I thought it was because usually it's just people begging for attention. There are exceptions of course, but a lot of them are just people wanting compliments.
@imludwig
10 жыл бұрын
I Totally agree like Ohh my GODD..... Like if you agree guys.. :)
@imludwig
10 жыл бұрын
SickChip I'm Just making a statement.. Hope you catched that
@andreakerr2825
10 жыл бұрын
yes it is mainly a whole lot of teenage drama look at me shit , bar alot of new mums buzzing out on thier first baby , less there are a cuply geniune updates its hilarious i pay no attention rather go jam sum sounds lol
@KellyHauenstein
10 жыл бұрын
I think part of the reason we hate selfies is because of our own inherent narcissism. I don't enjoy participating in my friends status updates as much as I enjoy it when they participate in mine. Whether that comes as a selfie, or food porn, the fact that I have been validated by their interaction affirms me. I think there's a certain amount of ego involved when taking a selfie. Putting yourself at the forefront of whatever you're doing/wherever you are as opposed to showing off the event itself that you're doing the update about. For example, selfie at the zoo in front of a tiger instead of just a picture of the tiger. Inserting yourself into the event almost seems like the height of self-love.
@JohnAmmon
10 жыл бұрын
I hadn't thought about that, but yeah, I rarely take selfies, if I'm going to share a photo of something, why would I put myself in front of it... pretty self-oriented thinking.
@sq1785
10 жыл бұрын
Very well put!
@SimonWorlds
10 жыл бұрын
I totally agree mate, well put. The only time I ever take a selfie, is when my wife and I have not got anyone to take our photo at a special place that we are at, but yes the whole selfie movement is total vanity and superficiality gone crazy, how sad really.
@nicolascastaneda2702
10 жыл бұрын
Althogh ypu have a point, the reasons I take selfies is so I dont have to ask someone to take the picture for me
@andreakerr2825
10 жыл бұрын
yep hard out it is all teenage drama queens mainly
@sectorcodec
10 жыл бұрын
People hate selfies because they are the classic example of what this culture has come to. We are all so self-involved and into technology that all we ever focus on is ourself. Selfies are the best way of saying, "Guess what I'm thinking about right now? ME!"
@AllisonMarlyn
10 жыл бұрын
Somewhere (I can't remember where) I read an interesting argument for the selfie, which is that it is not so much an act of narcissism but an act of confidence and self-worth. We live in a culture that places a lot of value in having a perfect body, so selfies are a way to realize your own unique beauty. Photographs taken by other people can be very unflattering, and not necessarily a good representation of who you think you are.
@e7venjedi
10 жыл бұрын
You bring up a really good point for another reason. Because it is a photo one willingly displays as "a good representation of who you think you are", it demonstrates to others whether you "are" shallow, pretentious, artistic, confident etc. It is literally a window into who someone is -- at least in part. I'm generally a fan of honesty, so thanks for opening my mind to that other way of looking at it! :-D
@AllisonMarlyn
10 жыл бұрын
The Elven Jedi I didn't actually think about it that way, I was more thinking about it just in terms of self esteem, so thank you for pointing that out!
@e7venjedi
10 жыл бұрын
Allison Marlyn No thank you! :-)
@KoreanShrimp
9 жыл бұрын
I don't know about others, but for me, I only recently started taking selfies and I've started feeling more self confident about my image. I have always been positive about how I look, but now taking pictures of myself that I can see instantaneously (instead of waiting a month) is pretty nice. I feel proud enough about myself that taking pictures of myself is no longer a problem, and I like that.
@02Lukos
10 жыл бұрын
I liked the way you shrugged off the trolls in that past video. Don't stop and keep changing the way people look at things.
@JLynnEchelon
9 жыл бұрын
I don't like selfies because of the "pausing effect" you spoke of. The best example I can think of is going to a concert and rather than experiencing the moment, people are taking selfies with the concert in the background. I will never understand this practice. Not only are they trying to preserve an event in progress, but they break up the reality of everyone else around them. It's hard to get into the experience when the girl next to you keeps flipping her hair in your face to get the perfect volume with the singer in the perfect place.
@dudleybalrog7348
10 жыл бұрын
Ignoring the misogynistic implications of most selfie-hate (because we don't need to prove Lewis' Law in your comments yet again), I think part of it relates to the interjection of the artist into the work, and their direct confrontation of the audience. When we take a snapshot of, say, a concert we're attending, we create a picture frame that captures the thing we experience, from our point of view. In short, we create a memory that can be accessed at any time, by multiple people, with whatever inherent reality that we still give the snapshot implied. However, the selfie breaks the immersion of that memory by laying bare the full photographic apparatus. We are confronted, not just by the reminder of the camera (suggested by the arm holding it), but by the photographer themselves, often staring directly into the camera, acknowledging the falseness of the image, and looking back at the viewer. Rather than an immersive experience, for ourselves, we instead get a reminder that this memory is largely about the photographer and their feelings at the moment, with the event as a background. In a way, they remind me of portraits of surrealists, where they often dominate, looking back into the camera, rather than off to the side, breaking the illusion of voyeurism the photo creates and attempting to connect directly with the viewer. In short, selfies are often disliked by others because they're not just for others, as a status update would be, but they're a memory for the person who took the image, and thus reject the full exploration of another viewer.
@AlexPope1668
10 жыл бұрын
Cheers. This is where, more or less, my mind was going. I couldn't help but think of Ferris Bueller here. The narrator, as it were, of one moment of their own life. They get to be director, too. It's a construct, for sure. It's a statement, without question. At this point, even the non-statement is a statement. The other place my mind went was Fountain, by Duchamp. If it's an anyone thing, and people are pissed about it, it sounds like they're doing to photography what the post-modernists did to art. It makes sense, because photography definitely had airs on it; it was ripe for the social picking. "That's not a photograph! A photograph is Art! That's just... a urinal!" But it's not. As said, it's an expression of self. It's a commentary on EVERYTHING. Potentially. So, it's important. It's important that people are taking it in this direction making us have this conversation. Re-reminding us that our world is personal. So is our art. We don't have to like it. We don't have to appreciate it. But, it appears, we have to acknowledge it. If I take a selfie of a tree that's fallen in the forest, and no one sees the selfie... is it art?
@robertocontreras-loreto4254
10 жыл бұрын
I believe selfies are in large part intended for others. Selfie takers are doing it as means to shape their online persona, hence the publishing of selfies in social media. This is all encouraged by facebook envy and the problems inherent in only seeing edited snapshots of other people's lives. I believe the more "edited" the situation in the selfie the bigger the backlash. Its when the audience feels the photographer went out of its way to stage "casualness", when they are clearly trying to advertise a certain persona that the audience gets irritated. At least that is my own experience.
@dudleybalrog7348
10 жыл бұрын
Roberto Contreras-Loreto Hm, interesting. You see them as Stalin's photographs of Lenin, and I see them as similar to momento mori photographs as described by Bazin. While I think both are valid interpretations, I think we've struck on the common ground that selfies are a form of memory, be they to archive one's own memory, or to "edit" the memories of others by projecting a false image.
@robertocontreras-loreto4254
10 жыл бұрын
Matt Crowell Alex Pope I think it is a question on the validity of authorial intent. An attempt to fabricate reallity is a statement, and is a photograph an artwork regardless of its authors intent to make one? You have certainly given me a new frame of reference when I come accross selfies (even the #Yoloswag selfies). I guess they all become part of the collective memory of current society. Anyways, I really should start involving myself in the comments section more frequently, these discussions are really enjoyable.
@dudleybalrog7348
10 жыл бұрын
Roberto Contreras-Loreto Agreed. I love the fact that we can find cultural debate in the middle of one of the few sites known for having a comment section so toxic specific extensions exist to block it. What you're asking in your reply fits into what we usually call "The intentional question". In short, should we take the author's intent into consideration when discussing a piece. The answer that scholars in my department seem to give is that no, we shouldn't. Largely this is because the artist isn't always the most reliable source (Hitchcock apparently gave contradictory answers during interviews asking him about the underpinnings of his films), and because if that intent was overshadowed by the actual meaning we derive from the piece, then the intent isn't part of the artwork, really. Thus, we could see selfies as almost unconsciously created art when framing them the way we are for this debate...Which, now that I think about it, brings it back to the surrealist ideas I brought up earlier.
@bobbofly
10 жыл бұрын
A selfie is EXACTLY a photograph. It is a PHOTOGRAPH of YOU at a certain TIME & PLACE. And it is primarily the narcissism of it that wears thin with people. It's just damn annoying, period.
@turnerps
10 жыл бұрын
Yes, its the narcissism that grates.
@felipesantell007
9 жыл бұрын
What would be the difference between the old-classic so called 'self-portrait' and a 'selfie'? The artistic approach? aesthetics?
