I was born in a very unique year right at the turn of the century–1999. When I grew up, I was young enough to be raised playing outside, but still had the privilege of having technology surrounding me wherever I went. As I grew up, technology advanced. My uncle was always the tech-savvy one in my family, buying the newest computers and cameras as soon as they came out. Right when he introduced me to his new digital camera, I was hooked. You could flip the screen out so you could point the camera at yourself while seeing your face at the same time. My cousins and I loved to play with this feature; and thus my very first selfies were taken. Back then, they weren’t meant to be things of vanity or narcism, it was just capturing yourselves in the moment, especially helpful if you didn’t have someone there to take your photo. However, selfies have long since evolved. With the introduction of the front facing camera’s on phones, selfies have been easier to take than ever. I’ll admit, I’ve taken quite a few selfies myself. I’ve even posted those selfies to social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. These selfies weren’t the same as the ones I took when I was 6. Now instead of just trying to capture the moment, I try to capture the best angle and lighting, unconsciously thinking of what will get the most likes. Like most teens and young adults, I understand selfie culture. At least I thought I did.

The first time I ever encountered a “dark” selfie was at my friend’s mom’s funeral. It was a very somber and serious occasion, as most funerals are. I grew up in a very small town, and everyone knew my friend and her late mother so most of my school was there too. I had been to quite a few funerals in my life, so I knew and understood most of the customs and traditions and how to act–respectful and mourning full. Everyone knows not to take their phones out during a funeral, it’s just one of those rules. That’s why I was shocked to see some fellow peers with their cellphones in their hands, but what was even more shocking was what they were doing. They were taking selfies on Snapchat. I wasn’t sure if maybe these kids had not been to a funeral before, or if they were just being rude, but they weren’t alone, many people had their phones out scrolling through Instagram and Facebook. Some of them were even in groups posing for pictures together. When I got home that night, I found numerous photos from the funeral of my classmates posing together with captions like “RIP”. Surely, if they wanted to remember the departed, they would post a nice picture of that person? Or even a picture of them with that person, and not just a picture of themselves. How could a picture of oneself be used to respect and remember someone who has passed? To me, these pictures oozed pure narcism and disrespect, everything opposite of it’s supposed intention.These pictures were the first things that popped in my mind while reading Kate Douglas’ article, “Youth, trauma and memorialisation: The selfie as witnessing”, Douglas points out that “…times, cultures and [people] are changing, and one of the primary drivers of this change is the rise of mobile technologies and mobile witnessing” (Douglas, pg 6).

Perhaps I was all wrong about the ‘disrespectful’ selfies and pictures at funerals. Since discussing Douglas’ article in ASTU I was able to open my mind to a new perspective. Her article challenged my views and allowed me to see things in a positive light. Funerals are very somber, uncomfortable situations for most people. Many people just don’t know how to act and what to do when put in that situation. It can be especially uncomfortable and unfamiliar for teenagers, who are unsure of how to express their emotions and cope with loss in the first place and “selfies [can be] a way to own a particular response to trauma” (Douglas, pg 12). My generation was brought up using technology; it is something we are all comfortable with and provides a familiar medium for us to express our emotions and feeling though, and the funeral photo/selfie is just another way for teens to express their emotions. Posting that photo with a commemorative caption is just the newest way for teens to show their sorrow and grief; it is not a sign of disrespect. And adults just might not get this (I’m a teen myself and didn’t get it).

We all know how fast technology is advancing–there seems to be a new IPhone out everyday! However, none of us really seem to take note of the social implications and standards that come with that new technology. There are many unwritten rules and social norms within our society, and new technology challenges them and even changes some–but most people don’t notice. A lot of the criticism on ‘selfie culture’ seems to come from older generations. This makes sense due to the fact that these generations didn’t grow up with the same technology we did. However, it’s important that not only older generations, but everyone pays attention to the role technology has on our lives. Not just how it makes life easier, or what effects it has on us individually, but also it’s effects on our culture and society and even how it changes our everyday interactions to sacred occasions. We need more research papers such as Douglas’ to bring light to the fact of this issue. Societal norms and standards are always changing, but even more so now living in a technological world. It is up to all of us to realize this and challenge what we know, so we can understand younger generations and realize just how much technology is changing the world we live in.

Works Cited:

Douglas, Kate. Youth, Trauma and Memorialization: The Selfie as Witnessing. Memory Studies. Sage Publishing. 2017