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What selfies really tell us about ourselves
Psychologists, technologists and behavioral economists differ in their interpretations of the selfie and the risks people are prepared to take socially and physically to snap them. But there is general agreement that selfies are a form of expression that may reveal more than the taker intended, no matter how flattering the filter used.
“We are so bombarded by media telling us how we should look and how we should be,” stated Jacquelyn Morie, a researcher at the University of Southern California. “With selfies you have this authority and autonomy that you don’t have in other parts of your life.” She said selfies are essentially avatars and foresees a day when they will be constructed even more to our liking. As we conduct more of our life online she suspects they will become more how we see ourselves than our real selves. Of course, selfies can also create a historical record of our life, if maybe a little better than reality. They show the world what you are doing and who you are with and how incredibly fun it all is. You often hear the refrain, “Selfies or you don’t exist,” which may explain some people’s compulsion to document their actions even if doing so diminishes their experience and engagement in the real world.
The need to be recognised, or even adored, is perhaps why so many have become their own Hollywood directors, attaching cameras to sticks and sometimes drones to improve the production value of their lives. Recent selfie-stick bans have been interpreted by some who study the selfie phenomenon as more a cultural movement in favour of authenticity than the elimination of a possible safety threat. There’s also the argument that rather than conferring power, selfies transfer control to viewers because in the end they are the ones who decide whether to post an encouraging or insulting comment, press “like” or ignore your existence all together.
Moreover, as facial recognition software continues to improve, frequent selfie takers may also be giving away their very identity. The more you post pictures of yourself online, the better companies, government agencies and criminals can identify you, not only online but sitting in a restaurant or walking down the street.
(Adapted from: www.thenewyorktimes.com. Access: 07/03/ 2018.)
What does the word them in “physically snap them” (paragraph 1) refer to?