@chase_like_the_bank
9 жыл бұрын
The difference between the selfie and any other photo is the same as the difference between a mirror and a window; one lets you focus on yourself and the other encourages you to document the world around you.
@JDBlack-gf9ok
10 жыл бұрын
I know a girl who randomly takes selfies. Literally, gets on the bus- random selfie. No event, not even a caption. This ticks me off SO much.
@stefknneee
10 жыл бұрын
you obviously take pictures of yourself, so shush
@oo8962
4 жыл бұрын
:'v i take a selfie randomly but I didn't post them
@JDBlack-gf9ok
4 жыл бұрын
@@oo8962 how tf are you seeing this, I made that comment 6 years ago. I was 12 then lmao
@oo8962
4 жыл бұрын
@@JDBlack-gf9ok 😂😂 i just discovered this video yesterday and i read the comments
@iamcase1245
14 күн бұрын
@@stefknneeeconstant selfies are a brain disorder. This video was from 2014 when selfie culture was getting out of control. Now in 2024 more people than ever are disgusted by selfies and we've graduated to streaming which is even worse. Literally yesterday Jack Doherty crashed a quarter million dar because he was streaming.
@Genji_Glove
10 жыл бұрын
I hate Selphie because she's the most useless character in Final Fantasy VIII.
@RagingBigfat
10 жыл бұрын
Nice one
@idklolzors
10 жыл бұрын
You win the internet for today.
@Pfych
10 жыл бұрын
I had a friend who just held the photo button down. She went back through them and went ewwww. Deleted them all and started again. One day she acidently uploaded all of her selfies and got upset because her pictures were on the internet! Don't take them if you don't want to see them
@Kingricky76
10 жыл бұрын
Lol what a dumb broad. .
@leddyederer818
10 жыл бұрын
I'm not sure how true this is but this is what i heard recently, when I was investigating what exactly was happening by accepting the terms and conditions of things liked apps/Facebook/Google (especially scary, that one) Once we post, we loose all the rights to what we assumed was our own personal, protected internet domain in places like Facebook, Google, poetry.com, etc. We're lured into that false sense of security by the supposed safe guards provided in plain sight. Things like settings for public, friends, private or custom, etc. What we don't see, hidden in a wall of boring text, is the fact that facebook, Twitter, KZitem, Google or whoever, owns whatever we post. And... Once we've opened a profile in a site. It's almost impossible to get it removed absolutely.
@BigPrice24
10 жыл бұрын
leddy ederele Thats too long and boring make it shorter
@dracomight
10 жыл бұрын
leddy ederele thank you. I tell everyone but no one believes me.
@andreakerr2825
10 жыл бұрын
dracomight they are either morons or dont know how to read
@CallMeFail
10 жыл бұрын
Selfies are annoying because it represents a sheep mentality (meaning just about everyone is doing it and thats why others do it a well for that sake alone) and often times shows self-infatuation as a characteristic of the person taking it at least thats why i think everyone hates them so much including myself.
@imludwig
10 жыл бұрын
I Agree
@andreagreenwood5731
10 жыл бұрын
How can you be infatuated with yourself and also be a "sheep"? It's kind of hard to think yourself so wonderful you're deserving of obsession and also be a faceless crowd follower. Also, hating something just because it's popular is no better than liking something just because it's popular. Ether way you're letting popular opinion tell you what to think instead of forming your own opinions.
@e7venjedi
10 жыл бұрын
Well said Andrea Greenwood . If choosing to do something after learning of it from someone makes one a [pejorative] sheep, one wonders how rare it must be to find a... non-sheep....
@jancerny8109
10 жыл бұрын
Andrea Greenwood Narcissism is the term we give to self-infatuation. "Sheep" is the term we assign to a conformist. In a culture that prizes self-glorification over character, a person's narcissism is a sign that they have let the culture happen to them--that person is, in other words, a sheep. Pathological traits are frequently co-morbid.
@ComputerCat777
10 жыл бұрын
One day I'll be brave enough to participate in these discussions.
@hueykruthas5005
10 жыл бұрын
Honestly, about 75% of the reason I hate selfies is the name of them. Selfie is such an obnoxious, valley girlesque term. The very sound of the word puts me off, and I think I channel that hatred to the act itself.
@SuperDynakin
10 жыл бұрын
Totally agree.
@kvweber
10 жыл бұрын
If you research the origin of the word it supposedly started in Australia, so you could chalk it up to Australian slang rather than Valley Girl chatter.
@Georgiagracesmith
10 жыл бұрын
I'm with you on that.
@drummerxkun
10 жыл бұрын
i think that although selfie can be annoying at times, but in an age where more and more people are exposed to such touched up, "perfect" sorts of models, we are increasingly starting to hate the way we look and the way we are. taking a selfie is one of the short times when we feel happy with ourselves. selfies should be celebrated :D
@Slashenaar
10 жыл бұрын
One of the best or most important artist of our day, Ai Weiwei uses the medium of 'selfie' in a powerful and impressive way. You did touch on the selfie as a purely artistic form, but I feel that Weiwei captures the art, the political comment, and the points Franco makes in his selfie. (Read: does selfies right)
@stewdippin
10 жыл бұрын
I think people hate selfies not because of the narcissism it's self, but because of the trope of narcissism that is associated with selfies. Because selfies have become associated with narcissism, people tend to adopt that viewpoint. Adopting a social viewpoint like that is very limiting though, it's like saying all "nerds" are just like the ones in Big Bang Theory because it's your only reference to "nerd" culture and you adopt that very liming, and very wrong, viewpoint. Additionally I think that's why some people disassociate themselves from things like political parties,religions, and even fandoms. People themselves don't want to be associated as being apart of something negative so they distance themselves from the idea entirely.
@honeybelle1203
10 жыл бұрын
I've read once that some people hate selfies because in our society, it's more acceptable to dislike oneself than to like oneself. I guess this sort of thinking stems from a desire to seem less narcissistic, but imho I think that's crap. I'm under the firm opinion that one should do whatever makes them feel good about themselves! Unless that thing is kicking puppies, definitely don't do that.
@osinoff
10 жыл бұрын
really true. I have pretty low confidence in myself, and taking selfies has made me feel far happier. It's especially good for teenage girls, tbh, because society holds them to very strict beauty standards!
@honeybelle1203
10 жыл бұрын
I'm really sorry that you have that sort of problem, but I'm happy you found something that helps a bit! I totally agree with the teenage girls statement. I feel like if schools taught that selfies were actually pretty neat and made sure everyone knew that it wasn't neat to make fun of people that take them, it would help that problem a lot. Even if you don't post the pictures just taking them can boost confidence!
@osinoff
10 жыл бұрын
katja die tediz no no no! its fine!
@honeybelle1203
10 жыл бұрын
:D Okay then!
@Nightgina
10 жыл бұрын
This is what I was going to say but you said it much better than I would have :)
@ViperJay5
10 жыл бұрын
Why do I hate selfies? Just the word is enough to hate them. The English language has been butchered so badly that people can make up stupid words and then it catches on. The word itself however makes people sound even more self absorbed than they already are.
@raggedychiaanarchy
10 жыл бұрын
You're definitely right. I only use words that are invented by the Secret League of Wordsmiths, scrawled in blood on handmade parchment and then morse-coded down to us lowly peasants for common use. BTW, Shakespeare invented the word "Swagger" and about 10,000 other words commonly used today.
@eleanorbreheny5007
10 жыл бұрын
Did you know that Shakespeare invented the word 'elbow'? english is an evolving language, whether we like it or not, and chances are words that are considered stupid today could be accepted as the norm for the next generations.
@ViperJay5
10 жыл бұрын
Dizzy Lizzy, I hardly consider the words being created today as an evolving language. Most words being made up are because people are getting too lazy to finish real words. Take pic for example....it's picture. Or how about my absolute loathed word, app. It's application. I hardly call it evolution but more-so that people don't really have the dignity or the skills to talk proper. As for selfie, it's overused and ran right into the ground for me to even consider liking the actual word. As I see it, it's just a ridiculous fad. It may always exist, but there needs to come a time where it leaves mainstream like so many other things have, like Pokemon for example.
