Scrolling through Facebook and Instagram, one is bound to see countless self-portraits — better known as selfies — of so-called “friends” on the screen.
The first selfie is thought to have been taken as early as 1839, but a new generation armed with front-facing cameras has created an epidemic, begging the question: Do selfies promote narcissism among the millennial generation? Or do they simply show an increased focus on individuality?
Science writer Jennifer Ouellette argues that self-identity is fragile for most, and selfies help individuals define themselves. According to Ouellette, this generation’s posting habits do not point toward narcissism, but rather highlight individualism:
Your Facebook page, for instance, is one gigantic identity claim; it’s how you wish to be perceived. If you want to get artsy-fartsy, you could say it’s a form of performance. … I think the selfie phenomenon is a different version of that. It is definitely a way of saying, ‘Here I am. This is me.’ It’s a mirror kind of thing, particularly since people often turn the camera on themselves.
However, many studies show increased levels of narcissism among Millennials.
One study in particular, “The Rise of Fame: An Historical Content Analysis,” shows how values have changed for teens, most dramatically between 1997 and 2007. Values were practically turned upside-town, as is shown in the table below.
Fame, which was historically low valued, was increasingly desirable to teenagers in 2007.
Are selfies, then, a desire for recognition and fame? Business Insider makes the point that selfies can (and do) go viral, despite a less-than-famous poster. Any individual posting content worth sharing has the potential for 15 minutes of fame.
Yet researcher Shawn Bergman notes that many narcissistic personality traits are already developed by age 7, and users are not allowed to sign up for Facebook until they are 13.
The question remains today what it has been through decades of mass-communication research: Does society shape the media, or do media mold society?
What do you think?