Selfies

Gavin Sheets

Dr. Butts

Writing 111

The advancements of Selfies

            As time moves forward, and technology continues to grow and grow; we as people will see the world in a new view.  In this new phenomenon called taking “selfies”, we have now begun to be able to communicate not just through words.  We can now have a sense of experiencing things never before seen because of selfies.  We are now capable of feeling what it would be like to be in space, we can travel the world just by receiving images from friends and the public in places we would never think of going to.  When comparing these two pictures, one of Frank Sanatra and the other of Barry Wilmore, we see how far we have come and how we live in a completely new age.

            First, what is a selfie? What do they try to accomplish? We are in a world that is now controlled by social media and gaining “followers” and just being overall popular.  Selfies are a way for people to get likes on Instagram, impress people with where they are and who they are with, or just to try to impress people with their looks.  In an article done by The New Yorker, it says, “For teen-age social-media users, who generally prefer on-the-go mobile applications, like Instagram and Snapchat, the self is the message and the selfie is the medium.” Selfies have now consumed the teen-age population as well as all of the celebrities and athletes in the world.  Selfies have brought people closer to their favorite public figures and allow them to feel as though they have become friends.  Selfies give people the opportunity to feel as though they are loved when they post them to instagram in order to get hundreds of likes.  People will go to social media as a way to try and feel less lonely and feel as though they have people around them who look up to them.  Selfies are the new “cool” things to do.

           

            Lets start with what is called the first selfie taken by Frank Sanatra as a young man.  This picture was taken before cameras had a frontal camera and before Iphones were even thought of.  However, the idea behind the picture has not changed any.  It is still a person in his teens taking a photo of himself at a time when he feels he might be looking “cool”.   Unlike technology now a days where we can filter and edit the photo to make someone like Shrek look like George Clooney, this is an unedited version of young Frank.  When we compare this selfie to ones now a days there is no comparison, the places are more exotic, the picture much clearer, and many more people to view it.

           

            This selfie defines the era we are now in with technology.  We are now capable of bringing social media into space and allowing the public to experience what it would be like to be thousands of miles away from Earth.  The quote that went with this picture perfectly sums it up, .@NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore takes incredible spacewalk selfie: http://abcn.ws/1DpPEwh In the century we live in now, we have the capabilities of allowing people to be with us in our journeys and see what we see when we explore.  Yes, people can still try to impress each other with their looks and popularity; but it also now opens up the world for all of us.  For things that started as MySpace profile pictures and mirror reflection pictures, to what we have now; it is a completely new world that technology opened for us.

            When comparing these two photos we see how selfies have truly expanded in what they do.  After once being ways to impress the opposite sex, to now being able to place yourself in front of some of the worlds wonders shows the expansion.  The quality of our new cameras makes it as though we are right next to the astronaut while looking at Frank Sanatra’s selfie makes it look like an artifact. Something that was once seen as obnoxious may not be a necessarily bad tool anymore. 

            Selfies have come with the times and technology; what were once pixilated images are now HD images taken in space.  Although they can at times be obnoxious, they can also open our eyes to a whole new world.  If we can stay away from the corny selfies and actually have interesting and cool backgrounds, then the art of selfies would not be a bad thing.  A little less of Frank Sanatra selfies and a little more of Barry Wilmore’s is what the world needs. 

Work Cited:

            ABC News(@ABC) .@NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore takes incredible spacewalk selfie: http://abcn.ws/1DpPEwh Feb. 26 2015, 10:30am. Tweet.

            Losse, Kate. "The Return of the Selfie." 31 May 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2015. <http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-return-of-the-selfie>.