@eleanorbreheny5007
10 жыл бұрын
Viper Jay 5 But chances are that when people started using the word elbow, there would have been people who dug their heels in and refused to use such a stupid word, and yet now it is included in textbooks and taken for granted. I'm not saying 'selfie' is going to reach this level, but I am saying it is possible other words today will. We shorten words to make them faster and easier to say, and if this makes us sound stupid, so be it, but many words are shorten simply because they are to long or hard to say. Nicknames. Acronyms. We say ANZAC day instead of Australia and New Zealand Army Corp day because it is faster and what we grew up speaking. Same goes for Qantas (Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services). I knew a girl called Rebecca, but everyone called her Bec, to the point were I forgot her actual name. But I think what you hate more is slang. Slang is less formal, and more subjective to certain cultural groups. ANZAC would never be considered slang (it would even be considered disrespectful to refer to it as slang), but words like 'arvo' (afternoon) and 'dunny' (toilet) are most definitely Australian slang. Slang is what sets British English, American English and Australian English apart, and many take some level of pride in the slight variation they grew up speaking. At least I know Australians do. Slang is incredibly interesting from a linguistics point of view. You'll never catch and American using the dunny or wearing thongs on their feet, but Australians will never wear a fanny pack (bumbag in Australia, fyi). Slang is made up of a combination of environmental, cultural and conditional influences and just because somebody says arvo instead of afternoon doesn't mean they are any less dignified or have less skills. I actually think it is quite insulting to essentially say that somebody is to stupid to speak 'properly' when they choose to slang words in relation to their location. We live in a world that values speed and having things done quickly, and the way we speak reflects that. Just because somebody likes taking photos of themselves and and using apps does not mean they are any less intelligent then you. Also, on English being an evolving language, you many want to read these. Even if you they don't convince you, they're still pretty interesting. archive.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/16-07/st_essay telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/11050695/Alan-Titchmarsh-our-evolving-English-language-is-amazeballs.html blog.britishcouncil.org/2014/06/13/whats-the-future-of-english/ \sciencecodex.com/harvard_scientists_predict_the_future_of_the_past_tense
@sandgrounder80
9 жыл бұрын
Inter...net?
@xavier84623
10 жыл бұрын
yes, selfies are status updates, but thats why i hate them! i dont care about what you ate for lunch, or how you look next to your dog. selfies are like those twitter updates that after you read them you think to yourself "i want my 2 seconds back".
@ALC0LITE
10 жыл бұрын
I honestly don't think you need to read so far into this to see it as something other than a photo. In my opinion, nothing is wrong with 'selfies', but when the only point in taking the photo is to showcase yourself in a 'center of the universe' way, especially when it's in a attention seeking attempt, It comes off as vain and immature. Taking a 'selfie' is okay, as long as the reasoning behind it is not to boost your own aesthetic appeal to others. This is why 12 year old girls receive a lot of hate.
@kvweber
10 жыл бұрын
I don't think it's really that different from posting a Twitter or Facebook status update, which are not attacked as being vain and immature nearly as much as selfies are. Also, I don't think there is anything inherently /wrong/ with showing off your appearance to others to boost your own self confidence. The idea that loving ourselves is nothing but an act of vanity is -I believe- an outdated one, and some people do just take selfies for themselves. The act of posting it online doesn't necessarily mean you're doing it solely for other people. If the act of taking a selfie was nearly as empty as people like to think it is, I don't think it would be as big of a trend as it has turned out to be.
@SwordofBattle
10 жыл бұрын
Krystal Weber Don't confuse correlation with causation.You may not think it's empty, but just because something becomes a trend doesn't dismiss it from being put under scrutiny. It could also be just mindless followers that make it so.
@kvweber
10 жыл бұрын
SwordofBattle I don't think there's anything wrong with putting a trend under the magnifier and saying, "hey, maybe there's something wrong with this"; but I do think it's unfair to just criticise people who do things for their own enjoyment simply because we think it's "annoying". Maybe it is just a mindless ploy for attention, but I think we've become too quick to assume that about people. If we do nothing but criticise based on our own assumptions, we aren't going to get anywhere.
@ALC0LITE
10 жыл бұрын
Krystal Weber True, although I think it is safe to say that taking a selfie is still meant solely to show others and is not meant to be taken for oneself. It's debatable, but from my perspective there is no other way for a selfie to be used.
@SwordofBattle
10 жыл бұрын
My point was to point out that because trends and fads are running so rampant in our day and age, due to the accessibility, the younger and more influential crowd, tends to go through life misinformed with how something is perceived not just by themselves but by others, and tend to also not see the real life repercussions of their actions not matter how small. I unfortunately know far too many people like that and I can't imagine how many there truly are. It's because I don't want to see ignorance from people not asking questions, is why I speak out against things, especially when the nature of it becomes the moth to the flame scenario or even the boiling frog syndrome. They may not see it but decisions that the masses make influence the rest of us in different ways. Sometimes negatively. That's why we all need to think before we act. We have to be the change we wish to see.
@HighKingTurgon
10 жыл бұрын
I love selfies. As a medium. I have seen many selfies that are bad. But on the whole, I think people share selfies in such a way that who they think they are becomes much clearer to an observer. What people choose to show tells you a lot about how they think. And I think people hate selfies not because selfies are narcissistic, but because haters are narcissistic. There's a certain moral outrage in others engaging in such 'narcissism' while our own narcissism goes unobserved.
@politure
10 жыл бұрын
2meta
@jasontana727
10 жыл бұрын
this is the best comment i have seen so far, and so good i dont want to scroll down further to ruin my experience. 1) just taking the picture and putting it out there means they know their image will be judged, so when you say you can see how they think, one of the things you can see is how they feel about being judged when they allow it. 2) since the picture is mostly image based rather than context based, most of the time they are telling you how they feel about their appearance being judged. 3) and what else are they showing does indeed tell you more, eg. placing objects in the picture because they feel the selfie shows too much narcissism. 4) i cant comment on why people hate selfies, for one thing i dont go unobserved, which may also make my next comment invalid, i personally dont like selfies because i dont see anything i want to learn in a selfie and, the selfie seems to say so obviously, that they just want some attention with no other reason to show the selfie, and i cant stand being presented with useless information. but again, my opinion may be ultimately flawed because i dont have typical circumstances.
@HighKingTurgon
10 жыл бұрын
Sorry, who's in tune with the supernatural? And nobody mentioned any aspect of psychiatry.
@wolfstar675
9 жыл бұрын
Many people hate them because know everyone thinks themselves as photographers and many of them actually think they are just because they take a selfie and add a cheap Instagram filter and suddenly "hey look I'm a photographer" that's why. And it is a way trying to get attention otherwise why would you take them and post them. Is just watching someone's face for the most part.
@HighKingTurgon
9 жыл бұрын
Enrique Godinez So the problem with selfies is that some people are offended because certain other people think they are something they aren't and we furthermore cast value judgments on the equipment they use to publish images of themselves?
@MichaelHeller
10 жыл бұрын
Not speaking to why they are hated, I think the explosion of the selfie mirrors the explosion of Twitter. It seems that the fundamental limitations of Twitter may have caused the selfie. If a picture is worth a thousands words, that can explain much more than 140 characters can.
@MrAlterior
10 жыл бұрын
I think this entire question is a reflection of western attitudes around the expression of hatred. Which has always been a bit of a mystery to me. My response to the question "Why do I hate selfies?" was "what a meaningless thing to hate." I don't understand the motivation of hate or the expression of it. Perhaps "Why do we hate?" is the apt question?
@ShyGuyXXL
10 жыл бұрын
I didn't know people hated selfies in general. I thought they just hated the repetitive unimaginative kind.
@ThePerfectSonic
10 жыл бұрын
I would just like to thank the good people at PBS Idea Channel. every morning before work you guys are one of the channels that i watch to get me thinking and help my mind wake up. So again, thank you for being there. i love this philosophy channel.
@tehlime
10 жыл бұрын
Great video as always! So, I've seen a lot of articles and videos about this topic, and one of the points that always seems important to me is the impact of selfies on people's self esteem, especially for women. Selfies have been somewhat revolutionary because suddenly women are in control of our own images and post them when we feel GOOD about ourselves. There is so much media out there that is designed to make women feel self-conscious and bad about their appearance. Selfies teach us to notice the tricks that mainstream media (magazines, fashion, tv, etc) use to make women feel insecure about their bodies. Understanding that an angle or lighting or filter can make all the difference between feeling embarrassed about yourself and thinking that you look like a rock star is a big deal. I’d recommend watching lacigreen’s video “The Selfie Revolution” for some great thoughts on this topic. Selfies can be empowering, and really positive. And to everyone who cries “narcissism!” and “vanity!”, I’ll throw a quote from Malia Schilling’s article about selfies out there; “The need for validation and support doesn’t stem from a selfie culture, it is an integral part of our relationships with each other. It’s not wrong to want to be validated, it’s human.”
@PolishRatEuropean
9 жыл бұрын
I hate selflies because I don't want to see someone's face on my screen every two seconds.
