BrandonAeschliman

JacobDarnell
LucasDoyle
KurtLehmkuhle
JesraelLewis
English12
8May2015
PoisonousSelfies
Agirlsitsfryingherhaironahotstraightenerandcakingblackmakeupthickonher
eyes.Inhermindshecannotseemtofillemptytimewithanythingbetter.Shethenpullsouther
phoneandposeswhilemakingfacesatthelittlebuiltincamerathatwillsoonSnapapictureto
herfriendmilesaway.Againandagainshesnapspicturesofherself,allthewhilefixing
herself,attemptingtotaketheperfectSelfie.Thetrendofselfietakinghassweptoverthe
nation,andhasbecometomostpeople,apartofeverydaylifeaswellasawayofmaintaining
relationships.Butwhatpeoplearefailingtoseeisthatselfiesareslowlycreatingsocial,mental,
andemotionalproblemsthatseemtobeslippingundertheradar.Thefactofthematteristhat
selfiesaremoreharmfulthanbeneficialtoonessocial,mental,andmoralehealth.Peoplespend
hourssendingpicturesofthemselvestopeopleinsteadofhavingrealhumaninteractions,or
spendingtimeintheirownminds.Thisissocietytoday,brainwashedintothinkingthisbehavior
isboostingselfesteemorformingtruefriendships.Wheninreality,thosewhotendtotakethese
selfportraitpicturesandpostthemonsocialmediawebsitesinsocalledsocialcircleshave
shallowrelationshipswithpeoplethereforetheyareisolatingthemselvesinafake

sociallyconnectedworld.Selfietakingisalsocreatinganarcissisticandselfcenteredfocus,
maskedwiththeideathatitisjustforfunandtopromotepositiveselfimage.Butthis
perspectiveisbecomingthenewattitudeofthecommonAmerican,andthereisafineline
betweenbeingconfident,versesbeingvainandselfish.Thoughmanycriticsmayarguethat
takingselfiesispromotingapositiveselfimageandboostingconfidence,itisveryfarfromtrue.
Insteadpeopleshouldbefindingnewwaystoexpressthemselves,byopeningupandcreating
realandpersonalfriendships,sothattheirselfesteemswillbefedwiththenutrientsitneeds,
insteadofthepoisonthatmightappeartohealthesurface,butslowlyrotsawaythecoreofa
personsmind.
Theaverageteenagegirlspendsoverfivehoursaweektakingselfies(6.)Soitisno
wonderthatsomethingsomindnumbingandselfishlytimeconsuming,suchastheinfatuation
withselfies,wouldbeenlinkedtomentalillnesses.Twooutofthreepatientswhocometosee
mewithBodyDysmorphicDisordersincetheriseofcameraphoneshaveacompulsionto
repeatedlytakeandpostselfiesonsocialmediawebsites.sayspsychiatristDr.DavidVeal.(1.)
Themoretheissueisduginto,themoreandmoreevidentitbecomesthattheyarementally
problematic.DannyBowman,aBritishteenager,wenttotheextentoftryingtocommitsuicide
becausehewasunabletotakewhathewouldconsidertobetheperfectselfie.Bowmanbecame
soobsessedtryingtotaketheperfectselfiethathespentapproximatelytenhoursadaytakingup
to200selfies.AsthingsgotworseforBowman,helost30pounds,droppedoutofschool,and
placedhimselfunderhousearrestforsixmonths,allthewhilestilltryingfortheperfectpicture.
Thiscasemaybeextreme,butsmalltracesofsimilarpatternscanbecommonlyseeninallselfie
takers(1.)Selfiesfrequentlytriggerperceptionsofselfindulgenceorattentionseekingsocial

