Many scholars argue that portraying memory through social media and the phenomenon of “selfies” is not only offside, but downright disrespectful. When analysing the context in which people are taking selfies and other pictures at historical preservations, it is apparent that millennials are using social media as a way to connect themselves to the horrors and mishaps that have occurred throughout history. In the modern era of technology and virtual connections, I feel as though adolescents and young adults see no other way to connect themselves to the sentiments of historical artifacts than to express themselves in a narcissistic and electronic form. As a changing society, where in these times it is more common to see two people facetiming, than having a regular conversation; it is only logical that the upcoming generations are and will be expressing themselves through electronic means. As communication segues from handwriting from texting, “teens .. engage with new media and explore changing cultural norms for practicing life narrative” (Douglas, 2017) that will morph into new genres and expressions. The selfie, a increasingly popular “genre [that] has emerged as the limit figure in the politics of visuality online, invoking the moral censure of the public,” (Ibrahim, 2016) especially in sensitive environments. Whether this means tweeting their condolences, posting a selfie to remember, or republishing a VSCO photo in remembrance, it glorifies trauma; the disaster selfie, as it has been coined “mediates this duality of death while being alive in a place of carnage exclaiming, ‘I’m alive where others have been sacrificed.’” (Ibrahim, 2016). In perspective, the teenagers of today are appealing themselves to their own audience, their peers. The audience that they are presenting their ideas to communicates in a casual, quick and unprofessional manner; providing a platform for teenagers to share their experiences in the same manner, casual and short. Adolescents exchanging information will not feel inclined to write a letter, or produce a piece of art but rather use an expressive emoji to show their affiliations with the event, or compose a profound caption to emphasize their condolences. As communication and conversation transitions from scholarly articles to Facebook posts it is important to comprehend that this transition entails a change in expression of emotion and compassion.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14682753.2015.1116755
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1750698017714838