Cameras are simple tools designed to capture images. Images that tell us more about ourselves than we realise. They remind us of the arduous journey we’ve taken. They serve as keepsakes of the loved ones who travelled alongside us, but are no longer with us. At times, they even catch moments of those waiting for us on the road ahead…
Indeed, the camera function in our phone is such a straightforward tool tools designed to capture images, but in truth it captures so much more. Images can uncover hidden longings. They can reveal extraordinary secrets. Most amazing of all, they can quietly and clearly reveal to us our dreams. Dreams we didnt even know we had or we had buried long ago.
In the age of the selfie, we are constantly bombarded with visual information about each other, yet we lack the most basic understanding of Self. In fact, the global digitalisation of our culture worsens this issue by shortening our attention-span. Few choose to concentrate on a subject or object for prolonged periods, just out of personal interest. Do you think Galileo was paid for his observations? No, he was ridiculed and ultimately died as a result of expressing his thoughts.
In terms of power, everything is information: auditory, olfactory, visual, tactile or extrasensory. To us, what we see or what we show others of ourselves seems insignificant on a small scale…However, on a global scale, such as WhatsApp or Facebook, we are entering a trial run for something far larger. We can be confident in moral education of our species, but let’s face it…that ship has rather sailed for the rich and powerful with little grip on hard living.
In a world filled with such darkness, we all need some kind of light. Therefore, we aim to secure long-term ways of channelling our insecurities in a healthy, productive manner.
In the modern age, plenty take to social media outlets, like Facebook, to voice their frustration and seek like-minded people with similar opinions. There is nothing wrong with free expression, as long as we can handle the fallout.
As we can agree, most information vital for our survival is visual, tactile and auditory, as is the information, we depend on for our sense of social belonging.
Where Has The Selfie Led Us?
Honestly, to who we truly are, if we don’t have to weirdly struggle in order to take a picture…while too many hilarious moments to count… They may take us back to a time, when selfies were just starting out:
…but also shows the full extent of the transition period between generations, as older generations struggle to adapt to the incessant need of millenials for photographing oneself everywhere…
…Let us not fdo the added bonus of now being able to a picture yourself, when you’re on live television doing something utterly insane…
.but we decrease the quality of the experience, when it is performed the wrong way.
As the old saying goes, a picture says more than a thousand words. In this context, what are we screaming from the top of our lungs with every selfie? Those above tell very individual stories. Not all selfies are useless. There is a time and a place for everything. However, every society deems certain behaviours inappropriate. For instance, leaving work abruptly to catch a Pokemon, if we get fired for it.
To elaborate, when making a judgement call on what we can get away with, we use different types of intelligence. Pokemon Go is an example of the rationale, we are expected to possess. Don’t go into dark alleys at night and ask some stranger, if he wants to fight. Look where you are going and not just into your phone…You know, the essentials of pedestrian safety with a sprinkle of common sense. As a social experiment, it demonstrated a lack of skills in the millennial and younger generations that older generations still possess. In this particular case, I’m referring to applying logic to our current situation we decide to act.
The etiquette when taking a selfie is slightly different from when we walk the streets. Personally, I rarely feel the need to yank out my phone in a public place to capture the moment, but whatever floats your boat as long as you’re not taking unnecessary risks. Nonetheless, it cannot be stressed often enough, don’t take pictures of yourself, when you are expected to pay attention! Of course, it may be less fun, but then life is rather like that…
Just to describe a few minor cases, in which selfies have altered our behaviour in self-destructive ways (behind the wheel, the bathroom, while committing a criminal/civil offence). In many ways, this is normal. With every invention, integrated into our regular lives, we change how we act. Up to the mobile phone, how we took images was constantly evolving. With the exception of photographers, fewer people own a camera these days as their phone accomplishes the desired task. Even fewer keep physical photoalbums instead of a digital equivalent due to the cost.
In the beginning, a photograph was a novelty reserved for the wealthy. Over time, they became affordable for the public. An average of a handful of black and white pictures could be found in the average working class household. Still, they were saved for weddings, family portraits and special life events.
From a sociological standpoint of history, the more frequently, we were able to record an event, the more, we started to do so…until there was a record of everything kept somewhere…
What Will The Selfie Become?
What started as a passing fad has become a more integrated element in modern culture to the point, where it seems to shut down higher brain function in a highly suggestible and/or highly narcissistic percentage of the population.
