Selfies, Selfishness and the Unending Desire for Instant Gratification
The fact that the word "selfie" is not only in our everyday vernacular but the dictionary says it all. We are living in a time when children to grandparents and especially every generation in between is totally comfortable announcing they want attention and they want it this instant.
From Instagram "likes" to Twitter retweets to Facebook friends (though it's clear Facebook is at the end of the race), we've inadvertently answered the age-old "falling tree" question. Indeed, if no one sees you grinning out with your friends or popping bottles in Ibiza or looking hot in your bikini, in the bathroom or at the beach, or eating your blueberry-topped oatmeal for breakfast, it may as well have not happened. What good is doing something, even if it's literally just living your life, if you're not getting credit for it? Apparently, none at all.
Self-portraits were once reserved for deliberately versatile photographers like Cindy Sherman and fine artists on quests for deeper introspection. Not anymore. Truth be told, it's an unapologetically (and sometimes sickeningly) self-absorbed, contentedly and comically voyeuristic world in which we exist, where those who reign on social media ("How many followers do you have?") are instantaneously named king, and already-made celebrities keep their perches at the top of the totem pole by maintaining their virtual presence. Hence, the incessant barrage of selfies (mine included; I'm as narcissistic as they come), delivered as self-conscious commentary, comment-seeking shock fodder, and envy-inducing taunts and teases alike.