@LvKitten
10 жыл бұрын
I have to make this quick, Toddler needs feeding, so I hope I'm not repeating too many other comments. As a Mom and an avid amateur photographer I kind of love the selfie. After my Mom passed away I realized that I didn't have very many photos of her. Not of her alone, with my Dad or with my siblings or myself. It was a very sad realization that I lacked a beautifully simple way of sharing my life with my Mother with my own Daughter. I decided I didn't want that to happen to my daughter, I wanted to show her in the quickest simplest and slightly silly way that she was loved and that I was there in her life as much as was possible. So I take a ridiculous amount of selfies with my daughter and some of them have become my favorite pictures. I understand how people can find them annoying and I'm not sure I would call them real photography either, its more like a photo log of our time with each other. My daughter and I will have this record of her growing up and if, Gods forbid, something happens and I can't be in her life as she grows older, she will always have our silly selfies. And for that reason I love them.
@TheTruem4n
9 жыл бұрын
RIP family pictures
@erinsaylors9375
9 жыл бұрын
Lol Ikr rofl
@HarperNguyen
9 жыл бұрын
Nah, it's still there. Just for special occasions.
@MrJgame22
10 жыл бұрын
This is definitely one of your better and more well thought out episodes. Keep going PBS!
@haryman222
10 жыл бұрын
I don't inherently hate selfies. I am a (very amateur) photographer, so I have developed an appreciation for the "fine art" side of photography, especially the time and extremes people go to. For me, portraits are particularly difficult. getting a person to be in the position you want them to without making it look unnatural is incredibly difficult. Selfies, however, make portraits seem easy because getting yourself into the position you want while maintaining that "natural" look... is easy. It almost seems like a cop-out, but if done correctly can be a very inspiring proclamation of photography fine-art. I have always believed that fine art is there to make us think and/or revel in its beauty, and a good selfie can have the same kind of effect as a good portrait. Like you said, don't hate the selfie, hate the one taking it. If they take a bad photograph, they are, in a way, disgracing the selfie because they aren't doing it the artistic justice it deserves. PS you seemed so pleased with yourself when you replace Nina Hagen with Nina Hagen :3
@ameliakurtz4425
10 жыл бұрын
People hate selfies because they're something teenage girls do, and people hate teenage girls. People hate selfies because it' a sign of loving yourself and your appearance, and people want us to hate ourselves.
@Pennyguy3
10 жыл бұрын
Maybe it's people hating teenage girls that makes the teenage girls feel they have to publicly love themselves. (or maybe vice versa)
@ameliakurtz4425
10 жыл бұрын
Nothing wrong with loving yourself when everyone tells yo you're hated. (You're talking to a teenage girl fyi)
@tehlime
10 жыл бұрын
OOOOOOOO! (Yes, I agree!)
@CloudCuckooCountry
10 жыл бұрын
Perhaps selfies might just be suffering the tribulation that every new form of self-expression faces. My old parents still hold firm the notion that videogames cannot be a "true" form of self-expression or creativity even though I've shown them the stuff you can do in Minecraft. Or has it something to do with perhaps what a form of self-expression says simply by virtue of the medium that is used to present it? Say, if I wrote a book then that automatically says: "I want to tell you a story." Or if I paint a painting, that says: "I want to show you something." In that case a selfie would automatically communicate: "I want you to see my face, where I am, and what I'm doing." which can easily come off as a grab for attention or something.
@Kjernekar
8 жыл бұрын
Selfies are meant for self bragging, period. Noone ever takes a selfies to capture a moment. Every selfies is about self bragging, and it oooooooozes low self esteem.
@QuippersUnited
10 жыл бұрын
It's not the narcissism I don't like. Most people who go on about that aspect are being smug in themselves. It's the disconnect from reality which I can't stand. When you have an experience and pause to take a picture of yourself, you break the trance of the moment in which you were enjoying, and usually, for a few other people as well. Why do that? At least take a picture of what you see, not yourself. That way, people can know where you are instead of have another generic photo of your face.
@harryman11
10 жыл бұрын
This changed my mind about selfies. I had always view selfies as something too pretentious for me. Thinking "who would care to see my ugly mug" My thinking was based in the context of photography is meant for something worthwhile, but looking at it as form of social communication I see that it does have a lot of value albeit not much artistic value.
@airikitascave
10 жыл бұрын
I take selfies, and I know good people that take some too. I don't take them often, though, but when I do it's pretty fun. Builds self-confidence, and I think it could be jealousy, but if the person is a self-indulging douche, then it's just hating the douche.
@fakjbf
10 жыл бұрын
So is this video a giant selfie?
@HarrisonRocks
10 жыл бұрын
Yeah... But a selfie with some actual value.
@Nerdwriter1
10 жыл бұрын
Though we are all desperately trying to convince ourselves that we are who we think/say/hope/tell & show other people we are, humankind would do well not be so fucking obvious about it. That's why selfies are hate-worthy.
@phoolzgold2501
10 жыл бұрын
Good point but are you a nerdfighter.
@veronicamcghie5238
Жыл бұрын
Evan, I am super interested to know if you still stand by this comment nine years later
@emperatricemusic8229
9 жыл бұрын
I for one love selfies! When I see pictures of my friends that they took of themselves I get excited. The fact that they think they look beautiful enough to post it makes me want to throw a party for them. Sure, I don't enjoy inappropriate selfies (posting at funerals, fires in the background ect) but I definitely enjoy seeing my friends beautiful faces in any form.
@anjinanhut
10 жыл бұрын
3 Things: 1. The kind of selfie discussed in the video are , yes, visual status updates. However, there are ways in which you can make selfies as art, even if we ignore the "everything is art if you made it with the intend to make art"-thing. Especially when you create a series of selfies, complex concepts and longer stories can be told. 2. The status update quality of selfies is similar to emoticons. Emoticons always have been part of social media speech acts and the argument can be made, that the selfie is just a more versatile incarnation of emoticons, I think. 3. Suggestion: Let's call a person making selfies a selfiegrapher. Cheers.
@krombopulos_michael
10 жыл бұрын
Sorry but u really think the selfie hate is mostly down to narcissism. Yes, we're all at least a bit narcissistic but our brains don't work that way. We hold others to different standards than ourselves, it's not the only area where we disparage others for having the same weaknesses as us. A selfie is probably the most pure form of narcissism too. It's basically saying "I expect people want to look at more pictures of my face". It's not "look at this, I've achieved something great and want validation" or "watch me do this, you'll find it entertaining" or even "here is my opinion, maybe you'll find it interesting". It's just straight "look at me" cry for attention. The low-fi quality coupled with the extreme informality of the picture accentuates this. I should point out here that I don't really care about them one way or another, this is just how I view the hate.
@suggsmar
10 жыл бұрын
To add on to that, hasn't everyone had the experience of going into a young couples house and coming face to face with a montage of studio photos of that couple, and subsequently feel a little annoyed by it.
@xinryx
10 жыл бұрын
personally I like selfies. people are being cute and sharing themselves with others on public platforms. it's really sad that others hate this and call it attention whoring. really wish others would understand that a certain amount of attention is needed to feel confident in oneself. it feels good and is healthy for the brain. there really is no need to hate on people just for wanting to feel good through something that doesn't hurt you in the least. also can we talk about the selfie olympics because omg some of those got really crazy. was seriously impressed by the creativity that went into those pictures.
@Jonquil_Studios
10 жыл бұрын
The selfie olympics was wonderful and really fun.
@SDC_BIGTIME
10 жыл бұрын
In my humble opinion, a selfie is a rejection of one's insignificance. It displays a state of being in constant need of validation. It's a weakness.
@Gabolioud
10 жыл бұрын
As you describe it, it's not actually a weakness but a reaction to a feeling of weakness...
@MikeChaput
10 жыл бұрын
"A rejection of one's insignificance" is correct. It is rejecting insignificance in favor of significance. In favor of capturing the moment. In favor of giving something value by being recorded in time. So much of the history of humanity has been lost. We can only infer based on artifacts and writings. Can you image what selfies would have shown us about societies of old?
@SDC_BIGTIME
10 жыл бұрын
Mike Chaput No, not in favor of significance. The average selfie is a rejection to one's insignificance, TRYING to produce something significant. The average selfie is just a photo taken of one's self spontaneously. The image encapsulates a trivial task or something plainly insignificant such as riding on a bus, drinking coffee or brushing your teeth. Making a silly face adds no value. I'm sure selfies in the 15th century would have clearly displayed a pilgrim's self-importance just as well as someone could today. Photographs would have done something significant, but not selfies. There were self portraits and other pieces of art which did a good job of explaining someone's feelings or agenda.
@MikeChaput
10 жыл бұрын
***** "they'd examine a few and discard the rest, noting only the sheer amount of them" ... I couldn't disagree more. Anthropologists are very excitable when there are large amounts of data.
@SDC_BIGTIME
10 жыл бұрын
Mike Chaput"Wow, there are millions of them, maybe billions. They're all just about the same... just their face. Time and time again. Did they suffer from a mental disorder? Was this a side effect from being electronically overstimulated? What could they have done in the time that it took to just snap a photo of themselves? ...Well fuck, we have millions to look through. Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat."
