Are you an avid photographer who enjoys capturing picturesque sunsets, natural moments, or events you witness on the street?
Most people enjoy comments on the photos they share on social networking sites like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and others. Many of these images were either photoshopped or taken with filters.
There is nothing wrong with posting filtered photos, but the continual pressure to always be perfect—whether it in terms of appearance, home, spouse, or other aspects—can cause worry, stress, and melancholy.
Let’s read a few of these articles to learn more about it.
https://childmind.org/article/what-selfies-are-doing-to-girls-self-esteem/
As with many of the ideas we’re discussing, I find a lot of “it depends” in this topic.
I’ve been interested in photography for a long time, although the degree of seriousness I apply to that has had highs and lows over time. As much as I enjoy the capabilities of a large DSLR camera, I also love the flexibility of just having my phone as a standby camera. When I’m out travelling, the camera is a pretty obvious marker of a tourist and/or photographer, and the size is awkward to carry and keep safe. Mobile phones are obviously much more convenient, and because they are so common I can take draw much less attention to myself (which is good not only for personal convenience and safety, but allows capturing more candid street scenes). However, this fallback means I usually working with less capable equipment, and my artistic discipline is a lot less with a quick phone picture.
The obsession with selfies doesn’t thrill me, especially the degree to which people will interrupt their lives to get them. Yet even that has a potential long term benefit. The days of film cameras made photography less accessible and expensive, not only for the cameras but also the cost of film, developing and printing. Let alone storage and archive issues. The near zero cost of digital photos means we’re taking endless photos of relatively mundane events: not just weddings or births, but what we had for lunch or a coffee with someone we see every day. It seems trivial now, but in the long run I think this is going to be more valuable. I think of my grandfathers, both of whom died long before I was born. During my childhood, I knew my father’s father from a single photo in my grandmother’s room. My mother’s father I had no visual reference at all; any photos were kept by older siblings in the family. Older generations, I don’t think we have anything. I find it rather comforting to think that my descendants will have so much more to reference from us, even if they are of the day to day events that don’t stand out. Maybe that will make these archives more valuable.
I don’t think I have an addition to selfies, but I am obsessed with taking pictures of things around me, ensuring I have a picture or video to ‘capture the moment’ rather than just experiencing things with my own eyes. Can others relate?
With cameras on our mobile devices getting better and better, I often opt to just travel with my phone vs. bringing a separate camera.
Are we ruining our experiences by too often looking at things through our cameras? Is it more important to experience things, without our mobile devices in hand, or does capturing photos and videos using mobile devices contribute to our enjoyment?
This is an interesting topic. I was especially shocked to see the poll that the average woman between the ages of 16 and 25 spends more than 5 hours a week taking selfies. But looking back I’ve been there too, maybe it didn’t take long to take the shot, but retouching it afterward can take a lot of effort. The discussion between selfies and self-esteem, especially based on the development of social media, feels like it could be very well researched. What’s particularly interesting is that there is a very strong stereotype on the internet in my culture background about taking selfies, i.e. that especially women, are crazy obsessed with post-production of their selfies. This has set off quite a few discussions (actually I’d like to say internet flaming) on the internet about female’s self-esteem. Your post has revitalized my interest in examining this topic, thank you very much.
Thanks for sharing this post. Your introduction paragraph draws my attention, and it makes me feel connected. The article “What Selfies Are Doing to Self-Esteem” from Child Mind Institute is essentially helpful since I have two young kids.
Personally, I like to share photos of life on Facebook. I use Meitu and Line Camera. Now, after reading your post, I’ve learned about two new apps: Facetune and RetouchMe. I plan to give them a try and see if I can use one of these apps to create lesson activities that draw attention to teenagers’ behavior. This will help them become aware of their anxiety and sense of insecurity when striving for perfection compared to others. It serves as a good reminder to me of the continual pressure to always be perfect, which we should strive to stop and avoid passing on to our new generations.
In summary, your post has opened my eyes to new tools and ideas, and I appreciate the valuable insights provided by the article “What Selfies Are Doing to Self-Esteem” from the Child Mind Institute.
Thanks for your comment Anna. Just like you, I also don’t like taking pictures but I see my friends using Instagram and Snapchat. I use Instagram and like it’s features and filters. You should try that. 🙂
Well, I am too old to be really interested in taking pics of everything and myself, but my students did it all the time and even filmed me for whatever reason. My melancholy comes from the fact that I never used filters or photoshopped anything, and I believe it is a useful skill. Which app can you recommend me to start with, Ritu?