Does tons of selfies seem conceited and annoying to anyone else?

OTOH some people are obsessed with seeing themselves and wanting others to see them. It could be it conceit (Look at me, I'm hot!), or insecurity (Please accept me.).

 

I'm not on Facebook for a lot of reasons, narcissism being one of them. My life is boring, your life is boring, I'm not sure why I'd want to record and share it.

That said, it's nice to put a face to comments on a board like this. I over think each and every personal picture posted here or elsewhere. While I'll post Molly pictures without a second thought, personal pictures need to have a point.

 

This thread has some wonderful observations! Remember when the term "selfie" first became part of our lexicon? It's been years and despite the perceptions we have, selfie shots show no sign of abating.
My own perception of folks that take many selfies has changed over time. I used to wonder and judge about what I deemed excessive selfie sharing. But, if you read Poetry's comments upthread a bit, that was what I was doing, projecting my own insecurities on other folks.

My reason for taking selfies is two-fold.
The biggest is I that I am a terrible judge of how I look. Evidence of that is right in the selfies I took years ago. I see a very different person now than the one I saw then as I tend to see what I want to see in my self-portraits. If I feel like shit, I look like shit. If I tell myself that being a certain size is OK, it is!
From the vantage point of 5 years later and a year-plus into a life overhaul, I can see what I wasn't seeing. It's not good or bad--it just gives me information about my thinking at the time.
The major reason I share selfies here is to to be friendly by expressing who I am--that's it. This is the only place other than infrequently on Instagram that I do so. On Insta as well it is because I have some internet friends from long ago that do the same and it is a more personal way to say hi.

 

Before "selfie" was a recognized word, ZS and I always had at least one on the film roll (back in the '90s.) I'll have to scan a couple. Anyway, we did it because we thought it was fun, it made for a good picture, and we didn't have to bother anyone else to take one for us. And after the first couple times, it became sort of a tradition.

Selfies themselves don't bother me. Instagram accounts full of selfies can have different...okay, I'm feeling a tad ridiculous saying "selfie" so much. AHEM. Instagram accounts with a lot of self-taken shots can vary...as previously mentioned, they can be weight-loss related, fitness-related, and so on.

You know what I don't like, though? Albums full of self shots. I've seen this on faceyspace a couple times, where there's an album of ten or so pictures, all self-taken and all pretty much the exact same shot. THAT annoys me and says more about narcissism, I think, than taking pictures of yourself in lots of different places.

 

But does it matter why they are doing it? Does it impact the viewer of said selfie in any way? Nah.

 

The Mistress of Selfies speaks. Woman's got mad Selfie Skillz

 

Exactly. It matters only to me, the selfie-taker why I'm doing it.

 

The why probably shouldn't be important, but in some ways it is. If someone is going to send selfies into cyber space they should be ready for the reactions, good and bad; the greater the number of selfies posted the greater the number of reactions.

The perceptions, and judgments, of the viewers won't bother a truly narcissistic person because they will still love seeing themselves.

 

If someone is going to send anything at all into cyberspace, they should be aware that there are going to be reactions. If they post pictures of their cats, their art, their singing, their writing, their thoughts, their kids, their nature/travel photos, their work emails, there is going to be a reaction because that's what people do: they consume and they react. They judge. They insult and harass or compliment and indulge depending on their own inner state. This is going to happen whether or not one of these items is posted once or if thousands of these items are posted.

Chris, you know I like you and your thoughts, but this sentences translates to:

"Only a truly fucked up, self-involved person will not care what other people (strangers on the internet) think."

Sure, you didn't say the "only" part, but it's almost implied.
Healthy people with good self esteem won't care what strangers on the internet will think of their selfies.
Healthy people with good boundaries won't care what strangers on the internet will think of their selfies.
Healthy people who realize that strangers on the internet are vessels for meaningless, out of proportion reactions won't care what said strangers on the internet will think of their selfies.
Healthy people with good body image won't care what strangers on the internet will think of their selfies.
Healthy people with active lives from which they derive the bulk of their value won't care what strangers on the internet will think of their selfies.

I could keep doing this, but I'm sure you get what I'm saying. Taking a selfie or taking six hundred selfies, is not an inherently narcissistic behavior, nor does it immediately imply an unhealthy mental state. The extreme reactions and self-aggrandizement of people online is more of a sign of mental illness or general social detachment than someone who takes pictures of themselves.

 

There are a lot of things worse than being called a narcissist. The very idea of a narcissist is based on a quaint notion Freud had about women. It is often used to imply pathology where there really is none. Many of us could could be judged narcissists--excessive selfie taking? Must be a narcissist! Really, truly, a full-blown pathology? Add it to my list.

One must look to the motives of the labeling source. We can evolve our views on this or just leave it be, it is exhausting otherwise.

 

I'm not sure how you reached "fucked up" and "unhealthy," but that is a good example of how most things are open to interpretation.

Do "healthy" people feel the need to consistently post numerous selfies in cyberspace?

The thin line between self-confidence and self-importance, a healthy body image and narcissism, etc., is blurred and constantly shifting. And which is which is open to interpretation.

 

Snowy nails it, again.

My comments on narcissism refer more to myself, than others. I'm very self concious about what I post, particularly in my blog. I read other folks blogs, it only seems fair to keep one of my own, yet I'm very aware that no one really gives a shit.

There is a back tab button in the upper left hand corner of every browser. It's the answer to every post or web page that I find annoying.

 

So why is it this thread is still active?

 

Um, I brought it back from mothballs. I'm not ready to join serious discussions so I'm starting by sorting through the familiar. Years ago, I'd commented on this thread. Since then, my opinion has changed. I used to judge a great deal more about my own and other people's reasons for selfie sharing. I hope I am evolving towards being less judgmental as I find when I judge myself more gently, I do the same for others.