@TheDoctorPendragon
10 жыл бұрын
In my opinion, the hatred people have for selfies is less about the actual photo and more about the attention-seeking captions that people add. I mean, I take selfies with family and friends, but the purpose behind it is to preserve those memories in snapshots. I'm not looking for someone else to leave a comment saying "OHEMGEEE SOO CA-YUTE!" However, the ones that get the most attention (and mostly negative) are the pics where there are captions like "urgh, I'm so ugly..." That's irritating because it's so pretentious and like you said, those few bad apples give the entire genre of photography a bad name.
@ChongFrisbee
10 жыл бұрын
I never hated selfies, but it does bother me when people think they're artists just because they took a photo. Also, in writing this comment, I found out that google's spell checker doesn't know the word selfie.
@dasuberkaiser6
9 жыл бұрын
It seems a staggeringly large number of people didn't catch the "don't just say 'narcissism'" bit at the end.
@fusion1823
10 жыл бұрын
I dont mind selfies but when you take a picture of everything like food!
@MojoMicah
10 жыл бұрын
I think selfties are unique in that it allows ourselves to see ourselves as part of that interaction. Think about it. When you give someone a hug or you're having a conversation or you a just eating a bowl of cereal, you see the other person or you see it, but you never see you. You can see someone else's smiles and feelings and reactions, but you never really get to see yourself. The only time you get to see what you do is in a video or in some sort of reflection or in, a selftie. Selfties offer us a way to catalogue our self's as part of an interaction. While we do have a general understanding of where we are at and how we move and how much space in the world we take up, we never actually get to know what is happening because it is hidden from our realm of awareness. Selfties show us the world as what is seen, rather then what we see. As to why people hate selfties, it may be because people feel it cheapens a moment. I for the most part, if something is important, there is someone there to record it. That person recording it may be a part of the story, but as of that moment they are not engaging in it. The camera is different then your eyes in that it is passive. Your eyes are a part of you and you can feel, while the camera cannot. When you take a selftie, you are pausing the world and the story around you to catalogue that moment and its feels. Many psychologist and philosophers and what not observed that we are off loading many of our brain functions into technology. Many many many years ago, people were forced into remembering faces and routes and seasons and stories and what not inorder to survive. But now we have tv and ebooks and weather update apps and what not, so now we really don't need to imagine or remember. Selfties are just an extension of that evolution of that. We no longer need to story tell and remember the moment and those feels because now we permanent specific data doing just that
@Tarantulas182
10 жыл бұрын
Love this idea that its a way of observing ourselves, I find that when I skype the missus, despite wanting to see her coz I've missed her I spend the entire conversation looking at the window with myself in it :P you could well be on to something there or I may just simply be an arrogant SOB :P
@bmtlam
10 жыл бұрын
Huge appreciation for the mention of speech acts. It's nice to hear people bring linguistic theory into conversations.
@Denouemint
10 жыл бұрын
Mike, thank you and please don't stop. Idea Channel is my favourite KZitem channel. I especially like it when you take side with an opinion that may seem unpopular, I think it's an excellent way to open up debate and provide more fully formed representations of issues in people's minds. Also, the only people I have heard actually use Japanimation irl are my grandparents...so yeah...it's definitely the way to go.
@JohnOhno
10 жыл бұрын
Bad art is still art (where by 'bad' I mean ineffective). The line between a speech act and art is a blurry one: art has a meaning (although that meaning may be something along the lines of "I don't have to have a meaning if I don't want to, *raspberry*", as it was sometimes in Dada) and so all art falls under the category of a speech act, but what one considers an artful or artistic speech act falls at the extreme of at least one of two continuums: "good" (effective) art tends to be both significantly more intense and significantly more ambiguous than your average speech act. By this I mean that art tends to contain many defensible interpretations that are relatively independent from each other (ambiguous), and also contain some element that causes viewers to be either emotionally or intellectually impacted (intense -- good art can be thought provoking or moving, or both, but good art is never neither). Poorly technically executed art can still be good art, but the technical craft of art tends to be a tool utilized for the purpose of executing good art rather than the semantic properties of the art being a showcase for technical excellency. The selfie, by subtly combining several different kinds of statements into a single item in a medium not often used for the statements it is intended to make, immediately aspires to art by being ambiguous (in the same way that any joke aspires to art by containing at least one layer of meaning above that which is used in normal language, in addition to the attempt at gaining the intensity of a laughter response). The technical skills used by professional photographers for art photographs may be lacking in those taking selfies, but they may also be completely unnecessary for the purpose of transmitting the message. The selfie can be considered a form of outsider art (and a more clear example of internet-enabled photographic outsider art is the forced perspective trick-shots used by japanese schoolgirls to simulate movie special effects), and (like much outsider art) it can be looked down upon for reasons of technical proficiency, taste, and effectiveness in the medium. But the intent is an artistic one (even if it is not considered an artistic intent by the artist, and even if it has an egotistical angle -- there are plenty of now-respected visual artists who dealt in self-portraits and only became considered talented after their death). Furthermore, there is sometimes a competitive and creative angle in these (as shown by the so-called 'selfie olympics'). When the creators of selfies are engaging in brainstorming in order to increase the novelty of their images, they already surpass in artistic intent and potential the users of image macros (with a few exceptions) and other forms of internet-native art, and the selfie provides more room for self-expression than forms of internet-native art like fanart or twitter poetry (after all, the only requirement for a selfie is that it must be a photograph and the photographer must be visible in it). The selfie can be considered a genre of constrained art -- just like a drabble can be no more than 100 words, a sestina must end with the same last words in each line in a particular pattern, and an lipogram on e cannot contain the letter 'e', a selfie must contain the photographer. When selfies are taken upside-down, hanging off tall buildings, and (in one interesting case) with the camera held between the photographer's butt-cheeks just for the sake of doing something new, there's no denying that the form is beginning to form a set of works and a trend that sets the path for later artists. Even if there are no selfie manifestos and the creators don't consider themselves artists, the selfie is as much an art movement as Oulipo.
@cassinipanini
10 жыл бұрын
Bravo, sir, bravo.
@danielhallriggins9008
10 жыл бұрын
I think this might be why I prefer selfies in the context of Snapchat than in Instagram. Fine art is generally something I want to take an extended amount of time to consider. Visual speech acts, as interpreted in real life, are ephemeral...just like Snapchat. I have heard it argued that if you strip away the purported security benefits of Snapchat, it is merely a contrived means of sending a photo or video you could just as easily send in other formats like email, chat, Facebook, or Instagram. But maybe Snapchat isn't contrived. Maybe it more accurately captures the spirit of a "real life" speech act. By the time you have registered and interpreted the act, its creator is already moving on to the next idea. You need not dwell on its significance, but merely appreciate it as an expression of its creator.
@Lutranereis
10 жыл бұрын
I feel like selfies embody this self-centered and disingenuous attitude on the internet. People use selfies and social networking to make their lives seem like they're far more entertaining and interesting than they really are, and eventually it gets to the point where some people go out of their way accomplish this. But then, I don't care for staged photographs at all. I hate gathering around for a picture, everybody smiling and posing for it. It's just fake, it's inorganic, and it only tells one story -- "Remember when we posed like this?" The best pictures I have of myself and my family and friends are ones that were taken without staging. They were events in people's lives that actually took place with emotions that were genuine. They are snapshots of something that took place naturally, and they're the ones I have displayed.
@1weech
10 жыл бұрын
I love the selfie. I used to have no strong opinion on the selfie; it was just a thing that sometimes popped up on my Instagram feed. But a month and a half ago I joined Snapchat, and it has completely changed my perspective of myself. Before then I did not truly know what my face looked like. I avoided looking at it in the mirror, and I viewed myself as ugly. But then I began taking selfies and actually observing myself. I am now more aware of my appearance, and I even consider myself handsome. The selfie forced me to look at myself, and what I found was better than I could have imagined.
@NateWild
10 жыл бұрын
My problem with selfies is that there is just too much of it. Everywhere you look on the Internet, you see the same thing. For most people, a selfie is looking at a phone is an uninteresting setting, and making a puckered face. It's not clever, it doesn't tell you what they're doing, and fundamentally, they're nothing more than just cries for attention. With every selfie I see, I can feel the universe losing another star.
@covanentsbane
10 жыл бұрын
Personally I like the idea of the so-called "selfie revolution." The idea that to take a selfie of yourself no matter what you look like, you're willing to love yourself as you are despite what others might say - a version of media that gives representation to you specifically. When viewed through this lens, it makes the backlash a part of the internalized values of a society - People responding to non-traditionally "beautiful" people seeing themselves as beautiful and making that narcissistic and trying to tear down that idea of self-love.
