Selfies as a 'born again' passion

Me at right with Terry Laabid, Fil-American Community of the Carolinas officer

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

I COULD unequivocally say that we have become witnesses to the growth of the online, wired “selfie” generation in the past few years.

Unless you've either been living under a rock or off the grid, you know what a selfie is. Nearly anyone young and old alike with a smartphone or social media accounts had at one time or the other took a photo of oneself and posted it online.

It is known in olden times as self-portraiture and thanks to technological advances, one need not be proficient with paintbrushes, ink pens or pencils since all it takes is one click from a smartphone to take a portrait of oneself.

This self-portraiture is born “again” and later you would understand why I described it so. Oxford Dictionary defines selfie as “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.”

Take note of the following elements: oneself, smartphone and upload to a social media website.

Self-publication
“Selfies” have upended somewhat the features and rules of social communication by injecting some self-awareness and humor and showing how we behave in public. 

Ghing Vhoght 

At least for many, selfies show their best side to the world though it had also scraped that thinning line between the online and personal lives of social media users. 

While we still have some control over what we post and say, it still reflects a good part of our real lives.

Since I am a child of the past, selfies were something I took with a grain of salt. At times I smiled to myself at the idea of so many people taking selfies everywhere they are at the time and with everyone they happen to be with.

It wasn't until I was in a car and I forgot to take a book that I took out my smartphone and took a selfie. It is fun and sort of a self-publication of my own special moments. 

Joining the crowd
I thus joined the crowd so to speak. It was hard at first capturing myself especially with Ronnie who likes to join in on my selfies. I had to make a lot of adjustments whenever we pose together for selfies using my smartphone.

I have to look down or up, or just show one half of my face to get a better shot.
I don’t usually do the duck face, it's hard to do and I still have to study it. 

Maria Corazon Ducusin

In the words of my friend Ghing Vhoght who I think mastered the art of taking selfies, “it is only studying the best angle so we can take a good picture of ourselves.”

It is quite bizarre for me to learn that from self-portraits or selfies, it has evolved into a group or what Mary Grace Gaither calls multi-selfie. I find it more amazing to see how one can take photos of oneself and several other people using a smartphone camera. 

I admitted lately that I've taken pictures of myself when nobody is watching-- inside the car, waiting for an appointment and in other places where there's a nice background. 

Expression
I nearly broke my neck either looking up or down just to take these selfies. If it wasn't for my wry sense of humor, I'd be quitting it cold turkey. 

Parties are a certified hotspot for selfies, since anyone with a smartphone can take photos of themselves and upload it on their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest accounts.

Or they can wait for the proper time to post their selfies especially if they want to share it with the important people in their lives. I asked people why they take selfies, starting with my husband Ronnie.

Ronnie said he takes selfies because it's the in-thing to do these days. “And I am good looking man that's why,” he winked. No argument from me there.

Maria Corazon Ducusin also echoes Ronnie's sentiment, saying a selfie “is an expression of my everyday emotions.” “Like today I feel funny. Click. I feel good click!!. I feel beautiful..click!,” she said.

Self-art 
“And I always tell myself I’d better enjoy me and my selfies now because someday when I get old and wrinkly I'll sit down on my rocking chair and say., ...she is one good looking girl,” Maria said.

Maria usually posts selfies accompanied by positive thoughts so anyone who reads it would also feel good. She was the first among my circle here in Charlotte, North Carolina who punctuated her posts with “woohoo!” Who wouldn't find that contagious?

My daughter Honey and granddaughter Arianne Jaden Baisas

Another friend, Ghing Voght, started taking selfie pictures since last year when the “selfie movement just started.” Ghing said she always watches The Filipino Channel program “Showtime” and since then, she takes selfies for fun.

“I just followed them and it is nice since I can take the best selfie of myself.”

For Mary Grace Gaither, a mother of two, her selfies are a good outlet for self-expression and appreciation. Her favorite selfie is one with her hubby Steve and son Josh including  baby Stephanie that was taken last Easter. Stephanie was also looking at the camera, she said.

There are others who said that taking selfies are either narcissistic, attention seekers who crave public attention to maintain their self-esteem. Ronnie disagrees, saying that selfies is a form of self-art.

Self confidence issues
Then there are others who said taking selfies does help boost self-esteem and self-confidence and I agree with them. 

Even if you’re not willing to admit it, we all (to some degree) have self-confidence issues and, for some people, posting a selfie is a great way of getting over that low esteem and that's normal. 

The need to feel good is a valid issue and what better way to boost it than  through a selfie.

I also agree that to some extent, taking selfies isn't the healthiest thing to do and one should be careful not to overdo do it to make himself/herself feel better. Sometimes we need others to validate our actions.

Somebody said we need selfies as food for our self-esteem. But I say we just live in a different time when technology is impacting our lives in so many ways. 

Lynn Lorenzo Polk has this to say: ”We didn't have the technology then that we have now.” To each his own, but one shouldn't overdo selfies because it becomes an obsession which is unhealthy. 

Improved version
Polk said she doesn't take selfies but she isn't opposed to it. But taking selfies goes back to the time of artist Vincent Van Gogh, who painted more than 30 self-portraits some of which are said to be his most important works of art.

So you see the selfies of today are just an improved version of the original selfie portraits of Van Gogh except that we do it with our smartphones and monopods in hand instead of paint brushes.

Thus selfies are a “born again passion” enhanced only by technology. For me, I think selfies should be treated like other photos one takes which is intended to capture special moments that anyone would like to share with the world.

Other do it because they want to feel good about themselves while others are bored. Whatever their reason, I think the season for selfies is here to stay. I quote Lynn Lorenzo-Polk who said that “sometimes it's a once in a lifetime moment and one can't help but take a selfie.”

So what can you say about the selfie? Post your thoughts.  For more links read this and this. In the meantime, excuse me, I'm going to take a selfie.

Mary Grace Gaither and her husband with their family

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. This page will serve as a venue for news and discussion on Filipino communities in the Carolinas.

Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.

You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)