If I am to pursue this course of promoting the book and raising awareness for the cause of mental health illness awareness and research, then I am going to have to lean into social media in ways I have not yet done in my life. And a big part of that is Selfies.
I hate Selfies.
Or let me correct that, I don’t mind other people’s Selfies, and I’m not inherently against the idea of pointing your camera at your own face to prove you are really there…but I don’t like doing it. I always feel subconscious while taking a Selfie, and rarely, rarely ever, am I happy with the results.
I’d thought I’d be able to avoid this; but I’ve had some marketing counseling that tells me that, especially if I am to reach any of the Millennials (who all apparently live on Instagram); then it’s time to get over my Selfie Aversion.
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| The Museum of #Selfies in Glendale, CA |
What better way to do this, than to visit The Museum of #Selfies in Glendale, California? This is a temporary exhibit space that opened in April and will only be in place for a short time (which seems somehow appropriate for the topic). Tickets are sold in ½ hour arrival start times (I went on a 5:30pm ticket on a Wednesday evening, and there were not many other visitors at that time).
The exhibit is the brainchild of stand-up comedian, writer, director and game designer Tair Mamedov and writer, designer and noted ‘escape room’ creator Tommy Honton, with backing from producer Abylay Zhakashov. It’s not so much a museum OF selfies as a museum ABOUT selfies. And naturally, it is filled to the brim with interesting (and slightly goofy) Selfie Spots.
Visitors are greeted by friendly docents at the check-in desk, who are happy to lend you a Selfie Stick (definitely necessary) and encourage you to spend time exploring the space.
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| Rembrandt's Selfie |
There is a brilliant ‘history’ room that leads us through humankind’s history from Cave Paintings to High-Tech Front-Facing-Camera-Smart-Phones. It is fascinating to consider the mindset of the artist responsible for some of the earliest “selfies” in the form of classic paintings from artists like Rembrandt and Vincent Van Gogh. There is even the opportunity to enter one of Van Gogh’s paintings for a, what else, Selfie.
Being the computer nerd that I was born to be, I also enjoyed the history of the photography and electronic photography devices leading up to today’s Apple and Samsung products.
The interactive parts of the museum were really fun and sometimes surprising.
There is a bit of the ‘art of illusion’ here and I especially enjoyed the #Black and White Photo Studio (where the only thing in the room that did not appear to be in an old photo was myself) and the #Bathroom Selfie where I was ushered into a replica of a typical bathroom – only to find that the mirror showed no reflection!
One of my favorite stops was a story of the first Primate Selfie. 
The "even a monkey could do it" line had been echoing in my head as I struggled time and time again to get my iPhone pointed the right way and myself in the frame.
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| Practicing the Art of Selfie |
But my time in the Museum of #Selfies, in addition to giving me some good practice at the art of Selfie photography, also invited the opportunity to reflect on the concept of “self-image” and why it is that Selfies have become so important in our society.
The Museum did not shy away from this either, with a whole section dedicated to the concept and history of Narcissism. The idea that Narcissism, the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one's own attributes, is a direct correlation to Selfies is an appealing and tidy answer for what is going on.
But are Selfies really inherently Narcissistic? Do they appeal only to Narcists? If that’s true, and given the popularity of Selfies, are we all really a society of Narcists?
In January of 2015, associate professor of psychology and chair of the psychology department at Albright College, Gwendolyn Seidman Ph.D., wrote an article for Psychology Today on the topic citing a then-new study of the topic of Narcissism and Selfies:
This study suggests that narcissists are more likely to show off with selfies and make extra effort to look their best in these photos. Interestingly, psychopathic men posted more selfies, but didn’t tend to edit them more than their less psychopathic counterparts. The study’s authors speculated that this may be because they lack self-control and don’t really filter what they put on Facebook—editing photos suggests a level of careful self-presentation that you would be unlikely to find among those high in psychopathy.
But by August of that same year, Seidman published a response article based on further research indicated that those people who post more Selfies – also post more photos of all types, and the speculated direct correlation between Selfies and Narcissism was brought back into question.
