Blogpost 1: Concept of Selfie

What first come into our mind as we hear the word selfie? Most probably,picture here and there. Selfies are not just viral here in the Philippines but even in other countries around the world. Actually, it was considered as Oxford Dictionaries' international word of the year which basically means that it is widely used term by the society. Selfie is one of the most popular ways to post. Expressing oneself in a photo captured by his own. It could be for attention, for fame, for entertainment or just for self satisfaction. There are many reasons why people take selfies, for sometimes selfies are tools of communication telling someone a part of whom he/she is. Taking a glimpse of one's private life. We cannot blame a person doing this. For it is obvious that it is so rampant in the social networking sites.  It is not bad to adapt this things for we cannot stop the influence of it in human life but we must learn not to abuse the gift of the world.

I read an article of "James Franco explains the Art of Selfies: 'Attention Is Power" by Bryan Anthony Hernandez from mashable.com. According to him,  selfies seems to catch attention, and that attention seems to be the name of the game . And attention for him is considered as power. This is from his statement,''Attention is the power to attract viewers amid the sea of things to read and watch is power indeed. It’s what the movie studios want for their products, it’s what professional writers want for their work, it’s what newspapers want — hell, it’s what everyone wants: attention. Attention is power. ''He compared this scenario with what the industry is needing: attention for their products. And it is constant with the attention almost everyone want. To have a part and let their light partly be visible and shine into the eyes of the viewers. So they can tell themselves, "Oh, I am recognized". 

But what if almost all the photos you've posted is not recognized? Seems like youve just being dumped on a side telling you, "Óhh, you're not belong". The fact that selfies do not always brings acceptance but sometimes rejection. This is the hardest part. Actually according to the studies, Anonymity now has a large influence on the feedback people receive about their image on social media. People's response to an image influences self perception. And wrong perception can degrade someone's self esteem.

"People who tend to have low self-esteem and depression are more likely to engage in recurrent distorted cognition about the self (such as negative self-statements). ," says Bryan Anthony. But then he added,'' Finding ways to interrupt those thoughts can prevent them from reinforcing a negative focus on the self may be helpful in improving self-esteem and lifting mood. ''

From the article I've read entitled the Social Psychology of the Selfie written by Pamela Ruthledge, she explains that self-image is important and not always in a narcissistic way. It's how people define themselves and present for others to see. They rely on others' perceptions, judgments and appraisals to develop their social self. She even said that the way people see themselves on a mirror is far more different on a regular photo.The mirror shows a reverse view, but also shows you alive and with movement . But it cant be shared and kept. It just passed by. 

"For some, this presents a more attractive (and therefore satisfactory) image as the movement and life tend to overcome flaws that might be more noticeable to an individual were the person to see him or herself in a photo," says Dr. Rutledge.

Selfies is rampant indeed.It is  very powerful and it hooks everyone else to do it. Sometimes, it is honestly stupid though since people tend to post selfies with captions that are far related to what you are actually saying in the caption.But we must always remember that all excessive usage is dangerous to oneself. Discipline must always be present. Know your limitations. Try to reflect with what Superman quoted, ''Great power comes from great responsiblity" . Posting selfie photos must be apprehended with a realization that whatever you post reflect who you are. And negative impacts from others will not be a damage to them but a hard hit to you.