Now She Want A Photo: The Pros and Cons of Selfies
We all do it.
We all take selfies. And some of us take them every single day. Our thoughts: “Yasss, bish, I look too cute for someone not to see me. Hol’ up, lemme upload this right quick.”
If you never said this, you’re lying, and I thought we were friends? Just to clarify — and I hate that we have to do this because some people still get confused — let’s go over what a selfie actually is.
From the Oxford dictionary because this is the world we live in now, a selfie is:
(n.) A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.
So that means if your girl takes a picture of you and only you, it’s not a selfie.
Whew. Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get into the pros and cons.
Control
Pro: You control your picture. When you’re taking pics with other people, chances are, whoever is in control of the picture is only going to look out for them. You could be foaming at the mouth, and your friend will look like Halle Berry, and she’ll say, “Omigosh, you look so good!” She’s lying. She never even looked at you. She’s only looking at how perfect she looks, and you’re her troll friend who got invited to the pic by accident. When you’re taking your own pic, there’s no one to share the shine, and there’s NO WAY you won’t look good.
Con: Your freaking arm HURTS like hell. You’ve been trying different angles with your arm stretched out for the past five minutes, and you’re just TIRED. Why does taking selfies have to be so difficult?
Social Media
Pro: Everyone gets to see your pretty face. I mean, this is what Instagram was MADE FOR. It’s the moment you’ve waited for, right? The lighting is good. Your lip gloss is poppin’. And your OOTD? No one can touch you. You’re sure to make the popular page. Yes, you know their whole algorithm changed, but you aim high.
Con: All that hard work and no one’s really liked your picture. You know validation doesn’t come from “likes,” but, geez, can a girl crack 11 today? And did your Instagram crush even see it? He must not be on Instagram right now.
*Checks “following” tab*
*Closes app*
Timing
Pro: There’s hardly ever not a good time to take a selfie. On the subway, at the grocery store in line, at the museum. You have to show people you’re multifaceted. Who cares if the lady next to you is giving you a dirty look? She’s just mad she didn’t think of it first.
Con: You have to be aware of your surroundings, and make sure everything is consistent because if you get caught slipping, trust and believe that the internets will get you. That means if you took a selfie and the caption reads, “This traffic sucks,” but the reflection in your sunglasses shows nothing but open road, that’s a huge fail.
The rules: no selfies at funerals — bad timing; no selfies in hospitals — horrible timing. Sorry, but there are better ways to tell people you had to go to the ER. Save that sh-t for Facebook.
What are some other pros and cons of selfies?
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