Selfie Culture

“The surest cure for vanity is loneliness.” - Tom Wolfe

Today is a time where nostalgic photographs of memories are no more, but a time where we post endless pictures of ourselves on instagram with no real meaning. Instagram is a place where likes are more important to people than the real image itself. I can't help but feel social media is a virtual contradiction. Where it causes more harm than good but raises awareness of the harms it causes.  

Although Instagram can be a great place to show individuality, personal taste and style. It can also be a place which causes insecurities with unrealistic body expectations sometimes caused by brands and influencers. In the age of 'Me Too' it is so important for both male and female influences to not throw their own insecurities onto other people. Celebrities such as the Kardashians have been known to throw around the word 'fat' even if they live completely healthy lifestyles. Young people can be vulnerable to this kind of insecurity and feel utter pressure to look a certain way. 

Fashion is one of the most important ways we express ourselves. Its a sense of freedom to wear what we want, whenever we want. This kind of freedom is what makes us sometimes so happy. In my personal experience sometimes you put on your favorite outfit and just feel so confident to share it with everyone. This may be vanity but its also having the confidence to show your personal expression. I sometimes wonder though, do people really post images just for the likes? The question, do you feel confident or are you insecure? The pressures of keeping up appearances and showing your followers who you want to be over who you really are maybe? These are the downfalls to social media such as Instagram. I feel if someone else is seeing it, we may feel we need to act different where as if only had our private images, would it look the same as our Instagram accounts? These are the questions I think of about the new world of selfie culture.  

Thanks for reading

Hannah