Digital Media's Influence: Selfies, 'Brand Me,' and Selfishness

This essay delves into the cultural phenomenon of selfies and their potential contribution to a 'brand me' culture, ultimately arguing that this trend can foster selfishness. The author begins by tracing the historical context of self-portraits and then explores how selfies have become a dominant form of self-expression in the 21st century. Drawing on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the essay examines how the pursuit of social acceptance and status, facilitated by social media, can lead individuals to prioritize self-promotion over societal contributions. The author uses psychological and social theories to support the hypothesis that selfies, as a shortcut to popularity, disconnect individuals from their surroundings and encourage self-obsession. The essay also contrasts the 'man of action' with the 'man of selfies,' suggesting that the latter prioritizes image over experience. The conclusion reinforces the idea that the selfie culture is creating isolation and fostering a self-centered existence, ultimately supporting the initial hypothesis.

Selfies for establishing “Brand me” leading the individuals towards selfishness
Introduction
Art historians tell us that in the year 1854 the culture of self-portrait started, it happened
because the art forms of that era were seeking for a break from the religion and looking up to
cover some themes related to realism. Self-portrait at that point of time was considered to be
an expression of self. Now in the 21st century, our present generation is capturing our times
with the help of selfies. It has become a rage in the society; it has become a status symbol for
many, they are considering it as an expression of self. Selfies have become a fashion right
now, they are not a serious art form, however, we cannot deny the possibility that tomorrow
they will start treating it as an art form. It happened with analog photographs, it also
happened with photoshop images, artworks initially denounced the photoshop images as a
soulless piece of paper, however, as the practices evolved, images created on the photoshop
became the best blend of commercialism with the art (Murray, 2013).
Any work of art represents the mindset of the society, it represents the socio-economic
thinking patterns of the individuals. Many experts believe that this selfie culture is forcing the
individuals towards selfishness. In the current essay, we will examine the truth behind this
fact with the hypothesis that says “ selfies drag a person towards self-centeredness and this
leads him further towards the development of a selfish nature."
In order to weave a framework of the arguments in favor of the hypothesis, we will take the
support of certain psychological theories, social theories, and theories that define the
relationship between the art and the mindset of the people. Art has the power to connect an
individual with society, the same art also allows us to express our feelings when we are
feeling isolated from society. Can we expect the same type of expressions with selfies or they
have just become a lame and easy tool to facilitate the "brand me" culture?
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Selfies the premature destination of “brand me” culture
The need pyramid drawn by Maslow says that after attaining physical gratification and
security in life a person seeks to gain for social acceptance and higher social status. This is
the cycle of life. Now when we apply this theory on the previous generations like generation
X and Y then we discover that it holds true. The individuals of those generations were busy in
doing something worthwhile for society in order to get noticed. They were ready to walk that
extra mile with an intention to separate them from society, while they remain a part of the
society. The culture of Page 3 gives us the idea that people were seeking recognition at elite
clubs and popular platforms. They were self-obsessed individuals; we can also say that some
of them were selfish because they were seeking different space in society. However, they
were connected to society; they were only seeking a different kind of acceptance.
This is how "brand me" culture works, a person tries to establish himself as a superior person,
or sometimes they just want to express themselves. From the point of view of an art expert, it
is a healthy practice and supports the sentiments of the realism which was the main genre of
the Renaissance period. In order to support our argument, we would like to add the fact that
the period of the Renaissance was the period of a progressive society (Batchen, 2009).
When we check the psychology of selfie generation we find that they are also following a
brand my culture, however, they are not aware of the hard work which is required. A selfie is
a shortcut to temporary popularity. After a point, it starts acting as a shabby advertisement of
an individual.
Do something that others start taking note of your personality. This is not a preachy line, it is
a universal truth and every person seeking to develop a brand me culture should never forget
it. The development of brand me culture in an individual makes him a self-centered person.
The selfie culture also does the same thing, however, this time an individual don't want to do
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something good for society, they just want to place themselves in the society. Here we cannot
deny the presence of Social Media Networks that allows publishing a selfie. The removal of
entry barrier makes it easier for the selfie owners to post it and wait to become popular.
The basic principles of photography say that a good photograph should have a foreground
and background. The foreground here represents the presence of another person who is
acknowledging the subject or the person standing inside the photograph. The basic formation
of a selfie never allows a photographer to capture a foreground; it becomes an individual’s
point of view where the individual forms the center of the image. We can clearly see that
selfie disconnects an individual from his immediate surroundings; it forces him to live in a
blocked picture. This blocked picture acts as the first germ on the road of becoming a selfish
person (Hand, 2012).
Man of action, the man of words and man of selfies
William Shakespeare in his play “Hamlet” described two types of characters, first, we have a
man of action, a man who is ready to walk that line and conquer the world, second, we have a
man of words, and these are the individuals with excuses. The current craze for the selfies
allows us to explore a new breed of individuals, they are a man of selfies, and they don’t want
to act or participate in the main task. They are only seeking for a selfie that can be published
on a social media site. The selfie has become a token of participation (Villie, 2014).
Let's take the example of tourism activity, it is expected from the tourists that while visiting a
historical site, they will try to capture the essence of the history and try to live the experience
with the help of an anecdote told by the tour leader. A selfie-obsessed man will only try to
seek for the best angles from where he can capture the best image of him. The recent news
articles about the selfie deaths give us an idea that taking a great selfie has become a mission
for many individuals.
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This self-obsession of presenting himself in the best possible way while ignoring the setup
and the other elements of the environment are the symptoms of being selfish and self-
centered (Davis, 2011).
Conclusion
A picture postcard or a picture to capture a moment from someone's life is only a memory. It
is a page that connects us to a bygone time once again. A picture is not a chapter; it is only a
front page of the chapter. However, the increasing numbers of selfies in the social media give
us an idea that present selfie obsessed generation is not worried about the memories, they
only memory that they want to collect from the life is none but a selfie.
The culture of the selfie is creating isolation in the life of the individuals because they are
becoming self-obsessed and devoting more time with themselves and killing their social life
in the real world. The next destination of this self-centered existence is selfishness and the
hypothesis explored by us stands true.
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References
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Imagination." Pp. 80-97 in Photography: Theoretical Snapshots, edited by J.J. Long,
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Gómez-Cruz, Edgar. and Meyer, Eric T. 2012. “Creation and Control in the Photographic
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Hand, Martin. 2012. Ubiquitous Photography, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Murray, Susan. 2013. “New Media and Vernacular Photography: Revisiting Flickr.” Pp. 165-
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