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Selfie

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File:Ameily radke es vato!!.jpg
A young woman takes a selfie from a high angle

A selfie is a type of self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a hand-held digital camera or camera phone. Selfies are often associated with social networking. They are often casual, are typically taken either with a camera held at arm's length or in a mirror, and typically include either only the photographer or the photographer and as many people as can be in focus. Selfies taken that involve multiple people are known as "group selfies". In August 2013 the Guardian produced a film series titled Thinkfluencer[1] exploring selfie exposure in the UK. Denoting a pathological condition: Selfieism.

History

The first known selfie, taken by Robert Cornelius in 1839

Robert Cornelius, an American pioneer in photography, produced a daguerreotype of himself in 1839 which is also one of the first photographs of a person. Because the process was slow he was able to uncover the lens, run into shot for a minute or more, and then replace the lens cap. He recorded on the back "The first light Picture ever taken. 1839."[2][3]

Early Edwardian woman taking her picture in a mirror roughly 1900
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia taking one of the first teenage self-portraits

The debut of the portable Kodak Brownie box camera in 1900 led to photographic self-portraiture becoming a more widespread technique. The method was usually by mirror and stabilizing the camera either on a nearby object or on a tripod while framing via a viewfinder at the top of the box.[4] Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna at the age of 13 was one of the first teenagers to take her own picture using a mirror to send to a friend in 1914. In the letter that accompanied the photograph, she wrote, "I took this picture of myself looking at the mirror. It was very hard as my hands were trembling."[5]

The earliest usage of the word selfie can be traced as far back as 2002. It first appeared in an Australian internet forum (ABC Online) on 2002 September 13.

Um, drunk at a mates 21st, I tripped ofer [sic] and landed lip first (with front teeth coming a very close second) on a set of steps. I had a hole about 1cm long right through my bottom lip. And sorry about the focus, it was a selfie.[6]

Popularity

The term "selfie" was discussed by photographer Jim Krause in 2005,[7] although photos in the selfie genre predate the widespread use of the term. In the early 2000s, before Facebook became the dominant online social network, self-taken photographs were particularly common on MySpace. However, writer Kate Losse recounts that between 2006 and 2009 (when Facebook became more popular than MySpace), the "MySpace pic" (typically "an amateurish, flash-blinded self-portrait, often taken in front of a bathroom mirror") became an indication of bad taste for users of the newer Facebook social network. Early Facebook portraits, in contrast, were usually well-focused and more formal, taken by others from distance. In 2009 in the image hosting and video hosting website Flickr, Flickr users used 'selfies' to describe seemingly endless self-portraits posted by teenage girls.[8] According to Losse, improvements in design—especially the front-facing camera copied by the iPhone 4 (2010) from Korean and Japanese mobile phones and mobile photo apps such as Instagram—led to the resurgence of selfies in the early 2010s.[9]

Self-portrait of a female Celebes crested macaque (Macaca nigra) in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, who had picked up a photographer's camera and photographed herself with it

Initially popular with young people, selfies gained wider popularity over time.[10][11] By the end of 2012, Time magazine considered selfie one of the "top 10 buzzwords" of that year; although selfies had existed long before, it was in 2012 that the term "really hit the big time".[12] According to a 2013 survey, two-thirds of Australian women age 18–35 take selfies—the most common purpose for which is posting on Facebook.[11] A poll commissioned by smartphone and camera maker Samsung found that selfies make up 30% of the photos taken by people aged 18–24.[13]

By 2013, the word "selfie" had become commonplace enough to be monitored for inclusion in the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary.[14] In November 2013, the word "selfie" was announced as being the "word of the year" by the Oxford English Dictionary, which gave the word itself an Australian origin.[15]

Selfies have also taken beyond the earth. A space selfie is a selfie that is taken in space. This include selfies taken by astronauts,[16] machines[17] and by an indirect method to have self-portrait photograph on earth retaken in space.[18]

In January 2014, during the Sochi Winter Olympics, a "Selfie Olympics" meme was popular on Twitter, where users took self-portraits in unusual situations.[19] The spread of the meme took place with the usage of the hashtags, #selfiegame, and #selfieolympics.[20]

Sociology

The appeal of selfies comes from how easy they are to create and share, and the control they give self-photographers over how they present themselves. Many selfies are intended to present a flattering image of the person, especially to friends whom the photographer expects to be supportive.[10][11] However, a 2013 study of Facebook users found that posting photos of oneself correlates with lower levels of social support from and intimacy with Facebook friends (except for those marked as Close Friends);[21] The lead author of the study suggests that "those who frequently post photographs on Facebook risk damaging real-life relationships."[22] The photo messaging application Snapchat is also largely used to send selfies. Some users of Snapchat choose to send intentionally-unattractive selfies to their friends for comedic purposes.