PsychologyToday suggests there are six primary motivations for taking selfies:
- Self-Confidence (e.g. taking selfies to feel more positive about oneself)
- Environmental Enhancement (e.g. taking selfies in specific locations to feel good and show off to others)
- Social Competition (e.g. taking selfies to get more ‘likes’ on social media)
- Attention-Seeking (e.g. taking selfies to gain attention from others)
- Mood Modification (e.g. taking selfies to feel better)
- Subjective Conformity (e.g. taking selfies to fit in with one’s social group and peers)
Studies show the reason behind our selfies can severely impact our personality development during childhood as well as adolescence. If we disregard the effect of EMF-radation exposure to the growing brain, then we are simply left with how it alters our behaviour. To clearly understand how the constant selfies uploaded onto social media is changing the way we think, we must look at the common denominator of those six motivations: Extrospection.
We have reinforced the meaning of being through photographs since their conception. Our ancestors carried images of their loved ones in a time, when they couldn’t spend the night due to the risks of bearing a child out of wedlock or live together as an unmarried couple. Our soldiers have carried pictures of their families for as long as they have been able to…Before then, all we had was the memories engrained within our minds, when we needed them most.
Once we were able to capture a moment free, we did so frequently.
By using selfies as a form of extrospection, we are reinforcing the perceived meaning of our being through images of ourselves. A thousand pictures may tell a story but the meaning behind the person in the picture cannot be found in a myriad of visual representations of them. It would be ever-present throughout the series of photographs that depicts their life. Moreover, in the view of cause & effect, it would predate their birth, as will be elaborated in the post Extrospection and the Meaning of Portraits.
As a trend, the selfie uncovered many uses for long-distance communication, such as health diagnoses or the optimisation of facial recognition in daily life. In addition, how companies can profit from selfies was in a current study about the usage of smartphones by Sony Mobile and other providers. Researchers in various fields are commissioned to investigate more potential uses to further integrate smartphones into our lives. What began as the evolution of handheld technology mobile phone has become an integral part of our regular routine. However, such research isn’t merely dedicated to exploring other uses, but make it’s current uses more prevalent. For instance, selfies are sometimes used as a form of social currency to obtain freebies from companies seeking cost-effective advertisement. In the end, it is not difficult to imagine that the digitalisation of our modern society will lead to replacing professions with automated system, such as self-boarding at airports. As much as we value cost-effective, time-saving moderations to our lives, everything has its consequences. When we forgo human contact for the sake of productivity, we increase the quantity of what we can do…but we decrease the quality of the experience, when it is performed the wrong way.
In the example of replacing a friendly face with hardware, we are not merely saving time. We are saving a valued member of our community from mind-numbing shifts at low pay that never ends, unless they can afford higher education or qualify for massive student loans. Conversely, when we replace in-depth verbal or text communication with imagery and videos, we are engaging different regions of the brain more regularly than others. In simple terms, we are developing these neural pathways differently in conjunction with exposure to increased EMF-Radiation.
Disregarding the impact on mental development, shortening attention span and other cognitive deficits, our technological evolution is moving in a very clear direction.
One of three things may happen:
- The beginning of an virtual holomatrix in a digitalised society (Imagine Wall-E meets Gamer)
- A world in which an image serves as a receptacle within a “psychic” universe.
- Both co-exist as paths to the transcendence of consciousness in absolute awareness prior to relative existence or, put plainly, Samadhi.
This will include:
- Medical: Over a quarter would prefer to consult their general practitioner via a video call or be diagnosed with a selfie
- Banking: half of 25-34 year olds would feel more secure if accessing their bank through a ‘selfie password’ (eg. via facial recognition)
- Leisure: Half of thrill-seekers would like to try something called a ‘selfiecoaster’. A rollercoaster which puts you in control of capturing your experience on the ride.
- Fitness: real time feeds that work with artificial intelligence for body monitoring (e.g. testing heart rates, even suggesting how to improve on technique and accurate movement)
- Made to Measure: to take a 3D body image for made-to-measure clothes and other products
- Retail: using your smartphone camera to try on different outfits suited to your body shape at the touch of a button
- Social Currency: paying for entry to the cinema and tourist attractions through a selfie or receiving free products by selfie marketing
- Robots: Using the smartphone to control drones to take selfies from other or extreme locations or other robotic applications
- Security: Using selfies to secure and access our home, work and car
“Through this report, it has been fascinating to chart the evolution of selfies and smartphone photography with the team at Sony Mobile. But even more encouraging has been the response from consumers, who have shown they are open to the range of future uses for selfies and video calls. The results clearly show that selfies are well on their way to transitioning from frivolous fad to technological phenomenon, and provide food for thought to a number of industries. The potential is huge, and it will be exciting to watch this unfold over the coming years.” (Ian Pearson)
QuantumMediocrity 