@glamfries
10 жыл бұрын
It's nice, in any event, to see pictures of people who look real. Some people still pile on the makeup and filters, and even retouch their pictures before uploading. The whole #nomakeup #nofilter thing is kinda cool.
@Synthen
10 жыл бұрын
It can be obnoxious when the person posting them are obnoxious. But you should just stay away from people like that. I love seeing the person behind the art or whatever they do. Makes me feel more connected with them.
@glamfries
10 жыл бұрын
Synthen Yeah, I don't think selfies are annoying as a thing on their own. It's when someone repeatedly posts selfies to fish for compliments, or something like that. That same person might post a Facebook status that is equally obnoxious. I agree with Mike that it is a form of text, and it's the user that makes it annoying or not.
@piprod01
10 жыл бұрын
If it was really about self-love you'd stick your selfie on your hard drive and wouldn't plaster it on your facebook. The problem is that those that take selfies put them out there to get attention from their social circle, because there self-love is somehow linked to the opinions of others.
@sq1785
10 жыл бұрын
Narcissism. It's not because we all are a little that there's no degrees to it, and that some degrees are more and some are less acceptable than others, YMMV. Let's not fool ourselves: selfies are the paroxysm of a self-centered, individualistic and image driven view of the world, the very lowest quality of content social media has to offer. I disagree that it shows how you are feeling and who you are or what you're doing, as you are obviously putting yourself in a "mise en scène" of yourself. . You are both the actor and the director, the sculpture and the sculptor, the object and what it refers to. Magnified with the lens of social media, we're too much aware of this reality to show anything genuine, even if we sometimes believe we are. We cannot escape the decision of how to market ourselves, deliberately trying to go against it results only in deception. ( I derive a little and go hard personal theory here: Due to the natural reinforcement of the unspoken rules imposed by social media through its use, the very problem and degradation of social media seems to come from these familiar grounds; Sharing is slowly changing from linking stuff you find of interest to be more and more about what you share says about you and how self-conscious of the parameters in which you share them you are. The more content-heavy you are, the less you're able to control what it says about you and the more niche you become, due to the time needed for consumption and diverging interests and the massive quantity of content you compete with. Visuals, quick consumption content and low references are advantaged and encouraged by the system itself, similarly to, say, reddit, but with a very distinct approach on the market of the self due to how identity and with whom you share is dealt differently. The selfie is naturally rigged to be the most effective type of posts, compared to the effort needed.) I do believe auto-portraits and selfies are very different from each other in meaning and intention. One cannot compare Van Gogh's portraits of himself, or even the so called ''first selfie ever'' of 1839 because they weren't destinated for immediate consumption through social media. The media itself changes the content it portrays. The mobility and versatility of angles, the way in which you can preview the exact picture through the digital video feedback, the instantaneous result, and near infinite number of tries at no extra cost also makes the selfie differentiates itself from an auto-portrait in aesthetics and meaning. The selfie has no reason of being outside of sharing it to convey the manner in which you want to sell the image of your self. People can easily avoid reading something on social media, but they cannot NOT see a picture on a newsfeed. It is the perfect ''I exist'' of our time. No matter how much we can control our shortcomings by the image we create of ourselves, we cannot hide from an angle or photoshop the reality of the act: Its sole purpose is to seduce your audience by showing them how handsome or quirky, uncaring about how you look, simple, real or active you are or how interesting your life is, while a ''normal" status update can be about other things than yourself. Edit: Added a nice thought I had, changed some phrasings while at it
@Darima2
10 жыл бұрын
Very well put. I communicated the same thing but not as eloquently lol
@sq1785
10 жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@corenalbrich7223
10 жыл бұрын
I wanted to say this but you saved my the headache of putting it into words. You are a gentleman and a scholar. Thank you.
@sq1785
10 жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@xkumanekox
8 жыл бұрын
it's definitely mostly narcissistic, despite most people tend to say otherwise, mostly due to the fact that most people just don;t like admitting it.
@e7venjedi
10 жыл бұрын
5:19 Wow. That was very well said. Talk about bringing it home to the real issue.
@ChristopherStone21
10 жыл бұрын
With all the references to Utterances and Speech Acts I was on the edge of my seat waiting for you to bring up Bakhtin, the Russian Scholar who wrote on these topics (and dialogues, and carnival, and a whole bunch of other things). I would love if you could introduce more people to his work, maybe in a future episode.
@thetessellation
10 жыл бұрын
Rugrats is the best anime ever
@dannypineyro8379
9 жыл бұрын
I think people actually hate selfies because of the lack of message or the over-shared situations. You said that selfies are actually a way of describing and showing how we feel, where we are, with whom we are, but there are selfies that just lack of sense, that can actually be rated as stupid or meaningless.
@WikiRiffs
10 жыл бұрын
I believe (and have observed) that people sometimes dislike selfies - and the 'snapshot' style of photography in general - because it contributes to the 'head-down' behavior that accompanies regular use of mobile devices. These detractors argue that the photographer is distracted from the world immediately around them in order to share an image, whether it's a self-portrait or a snapshot of something else, with the rest of the world that's *not* immediately around them. The most sympathetic arguments against this kind of self-documentation (at least as far as I've read) advocate for people to be more 'present' in the world around them - preserving an experience as memory, rather than electronically. I think that's what Sherry Turkle was aiming at, although the article itself wasn't particularly well-expressed, in my opinion: it relies on a binary view, as a lot of bad journalism does, imagining selfie-takers to be wholly absorbed in their devices instead of wanting to document it *because* they're engaged with something. Another argument against selfies is that the images present elements of the mundane. We're becoming more used to media presenting us with something exceptional, so when someone takes a picture of themselves at home, with friends, or riding the bus - all fairly ordinary experiences - it's at odds with our desire to get something special out of media. Enjoying this discussion, as always. I also think it's interesting how the selfie has slowly infiltrated other forms of media - like the Wii-U re-release of Wind Waker, in which Link can take self-portraits with his picto box.
@sq1785
10 жыл бұрын
Many interesting points in here!
@FlowerGardenTeaParty
10 жыл бұрын
I just wanted to say, for someone who is currently studying media, that I could probably use each video for an essay. Which is pretty awesome. So keep doing what you guys are doing. ;)
@Jaggemonkey
10 жыл бұрын
In my art history class I learned the idea that the popularity of self portraits coincided with a change in how artists were viewed. Rather than being seen as mere craftspeople they began to be seen the way they are today: interesting, deep, special. This begun the fascination with the lives of artists (which was actually the title of a book back then). I would judge this cultural shift to be a mixed bag, like most things, but for all the bullshit in how we view artists at least we're recognizing people who work hard for the hard work they do. Selfies represent a similar shift in our cultural values. We are deeming "normal" people worthy of our fascination, and possibly even respect. Is this a good thing? What have they done to deserve this? If selfies piss me off it's for the same reason that Reality bites, and sex and the city piss me off. They present me with thoroughly self absorbed, unproductive, unmotivated characters with no conflict and expect me to care simply because I can relate. The conflict they do have is "everything's great... but I want...more." Essentially I'm expected to celebrate the plight of the restaurant customer who has an okay sandwich but wishes he could have a better one.
@heavenlyevan
10 жыл бұрын
I find no reason to dislike selfies, and selfies are fascinating and are good self esteem boosters. If anything, they're for self esteem, but they're also about preserving space. I don't see why people try to discourage something that can and is beneficial to mental health, and is also a portion of culture that is fascinating. The Internet seems to enjoy putting people down for things they like, and selfies don't hurt anyone, so there's no point in actively bullying or harassing people who do something they like.
@Gothamlk
10 жыл бұрын
Because being self-confident is great for yourself, but showcasing your self-confidence only comes off as arrogant. We expect of people to be modest with themselves if they don't want to look like egocentric jerks lacking perspective and self-awareness. Selfies do just that.
@heavenlyevan
10 жыл бұрын
gothamsnetwork Who the hell cares about arrogance or modesty. People post these things on their own public profiles. They have their own value system, and being confident about your appearance and well as the willingness to share your surroundings don't seem like things that are wrong to me. Your word choice puts up this implied strawman, where you're making judgements based on something that you see based off of preconceived notions that are farther from the truth. I don't see anything wrong with self care, I don't see anything wrong with focusing on your own problems and your own environment, I don't see anything wrong with focusing on yourself. Literally everyone I've encountered who dislikes selfies take some sort of intellectual superiority over those who take selfies, and that's just gross to me. I don't even take selfies.
@Gothamlk
10 жыл бұрын
Well _I_ care about arrogance or modesty. Tells you a lot about what kind of person you're dealing with. And I'm just being honest, and I won't believe you if you tell me you put up with people who brag all the time because you're that much of a fantastic person. I've said it elsewhere: self care is awesome. Our own Self confidence is fantastic. But your personal self confidence does nothing to me, and if anything, it's annoying. It has nothing to do with intellectual superiority, either. It's just annoying, instinctively annoying, because it _depicts_ egocentrism, whether or not it is actually verified.