Still this idea that Selfies are ‘addictive’ and ‘inherently bad’ just seems right and has momentum with researchers. In 2017, Janarthanan Balakrishnan and Mark D. Griffiths published a study with the title An Exploratory Study of Selfitis and the Development of the Selfitis Behavior Scale. Although the 2014 story that “Sefitis’ had been classed as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association and that the condition could be borderline, acute, or chronic was later proven to be a hoax, Blalkrishnan and Griffiths assert that their “Selfitis Behavior Scale” (SBS) does indeed reveal that some Selfie Addicts are really and truly ‘addicted’ to Selfies.
Not me. And probably not you either.
We probably all know someone we suspect suffers from “Selfitis,” but most of us taking Selfies are just…taking Selfies.
And why? Why do we do that? And how do we feel about it?
Are Selfies something we pour into our own Glass? …or does Society pour this concept into our Glass for us?
Selfies are, after all, an artifact of the Social Media phenomenon; it’s one thing to take Selfies just for yourself (that really is narcissistic!); but most of us take them to share with others – often with many, many others, via Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, Twitter, et al.
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| See? I'm Cool, right? |
We use Selfies to let other people know that (a) we were really there and (b) that we were having a good time. Rarely does one share a photo of ‘unhappy times’ (there was a panel in the Museum admonishing the astonishingly stupid trend of ‘disaster recovery selfies’). Clearly, we care about sharing an image with others that show we are worthy of their viewing attention.
This idea of worthiness, of Self Worth, creeps profoundly into the equation of Selifes. In May 2017, Alexa Tucker posted a piece for Bustle.com about "The Psychological Reasons Why We Post Selfies" and noted:
This idea of worthiness, of Self Worth, creeps profoundly into the equation of Selifes. In May 2017, Alexa Tucker posted a piece for Bustle.com about "The Psychological Reasons Why We Post Selfies" and noted:
One study from SUNY University at Buffalo examined the relationship between self-worth and social media use, finding that people who base their self-worth on others' opinions are more likely to post self-portraits. "It may be the case that people who base their [self-esteem] on appearance do not necessarily believe that they are capable of competing socially in this domain," the study states. "Clearly, one can be dissatisfied with one’s appearance, yet still believe that appearance is an important component of one’s self-worth."
We are living in a digital age, and the choice to ‘upload’ our own Selfies, upon this reflection (no pun intended), represent one’s choice to attempt to control and manage that image, both for ourselves and for others who may judge our value based on the quality of our Selfie photos alone.
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| Museum docents were very friendly and helpful |
It may feel ubiquitous in this era, but I believe it is important for each of us to remember that it is a choice about how invested we are in our self-image and the presentation of that image to others.
I may not love Selfies, but I do want to make sure my hair is well combed when I take one (something I deliberated over more than once in the Museum of #Selfies).
The societal pressure to ‘prove that you are having fun; and that you are worthy of acceptance’ may not something we choose to pour into our Glass, but our reaction to it – how we address that pressure definitely is something we each have control over.
Finding that balance between participating in the Selfie culture, and not letting it dominate our psyche is something that will take practice (just like taking a good Selfie).
At the beginning of the tour of the Museum of #Selfies, visitors are asked to participate in a poll about their feelings about Selfies by placing a marble into the appropriate flower.
Do you LOVE Selfies? or Do you HATE Selfies?
I think we've already established how I voted (not a fan).
At the end of the exhibit, the results are shared with visitors and not surprisingly, LOVE had 3x the votes over HATE.
Frankly, I was impressed that so many of we Selfie-Haters had ventured into the museum in the first place.
But I will have to admit that by the end of the exhibit, while I still wouldn't say I Love them, I had certainly gained a new respect for them and some new perspectives on the Selfie Culture and it's still growing popularity.
I think I managed a few good Selfies along the visit (and, of course, you are never going to see the hundreds of really bad photos I tried to take). I may even be slightly more comfortable with taking a Selfie in the weeks and months to come (we'll have to see).
Do you Love Selfies or Hate them? Are your feelings about Selfies related to your sense of Self Worth? Why do you feel compelled to post them -- or not? I would love to learn more about other's impressions on this topic, and I actually do enjoy looking at other people's Selfies...
