetheritpromotesselfloveorsimplynarcissism.Mostpeoplewillpostselfieswhen
theywanttofeelgoodaboutthemselves.Thedayswhentheirhairlooksnice,their
makeupisperfect,whentheiroutfitsmakestheirbodieslookmostflattering,thoseare
thedayspeopletakeselfies.Thefirstoneisnevertherightone,anditwilltakemany
moreattemptsuntiltheperfectselfieistaken.Despitetheeffort,thereisstillgreat

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pleasureinbeingabletoseeoneselfintheirbestlight.Butmorethansimplythepleasure
oftakingapictureofoneself,theselfiehasbecomesuchatrademarkofthemillennial
generationbecauseofthelikesandcommentsthatarereceivedonthemwhenuploaded
tosocialmedia.Ashumanbeings,weareactivelyseekingtheattentionandapprovalof
others.BypostingselfiesonInstagramorFacebook,wearecreatingamultifaceted
imageofourselvesforthepublic.Selfiesallowtheopportunitytodisplaythemanysides
ofourselves:artsy,glamorous,serious,orsilly.However,asthefocuschangesfromfeel
goodfactortohowthepublicviewsus,theselfiecreatesatroublingrelationshipwith
selfesteem.Itbecomesacelebratedformofdigitalnarcissism.Perhapstherehasalways
beenanarcissisticelementtohumanity,butthecombinationofsocialmediaandselfie
cultureglorifythisselfobsession.Theshiftthenbecomeshowsociallyacceptableitisto
bepublicallyinlovewithyourself.
Thepersonawemarketforouronlineidentitiescausesustolosetouchwithour
authenticidentities,makingitdifficulttobuildrealrelationships.Thusliestheparadoxof
theselfie:wetakethemtogainselfconfidence,buttheyendupcreatingfragileself
esteems.Dr.Rutledgeexplainstheconundrum:Selfiesfrequentlytriggerperceptionsof
selfindulgenceorattentionseekingsocialdependencethatraisesthedamnedifyoudo
anddamnedifyoudontspectreofeithernarcissismorverylowselfesteem(Barakat).
LucieHemmen,aSantaCruzclinicalpsychologistexplainsthecontinuumofmental
healthandauthenticityinselfieculture:Asecure,maturepersonisgoingtopostselfies
thatarespontaneousandnotoverlyengineeredoredited,andtheyregoingtodoitless
often.Amoreinsecurepersonisgoingtopoststagedorsexualizedphotos,andtheyre

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goingtodoitsomuchthattheybecomeconsumedbyitandthecommentstheyreceive
(Barakat).Anaddictiontoselfietakingleadstoobsessionwithreachingsomeformof
aestheticperfection,onethatisimpossibletoachieve.Therehavebeenanumberofcases
inwhichselfietakinghasbecomeanaddictionforpeoplewhoalreadysufferfrom
certainpsychologicaldisorders,suchasobsessivecompulsivedisorderandbody
dysmorphicdisorder(Howard).Selfiesarealsoreflectiveofsocietysgrowingvanityand
shallowness.Theperfectselfieformanyadheretoarchaicstandardsofbeauty,andmany
appshavebeencreatedtoachieveitbyaddingfilters,coveringblemishes,andeven
takingoffweight.Atthispoint,istheselfietrulycapturingonesself?
Despitemanyofthenegativeconsequenceofselfiesonmentalhealth,thereare
manysupportersforsocietysnewfoundselfieculture.Whennotabused,aselfieis
perhapstheeasiestwaytofindsomeloveandboostforselfesteem.Inthehumanquest
forselfexploration,photographyremainsoneofthegreatestmediumstoleavean
imprintofexistence.Perhapsitisjuvenile,perhapsitisadisplayofexhibitionism,but
theselfieisthemillennialgenerationssimplestwayofdocumentinganephemeral
momentofnowandourrelationtoit.Soifaduckfaceandstrategicallyplacedlighting
achievesthis,thenlettheselfiescontinue.

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Works Cited
Barakat, Christie. "Science Links Selfies to Narcissism, Addiction & Low Self Esteem SocialTimes." SocialTimes. Mediabistro Inc, 14 Apr. 2014. Web. 03 Nov. 2014.
Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas. "Sharing the (self) Love: The Rise of the Selfie and Digital
Narcissism." The Guardian. Guardian News, 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
Howard, Jacqueline. "'Selfie Addiction' Is No Laughing Matter, Psychiatrists Say."
TheHuffingtonPost.com. The Huffington Post, 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 02 Nov.
2014.
Rutledge, Pamela B. "#Selfies: Narcissism or Self-Exploration?" Psychology Today.
Sussex Publisher12, 17 Apr. 2013. Web. 02 Nov. 2014.
"Self-portraits and Social Media: The Rise of the 'selfie'." BBC News. BBC, 6 June 2013.
Web. 02 Nov. 2014.