dependencethatraisesthedamnedifyoudoanddamnedifyoudontspectreofeither
narcissismorverylowselfesteem.saysPamelaRutledgeinPsychologyToday.Eitherwayyou
lookatit,selfietakingiseventuallyeithergoingtofeednarcissismorsawawayconfidence.A
loselosesituation.Sinceconfidence,whetherloworhigh,playssuchahugeroleinthewayyou
goaboutnearlyeverything,itisgoingtoactasthebasisformanyotherseriousproblemsto
grow.Thoughtheyclaimtohelpyou,andmakeyoufeelbetteraboutyourself,selfiesare
actuallydoingjusttheopposite,andmorphingconfidenceintoasick,unhealthyconceptamong
society.
Asthousandsofhighschoolstudentsgraduateeachyear,theyhopetotakewiththemthe
friendshipsthattheyhavecreated.However,withtheselfietrendthathastakenholdontypical
globalsocietytoday,thosefriendshipsmayseemtodwindleanddisappearaltogether.Putting
selfiesorevengroupselfiesonsocialmediacreatessocialcircleswhichcreateshallow
relationshipswiththeirpeers,andthereforetheytrapthemselvesinasupposed
sociallyconnectedworld.Peoplewouldrathersocializethroughtakingselfiesratherthan
havingafacetofaceconversation.Somehowlookingatapicture
ofsomeoneonsnapchatcountsasfacetofaceinteracting.But
thingssuchasphysicalcontact,eyecontact,bodylanguageand
vocalconversationsarealllost,andallhappentobecrucial
buildingblocksinadeep,truefriendship.InFigureA(ontheright,)
FigureA
amanisseentakingaselfiewithhisdeceasedgrandmotheratherfuneral.Heobviouslycares
moreaboutpostingapictureforallofhisfriendsonsocialmediatoseethanhedoesabout
mourningthelossofhisgrandmother.Eveninextremelyimportantsocialevents,forinstance

funerals,peoplearemorefocusedontheirdigitalrelationshipsandpicturesthantheyare
physicallybeingwiththeirfriendsandfamily.Accordingtoajointstudyconductedbythe
UniversityofBirmingham,UniversityofEdinburgh,andHeriotWattUniversity,theincreased
frequencyofsharingphotographsofonesself,regardlessofthetypeoftargetsharingthe
photographs,isrelatedtoadecreaseinintimacy.Thisstudygoesontosaythattheemotional
attachmentwithfriendsandcoworkerswashigherwhentheydidnottakeselfiescomparedto
thoseinthestudythatdid.(2.)Tomakemattersworse,socialmediaappssuchasSnapchatand
Instagrammaketakingselfiesseemlikeanobigdeal,withoutevenrealizingtheconsequences.
Peoplearetryingtobuildrelationshiponthesesocialmediasandpits,andtheyarerelationships
thatarenevergoingtobestrongorreal.Theyarerelationshipsthataretakingtheplaceof
facetofaceinteractions,whichishowhumansweredesignedtoconnect.
Beingselfistherootwordinselfie,itisobviousthewholeactoftakingonerevolves
aroundonesself,whichwouldqualifyitasaselfishactinmostcases.Thedefinitionofa
narcissistissomeonethatbelievesthattheworldonlyrevolvesaroundthem,andnooneelse.
Thisconditionischaracterizedbythelackofabilitytoempathizewithothersandadesireto
keepattentiononthemselvesatalltimes,whichisexactlywhatselfietakingisallabout.(4.)To
provethispointfurther,aninvestigationwasintroducedtogettothe
bottomofit.ResearchersfromtheSimpleSkincareAdvisoryBoard
concludedthatthegeneralconsensusfortakingselfiesdependsonwhat
thepurposeoftheselfieisfor.Forthosethatareusingitasatoolto
documentthemselvesonhowtheyfeel,theproblemisnonexistent.(8.)However,forthosethat
spendcountlesstimetryingtocatchtheperfectshot,themomentoftakingthepicturehadbeen

