Time does fly when you’re taking selfies.
Seeing as we have declared May as “Self Love Month,” and are hosting the showing of the unrated version of the documentary STICKY, a film about all of our most favorite solo pastime, maybe it’s time to reflect on that which reflects mostly on us currently.
And currently nothing does this better then selfies.
Rising in popularity with the Kardashians (one might postulate that Instagram and the Kardashian enjoy the very healthiest of symbiotic relationships) Instagram has grown so popular that Facebook bought it, fearing Instagram’s competition. The creation of the ‘selfie-stick,’ portable phone makers as much concerned over their product’s camera capability as any other functions, apps created to play with video and pictures; we seem to be addicted to taking pictures of ourselves…and posting them. But all this photo self-love does beg that one question we should be asking ourselves as the digital world intrudes ever deeper: ‘Just because we can, should we?’
A case might be made that the more access we have to access ourselves, to show-off as it were, and to make that showing-off almost the raison d’être of our existence, we lose ever more of our ability to know when not to show off. Spending time taking a picture, editing that picture, then posting that picture when we should be enjoying the thing we are taking a picture of is surely not any way to stop and smell the roses. But adding to that dilemma by spending time taking a picture of ourselves, editing that picture (of ourselves), then posting that picture against everybody else posting a picture (of themselves) seems conceited in the extreme, no? In fact, that conceit tickled from this action, even the consideration of that action, has lessened our, in effect killed, our…game.
We have all but lost that knowledge of when to show ‘um as opposed to when to fold ‘um. We know nothing of the tease anymore. We have no reason or ability to wait, to draw-pout, to anticipate.
Surely, self-love yourself as much as you like, but maybe, just for a moment, put down that damn phone.
Image Credit: iStock 0000 35680 754 Medium web