@heavenlyevan
10 жыл бұрын
gothamsnetwork Yet all the people I interact with that take selfies... don't... do... that? I've come to assume that your perception of those who enjoy the task is based off a generalization based on a sample that doesn't fit what I've encountered. Either you've miscalculated, or we have encountered different groups of people, and thus your judgement of the incredible people I encounter is wrong. :| I'm guessing you hate vlogs then too?
@Gothamlk
10 жыл бұрын
Don't do what? Let me ask you this, what do you gain from looking at other's selfies? And if your answer isn't "nothing" then stop lying to me and yourself, you _liar_. In this situation, why share them? Why not taking them and having them in a folder you sometimes browse when alone and in need of a boost of morale, instead of essentially calling your friends over to gaze upon how great you think your face is? At least a vlog has words spoken. I can learn stuff from uttered words, stuff that may interest me, who knows. Not every time, sure, but it's a risk having at least some chance of being worth it. A face doesn't make me grow as a person, doesn't teach me anything, is definitely not entertaining. Looking at other's selfies is just... why?
@jccdsym6605
8 жыл бұрын
I'm pretty sure most people don't really hate selfies themselves, but rather the fact that these began popping everywhere in social networks and soon flooded the internet; as of now you literally can't escape from them, so this this oversaturation, alongside the term "selfie" becoming a buzzword for the seemingly innocuous act of taking a picture of yourself makes it hard for a lot of people (admittedly like myself) not feel like they're a fad. Of course it is harmless and no one is wrong or a bad person for doing it, heck, if someone enjoys it, good for them and keep at it, but at this point some of us can't help but see it as disingenuous attempt to "spontaneously capture the moment". All in moderation is all i'm sayin'.
@NoCareLuke
10 жыл бұрын
Selfies, in my eyes are an overused medium for boosting ones vanity. I say this because of the personal experience of constantly seeing face shot pictures of people advertising themselves as 'attractive' or to draw attention to themselves by labelling themselves as 'fat' or 'ugly' with corresponding exaggerative undertones. I may also be a little bit worried for the overly pretentious nature of this generation of children, using selfies as a medium to display poor life decisions to 'fit into' the crowd. The only reason I would use a selfie is for a functional purpose. If I saw my profile picture looked a little outdated, I'd boot up the front-facing camera and take a selfie to replace the outdated profile picture and that would be it until it needed updating again, I wouldn't do it on a daily business as it would severely affect my social status and would make me look too needy for attention. ...and on a side note, if I ever saw a person doing a selfie in public, I'd dive into the picture and happily photobomb it!
@TheCuayas
10 жыл бұрын
I love selfies, I don't know what you're talking about, but my teacher is making me comment as a classwork grade. The main message I think this video has is that selfies are over ruling our world and is ART. Selfies is something you can express yourself from.
@omaceaceachern
10 жыл бұрын
I think another important aspect to selfies is people using them as self-care. Marginalised people, those who have been taught to be ashamed of their bodies or self-expression, or else have been taught that their bodies are available to be publicly commented upon, often use selfies as a way of reclaiming their appearance. This most frequently applies to women and gender-variant people, but can go for any number of marginalised groups. Selfies are also conceived of as the domain of young women, which contributes to the hate they receive. If young women (especially teen girls) are doing it, then it must be terrible! This goes double when it's teen girls doing something that effectively rejects the message that their bodies aren't good enough / that they aren't attractive enough. To ignore the way this issue intersects with prejudice and marginalisation is to ignore an important part of the problem, in my opinion.
@tehlime
10 жыл бұрын
Definitely! Selfies are hugely important for minority groups, and for anyone looking to reclaim their self-image. It can be really positive and empowering!
@Rasgonras
10 жыл бұрын
Let's call them "Selfists".
@mygvmtnamepublicallyavailable
10 жыл бұрын
Selfies are like as if everyone collectively decided to draw a tree Constantly. Everyday.
@TheGrowthCycle
10 жыл бұрын
Uhh... what?...
@mygvmtnamepublicallyavailable
10 жыл бұрын
If people drew trees as much as they take selfies then you'd understand
@cissela6312
10 жыл бұрын
You sound like Jaden Smith
@CiboSirazad
10 жыл бұрын
I've heard explanations that part of our disdain for selfies ties into misogyny and particularly our contempt and dismissal of teenage girls. Just read Jakub G's comment on your video, "I dislike selfies just because the major amount of people who do them are insecure teenage girls craving and asking for attention." Girls and women admiring themselves or taking too much time to look a certain way is often portrayed as narcissistic and done only for attention. On the other hand; James Franco is seen as artistic, teenage boys often take them in imitation of girls, and some guys use it to show off hard work at the gym. This medium gives everyone, particularly the young girls that use it most, a power to portray themselves that has never existed before. When you are bombarded by beauty standards that are highly unattainable as a young girl the selfie empowers you to make yourself look however you want, take yourself seriously or not, and display that image on your own terms. We hate selfies because, like the teenage girls who take most of them, we think they are shallow, attention seeking, insecure, and a general waste of time.
@MikeChaput
10 жыл бұрын
Society isn't so keen on giving visibility and power to young women is it? Selfies are redefining the idea of what it means to be a women. (or man, or trans*)
@CiboSirazad
10 жыл бұрын
Mike Chaput Not unless she has the right amount of cleavage smh. Exactly! Even the visibly male people who take them are only taken seriously when they portray themselves in an acceptably masculine way, stray away from that and it's considered distasteful or a joke.
@MikeChaput
10 жыл бұрын
I am seeing more and more people who don't meet the "ideals of society" becoming more comfortable with themselves by participating in selfiedom and social media as a whole. It is my belief that the more exposure humanity has the more true to reality our media (in all forms) will become.
@CiboSirazad
10 жыл бұрын
Heck yeah!
@cassinipanini
10 жыл бұрын
I completely concur with you. Selfies present an area of life in which women are in direct control of their own media representation, a statement which is true of almost no other social sphere. The idea that women can create and present their own identities without being filtered through society's misogynistic representation poses a threat to the underlying status quo, and thus people react negatively to it, even though they might not fully comprehend why they find it distasteful.
@taffiholiday
10 жыл бұрын
First off, I just want to say that I absolutely adore this series. Thanks so much for taking my favorite media and making me see it in a new and more nuanced light. Secondly, in regards to the term 'Japanimation': I remember this phrase being bandied about when I first started getting involved in anime fandom back in the early '90s. Those heavily involved in the fandom felt the phrase was at best silly and dismissive or, at worst, racist as many people who used that phrase pronounced it as 'JAP-animation'.
@ThePeaceableKingdom
10 жыл бұрын
"Up came Johnny with his camera and took the blessed lot Up came Johnny with his camera, and "Oh, What a nice snap-shot!" And now he's got the photograph, and the girls both near and far Have sworn that they will make away with Johnny and his camera" --- from "Up Came Johnnie with his Camera" an Edison cylinder recording by Will F. Denny, 1902 . "Selfie" may be a new word, but it surprised me that "snapshot" is a very old one, almost as old as the camera itself.
@aaronDAYTON
10 жыл бұрын
I don't think people hate selfies in general, just maybe more along the lines of those without much meaning... For example one that is taken in your bathroom mirror. What are you trying to say? "Hahah just had a great time sittin' on the toilet :D" Those seem to give more annoyance to people rather than ones you take while doing something worth sharing or in ones that are set in an amazing location...
@CyberLozer
10 жыл бұрын
I hate selfies because they are so repetitive and since it has nothing to do with your own life you just don't really care... unless of course for whatever reason.. you do...BUT if you don't which a lot of people dont then you are probably just aggravated by the trendiness and repetitiveness... maybe... and perhaps the reason that someone would actually like it is because they think there is some kind of background behind it that fascinates them
@HipsterShiningArmor
8 жыл бұрын
Hey 2014 Mike, here in 2016 selfie hate is basically non-existent once most people realized they were being ridiculous, so I suppose you can call yourself ahead of the curve in that regard. Also, I hate to break it to you, but David Bowie and Alan Rickman are dead. As is Antonin Scalia, whatever you may think of that.
@Ridghost
9 жыл бұрын
It's the self importance which is conveyed to your "friends" that they should "like" and "comment" on yourself. This is a person you see in real life and you talk to in real life, to then come home and see them bombarded in what a lot people consider their own personal space is pretty irritating. However selfies might also be irritating just because they are so unnecessary. If you wrote down what you saw in a great photo, in words, could describe the colours, the lighting, the angle and the meaning behind it. To write down a self is to tell the reader that a friend has posted a picture with the intention of it only to be about how he/she looks and is feeling. Rather than just writing it down. (Also side note, we can choose what we read, by just ignoring the words. It's much harder to choose what we see when it's large picture. We are force fed information we don't even care about.)