ruined,andthatiswhentakingselfiesbecomesnarcissistic.Dr.JosieHoward,M.D.,acertified
psychiatrist,believesthereasonmanypeopleactinsuchwaysastocreateapersonaethatwillbe
approvedbypeers,colleagues,andfriendsalikethroughsocialmedia,oneexamplebeingthe
numberoffavoritesorretweetsaselfiegetsonTwitter,orlikesonFacebook.(8.)
Manypeopleacrosstheworld,donotseetakingselfiesasabadthing,andoftentimes
canmakesomeonefeelgoodaboutthemselves.AccordingtoChristineLove,thecreatorofthe
InterstellarSelfieStation,pointsoutthatTheresjustsomanyforcestryingtomakepeoplefeel
badabouthowtheylook,andImreallyhappythatselfieshavecomeaboutbecauseselfiesshow
empowermentandpromotingapositive,healthyselfimage.(5.)Fromthisstandpoint,thosein
favorofselfieswillarguethatbytakingphotosofthemselves,theyarenottryingtobe
narcissisticinanyway,butmerelyjustusingtheuploadedphotosasmeansofpromoting
themselvestotheworldandsayingHereIam,andIamnotafraidtoshowmyselfoff.For
childrenandteens,selfiesareusedforselfexplorationtoexplaintheirmoodsastheyaretrying
tofigureoutthemselvesandhowtoappeartoothers.AccordingtoDr.AndreaLetamendi,a
clinicalpsychologistandresearchfellowatUCLA.Astweensandteenstrytoformtheir
identity,selfiesserveasawaytotesthowtheylook,andthereforefeel,incertainoutfits,
makeup,posesandplaces.Totopitalloff,thankstolivinginadigitalworld,selfportraits
provideawayofparticipatingandaffiliatingwiththatworld.(7.)
AstheadvancedtechnologyofGenerationZhasaddedanewaddictiontosociety,and
thataddictioninvolvestheconstanttrendofselfietaking,whichinfactispreventingpeople
fromrealizingthatselfiesarecreatingmental,physical,andsocialproblemsthatarestayingoff
oftheradaroftheproblemsinsocietytoday.Forateenagegirltospendcountlesshourstryingto

taketheperfectselfie,itcanonlybeharmfulinhowtheyinteractwithfriendsanddealingwith
selfawareness/selfimage.Danny[Bowmancanactasaperfectexampleofthis,andtheharmful
addictionthatselfiescanhaveonpeople.Onedirectexampleofhowthisaffectspeople
everywherecanbeseeninhowsociallyconnectedtheyarewiththeirfriendsandcolleagues.
Someonethattakeslessselfiesismorelikelytohavecloserrelationshipscomparedtopeople
whotakeagreaternumberofselfies.Behaviorslikethisallowfortheevidenceforwhy
narcissismiswitnessedinpeoplewhotakeselfies.Ontheflipsidemanypeoplethinkofselfies
asabeneficialwaytoimprovetheircharacterandsociallives.Theyfirmlybelievethatit
promotesapositiveselfimageandisgoodfortheirhealth.Forchildrenandteens,selfieshave
beenproventhroughstudiestoallowforthesepeopletofindthemselvesandhowtoview
themselvesthebestwaypossibleinsocialinteractions.Eventhoughthismaybetrueinsome
caseswhennotusedexcessively,theharmfuleffectsarestillnotbeingthoughtofasaproblem,
andasaresult,theproblemisboundtogetworse.Thatnaiveteenagegirlwouldbebetteroff
spendingtimedoingsomethingproductiveorbeingwithfriends,yetinsteadshehasbeen
engulfedasanothervictiminthemediacrazedworldweliveintoday.Toimaginethenumberof
othersthathavejoinedherfatewouldbestaggering.

(1.)"SelfiesAreLinkedToMentalDisorders."
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n.d.Web.22Apr.2015.

(2.)"HowSelfiesAreRuiningYourRelationships|TIME.com."
NewsFeedHowSelfiesAre
RuiningYourRelationshipsComments
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(3.)Gregoire,Carolyn."StudyLinksSelfiesToNarcissismAndPsychopathy."
TheHuffingfton
Post
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(4.)"PsychologyToday."
NarcissisticPersonalityDisorder
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(5.)"SelfieBoom:TheGood,TheBad,andWhySelfiesWillChangeOurFutureSocial
MediaWeek."
SocialMediaWeek
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(6.)Mailonline,KatieStrickFor."WomenSpendFIVEHOURSaWeekTakingSelfies...and
OneinFiveUploadThemtoSocialMediaMakeanExpartnerJealous."
MailOnline
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AssociatedNewspapers,24Apr.2015.Web.07May2015.

(7.)Sifferlin,Alexandra,andAlexandraSifferlin."WhySelfiesMatter|TIME.com."Time.
Time,n.d.Web.07May2015.

(8.)"Mo'Selfies,Mo'Problems?HowThosePicsCanChipAwayAtYourSelfEsteem."
Refinery29
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