Posting intentionally unattractive selfies has also become common in the early 2010s—in part for their humor value, but in some cases also to explore issues of body image or as a reaction against the perceived narcissism or over-sexualization of typical selfies.[23]

Gender roles, sexuality, and privacy

Selfies are particularly popular among girls and young women. Sociologist Ben Agger describes the trend of selfies as "the male gaze gone viral", and sociologist and women's studies professor Gail Dines links it to the rise of porn culture and the idea that "there's only one way to visibility, and that's fuckability."[24] Writer Andrew Keen has pointed out that while selfies are often intended to give the photographer control over how their image is presented, posting images publicly or sharing them with others who do so may have the opposite effect—dramatically so in the case of revenge porn, where ex-lovers post sexually explicit photographs or nude selfies (sexting photos) to exact revenge or humiliate their former lovers.[24] Copyright law may be effective in forcing the removal of private selfies from public that were forwarded to another person.[25]

Celebrity selfies

Many celebrities -- especially sex symbols -- post selfies for their followers on social media, and provocative or otherwise interesting celebrity selfies are the subject of regular press coverage. Some commentators, such as Emma Barnett of The Telegraph, have argued that sexy celebrity selfies (and sexy non-celebrity selfies) can be empowering to the selfie-takers but harmful to women in general as they promote viewing women as sex objects.[26] Actor and avid selfie poster James Franco has defended the legitimacy of selfies as a way of communicating about oneself. According to Franco, "while the celebrity selfie is most powerful as a pseudo-personal moment, the noncelebrity selfie is a chance for subjects to glam it up, to show off a special side of themselves".[27]

In Korea, the K-pop celebrities use the term selca for their selfies. The term is derived from the words "self" and "camera".[28]

Psychology and neuroscience

According to a study performed by Nicola Bruno and Marco Bertamini at the University of Parma, selfies by non-professional photographers show a slight bias for showing the left cheek of the selfie-taker.[29] This is similar to what has been observed for portraits by professional painters from many different historical periods and styles,[30] indicating that the left cheek bias may be rooted in asymmetries of brain lateralization that are well documented within cognitive neuroscience. In a second study,[31] the same group tested if selfie takers without training in photography spontaneously adhere to widely prescribed rules of photographic composition, such as the rule of thirds. It seems that they do not, suggesting that these rules may be conventional rather than hardwired in the brain's perceptual preferences.

References

  1. ^ Guardian – Thinkfluencer – Episode 1 http://theguardian.com/technology/video/2013/aug/29/thinkfluencer-episode-1-selfies-video
  2. ^ "Robert Cornelius' self-portrait: The First Ever "Selfie" (1839)". The Public Domain Review. Open Knowledge Foundation. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Robert Cornelius, self-portrait; believed to be the earliest extant American portrait photo". Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. Library of Congress. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Beginners Guide To Understanding And Using A Brownie Box Camera".
  5. ^ "Diaries and Letters – Letters of Grand Duchess Anastasia".
  6. ^ "Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2013 is..." OxfordWords blog. Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  7. ^ Jim Krause, Photo Idea Index, 2005. page 148.
  8. ^ Horatia Harrod (22 March 2009), The world's photo Album, Sunday Telegraph, p. 18, retrieved 20 November 2013
  9. ^ Kate Losse. The Return of the Selfie. The New Yorker. 2013-06-05
  10. ^ a b Adewunmi, Bim (2 April 2013). "The rise and rise of the 'selfie'". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  11. ^ a b c McHugh, Jillian (3 April 2013). "'Selfies' just as much for the insecure as show-offs". Bunbury Mail. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  12. ^ Steinmetz, Katy (4 December 2012). Top 10 Buzzwords – 9 Selfie, Time
  13. ^ Melanie Hall, "Family albums fade as the young put only themselves in picture" Telegraph, 2013-06-13.
  14. ^ Coulthard, Charissa (7 June 2013). "Self-portraits and social media: The rise of the 'selfie'". BBC News online. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  15. ^ "The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2013 is… | OxfordWords blog". Blog.oxforddictionaries.com. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  16. ^ "The 50 Best Space Photos of 2013". AOL Weather. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  17. ^ "Ancient Mars lake may have supported life". Associated Press. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  18. ^ Howell, Elizabeth (11 June 2013). "'Space Selfie' Telescope Could Hunt Alien Planets … If It Raises A Cool $2M". Universe Today. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  19. ^ Lingebach, Chris (4 January 2014). "Trending: 2014 Selfie Olympics Take Over Twitter". CBS Washington. Retrieved 4 January 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ Boboltz, Sara (3 January 2014). "'Selfie Olympics' Are Here To Prove Selfies Will Only Get Crazier in 2014". Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 January 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ Houghton, David and Joinson, Adam and Caldwell, Nigel and Marder, Ben (2013) Tagger's delight? Disclosure and liking in Facebook: the effects of sharing photographs amongst multiple known social circles. Discussion Paper. University of Birmingham, Birmingham.
  22. ^ Sharing photographs on Facebook could damage relationships, new research shows. News & events, Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh. 2013-08-09.
  23. ^ Hills, Rachel (29 March 2013). "Ugly Is the New Pretty: How Unattractive Selfies Took Over the Internet". New York Magazine. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  24. ^ a b Murphy, Meghan (3 April 2013). "Putting selfies under a feminist lens". Georgia Straight. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  25. ^ Hartzog, Woodrow (10 May 2013). "How to Fight Revenge Porn". The Atlantic.
  26. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10251845/Why-sexy-girl-pictures-online-are-more-harmful-than-lads-mags.html
  27. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/29/arts/the-meanings-of-the-selfie.html?_r=0
  28. ^ Heng, Melissa (21 November 2013). "Selfies: K-pop idols do it better but they call it 'selca'". Straits Times Online. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  29. ^ Bruno, N (2013). "Self-Portraits: Smartphones Reveal a Side Bias in Non-Artists". PLOS ONE. 8(2). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055141. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  30. ^ McManus, C., C. (1973). "Turning the left cheek". Nature. 243: 271–272. doi:10.1038/243271a0. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ Bruno, N (2013). "Selfies reveal systematic deviations from known principles of photographic composition". Art & Perception. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to selfies.
Look up selfie in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Selfie&oldid=595897412"