The Art and Etiquette of the “Selfie”

Snapchat, Selfie Sunday, you name it. Our generation has increasingly become comfortable with taking pictures of ourselves.

A few years ago, it seems that this action would be highly frowned upon. However, with the development of Snapchat, Instagram and other social media sites that focus on individuals sharing unnecessary and pointless information about themselves, this action has become common and acceptable.

Personally, taking selfies an extreme amount of times can make somebody seem self-absorbed. Selfies are an example of how our generation today is so highly focused on personal appearance. We are so fascinated with ourselves that we think others will be interested in our selfies.

In reality, most people just don’t care.

The goal of the stereotypical selfie is to convince, or in most cases trick, people into thinking you are good looking. The lighting, edit and type of duck face you make is all up to you.

But don’t give up after the first picture. Rarely, if ever, is the first selfie acceptable. Some people can take up to 50 pictures in order to find the gem.

Once you find that one picture, you post it on Instagram with a cute little quote, a few hashtags, and your personal favorite emoji.

However, this picture is not racking up the likes like you hoped it would, and you start to feel a little embarrassed. So, you look at the picture again. Thinking about it now… no… this selfie is horrendous.

Awful, actually.

You realize what a mistake it was for you to post it. So as quick as a snapshot, you delete it.

Selfies have become so acceptable that it’s not a matter of judging them as a whole, but knowing what is and isn’t acceptable when it comes to taking pictures of yourself.

For example, taking pictures of yourself while in public, taking selfies while on the toilet, taking selfies while driving, taking selfies at a funeral, taking selfies during a conversation, taking selfies during school, and seductive selfies are all unacceptable.

If our society insists on taking selfies, let’s at least do it right.