@Adriantheandroid
10 жыл бұрын
"Technology doesn't just do things for us, it also does things to us." Smart lady - I am sure a person can't think that far if they can't think beyond themselves. Selfies are probably a bit self-involved, but maybe that's something we need to accept and then move forward. I think it's just a phase.
@RagingMinecraft32
10 жыл бұрын
I hate them because the people who take the do it In the most stupidest forms, positions, and places.
@Darima2
10 жыл бұрын
Sorry, but Im still not convinced. I have always disliked selfies. It is the epitomy of narcissism ( and yes, this is a valid reason , its annoying) , if no one else is around to capture the moment cause you're on your own, why the hell would you take a picture of your magnified face or a blurry mirror image? So that others can believe you were there or that something happened? A selfie can hardly be proof of where you are since it can't even capture your surroundings most of the time. Why can't just oral storytelling be enough like it was for thousands of years? Why does everyone have to see 5 billion pictures of you looking in a mirror?? Its unflattering to everyone and you can always tell its a selfie just by the angles and distortion. Or if you're alone, ASK someone to take it . A friend of mine ends up annoying everyone cause she's always interrupting the moment by wanting to take a million selfies, so annoying. Its no surprise to me that celebrities love taking selfies, most of them are the most narcissistic people in the world. As if they're not photographed enough, they need to continue getting attention by taking selfies of them in bed or getting out of the shower, get the eff over yourself!! Im not a photography snob but camara phones are still nowhere near as good as an actual camara and therefore not good enough, in my opinion, to capture special events or vacations...frankly im sick of seeing crappy pictures that people havent put any effort into since they just post to social media two seconds after taking them. Why should your friends and family be subjected to bad pictures? Back when people actually printed their photos, you would only put photos worthy of looking at in the photo album to show others, so why can't that same standard be applied to digital photo albums?? Everyone has become obsessed with themselves, acting as if others are interested in every little, tiny thing they do so yes, its annoying as hell...especially girls with their duck faces, ITS NOT SEXY, you look RIDICULOUS!!! And I cant tell you how many times I have to suppress an eye roll when someone pulls out their phone to take a picture of their food that the waiter has just set down, like really ,REALLY?? Noone gives a sh** what you're freaking eating at the resto! I just think its gotten out of hand, I realize this has turned into a rant but I needed to just get that out, ill stop now...lol
@ekscalybur
10 жыл бұрын
Why do people hate selfies? Because it IS narcissism! The act of taking one is stating to the whole world that you think you are so amazing that the world needs to see horrible pictures of you.
@AngryGaper
10 жыл бұрын
Vivian Maier, that's all I gotta say.
@hatedumb
10 жыл бұрын
AngryGaper Vivian Maier's photos aren't horrible. She wanted to portray the ordinary world as it is, in a poetic way. She didn't want to pose herself in front of a camera to show how much "stuff" she had done or how many VIPs she encountered just to gain "social status"; like theese dumbasses do. Don't relate those two thing just because she's depicted in some of her photos.
@AngryGaper
10 жыл бұрын
hatedumb Actually I was bringing her up more as a counterpoint against selfies always being considered narcissistic. I brought her up because her work consists of self portraits that are not narcissistic in the least and it shows that true artwork can be done in the form of a "selfie" of sorts.
@k3lit0
10 жыл бұрын
What's the difference between taking a photo of yourself in front of something and... asking someone to take a photo of you and your spouse/family in front of something? You've never seen people do that? The only difference seems to be that 'selfies' don't require a random passerby. People have been taking photos like this ever since personal cameras were invented. It's really not that big a deal.
@k3lit0
10 жыл бұрын
also ugh that rembrant is sooo horrible he just keeps painting himself ugh he just think he looks pretty fuckin interesting ugh
@AnimusPrime87
10 жыл бұрын
I have no personal feelings on the matter one way or another. I know that I am highly aversive to any situation that may involve having my picture taken in one form or another. There are usually never more than one or two pictures taken and saved of me per year- In 2011, 2012, and 2014, those photos were so-called Selfies to send to my mother to show her new uniforms at new job sites. I am plain.
@shraakx2
10 жыл бұрын
The exact length of this video is really 9/11ing the mood.
@darKILLusionnn
10 жыл бұрын
I block everyone who posts selfies on facebook.
@piprod01
10 жыл бұрын
I recently went to some cool places with some friends, but one was a camera freak. I don't really get why she spent most of the time we were walking around down the barrel of her camera trying to get the best shots. For me being there enjoying it > showing off to facebook friends how cultured I am.
@Jaggemonkey
10 жыл бұрын
Also, Yes. Bending is Magic. If bending isn't magic because it has vague rules, a vague context and a vague explanation of it's origin than the magic in most things now-days isn't either. Guys, it came from giants turtles with cities on their backs that speak telepathically, touching people's foreheads. That's magic.
@igoronline
10 жыл бұрын
It's just a kind of marshal art though.
@Jaggemonkey
10 жыл бұрын
yes a martial art... which makes fire balls happen and rocks defy the laws of physics. Any schmuck could do that.
@evelyndarko8818
10 жыл бұрын
igoronline
@TheErwinator90
10 жыл бұрын
Perhaps it's more something like the difference between Ki Energy and magic in the Dragonball universe. Bending is inner energy and magic has a more unknown origin.
@marious297
10 жыл бұрын
igoronline with the exception that only a few people can use bending you have to be born able to use bending you cant learn it like a martial art there are scrolls and stuff for the techniques but you have to have the ability to bend said element. like Sokka cant bend water but his sister Katara can so in a way it is magic
@SubhomMitra
10 жыл бұрын
I think what bugs us most about this selfie culture is that it conflicts with our pre-existing notions about photography, mostly in the "classical" sense, that one person points a camera at another for the purpose of taking the latter's picture. The concept of pointing the camera at oneself harshly contradicts that. Like most other things though, all is hunky-dory until it comes to yourself (not you Mike, the reader): you do have a selfie on one of them interwebs, don't you? Love the show! Keep up the good work.
@IWillAvengeL
10 жыл бұрын
I think that selfies are brilliant because they are a celebration of the self. In a world where it has become the social norm to hate oneself, a selfie is a way to try to overcome that. I think while a selfie can be to communicate with other people, they are really for the taker of the selfie and those close to them. They are for them to look back at how they were feeling and what they were doing when they took the selfie. Or they could be as a way of accepting oneself by saying "I look good today, I'm going to take a picture of myself because I look good today." and I don't think that it's narcissistic, but more of a way of becoming more self confidant.
@TheGreenLanyard
10 жыл бұрын
If I were to hate selfies, it would be because: 1. Seeing them didn't provide any value for me. 2. I think they have a responsibility to share only things that are valuable not just to me, but to the online community we're in. What other kinds of posts do this? Facebook promoted posts. KZitem advertisements. "Repost this comment or the ghost of a dead girl will appear in your bed tonight." Viagra links. Spam. Selfies are hated because they're perceived as having the same traits that spam does. We have this perception that in any online community, there are norms for what contributions are valuable to that community and what isn't valuable (i.e. spam). For some things, like viagra links, we can easily agree on their value. But like most "what's the best way to do ___ for the community" problems, there's a point where opinion starts to vary across the population. Selfies are one of those gray-areas. Many people think they're valuable (otherwise there wouldn't be so many of them), and many others don't. Generally, I just like thinking of this from the perspective of many people disagreeing with what's best for the community.
@Darima2
10 жыл бұрын
Best comment so far. You've precisely pinpointed the way I perceive selfies. The same way I perceive SPAM! You're completely right. They're low quality, they're excessively abundant, they are usually unremarkable and they serve no one but the creator. Brilliant!
@teamkiller99
10 жыл бұрын
Well said!
@smacksoftSMA
10 жыл бұрын
people hate selfies because they're mainstream. In most cases
@ScottEllis79
10 жыл бұрын
Finally watched this. Why do I hate selfies? It's the word. That stupid fucking word. Take a thousand pictures of yourself, I don't care. Some of them are hilarious. But that goddamn word makes me crazy.
@carterford6094
10 жыл бұрын
You guys are by far one of my favorite youtube channels of all time You guys are great thanks for you're awesome vids
@skykid
10 жыл бұрын
Selfies are an expression, like art, but to a much lesser degree. To say selfies are worthless is to say expression is worthless. That devalues individuality which is entirely unfair to the free will of humanity. We don't have to care about someone's selfie or the person taking it, the value if it though is in the expressionist will of the person taking it, and no one's will is intrinsically worth more than anyone else's.
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