Jump to content

Selfie: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
Line 2: Line 2:


[[File:Ameily radke es vato!!.jpg|thumb|upright|A young woman takes a selfie from a high [[angle]]]]
[[File:Ameily radke es vato!!.jpg|thumb|upright|A young woman takes a selfie from a high [[angle]]]]
A '''selfie''' is a type of [[self-portrait]] photograph, typically taken with a hand-held [[digital camera]] or [[camera phone]]. Selfies are often associated with [[social networking]], like [[Instagram]]. They are often casual, are typically taken either with a camera held at arm's length or in a mirror, and typically include either only the photographer or the photographer and as many people as can be in focus. Selfies taken that involve multiple people are known as "group selfies" or "ussies".
A '''selfie''' is a type of [[self-portrait]] photograph,usually consisting of nipples, typically taken with a hand-held [[digital camera]] or [[camera phone]]. Selfies are often associated with [[social networking]], like [[Instagram]]. They are often casual, are typically taken either with a camera held at arm's length or in a mirror, and typically include either only the photographer or the photographer and as many people as can be in focus. Selfies taken that involve multiple people are known as "group selfies" or "ussies".


==History==
==History==

Revision as of 14:44, 26 March 2014

File:Ameily radke es vato!!.jpg
A young woman takes a selfie from a high angle

A selfie is a type of self-portrait photograph,usually consisting of nipples, typically taken with a hand-held digital camera or camera phone. Selfies are often associated with social networking, like Instagram. They are often casual, are typically taken either with a camera held at arm's length or in a mirror, and typically include either only the photographer or the photographer and as many people as can be in focus. Selfies taken that involve multiple people are known as "group selfies" or "ussies".

History

The first known selfie, taken by Robert Cornelius in 1839

Robert Cornelius, an American pioneer in photography, produced a daguerreotype of himself in 1839 which is also one of the first photographs of a person. Because the process was slow he was able to uncover the lens, run into shot for a minute or more, and then replace the lens cap. He recorded on the back "The first light Picture ever taken. 1839."[1][2]

Early Edwardian woman taking her picture in a mirror roughly 1900
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia taking one of the first teenage self-portraits

The debut of the portable Kodak Brownie box camera in 1900 led to photographic self-portraiture becoming a more widespread technique. The method was usually by mirror and stabilizing the camera either on a nearby object or on a tripod while framing via a viewfinder at the top of the box.[3] Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna at the age of 13 was one of the first teenagers to take her own picture using a mirror to send to a friend in 1914. In the letter that accompanied the photograph, she wrote, "I took this picture of myself looking at the mirror. It was very hard as my hands were trembling."[4]

The concept of uploading group self-taken photographs (now known as super selfies) to the internet, although with a disposable camera not a smartphone, dates to a webpage created by Australians in September 2001, including photos taken in the late 1990s (captured by the Internet Archive in April 2004).[5][6][7] The earliest usage of the word selfie can be traced as far back as 2002. It first appeared in an Australian internet forum (ABC Online) on 13 September 2002.

Um, drunk at a mates 21st, I tripped ofer [sic] and landed lip first (with front teeth coming a very close second) on a set of steps. I had a hole about 1cm long right through my bottom lip. And sorry about the focus, it was a selfie.[8]

Popularity

The term "selfie" was discussed by photographer Jim Krause in 2005,[9] although photos in the selfie genre predate the widespread use of the term. In the early 2000s, before Facebook became the dominant online social network, self-taken photographs were particularly common on MySpace. However, writer Kate Losse recounts that between 2006 and 2009 (when Facebook became more popular than MySpace), the "MySpace pic" (typically "an amateurish, flash-blinded self-portrait, often taken in front of a bathroom mirror") became an indication of bad taste for users of the newer Facebook social network. Early Facebook portraits, in contrast, were usually well-focused and more formal, taken by others from distance. In 2009 in the image hosting and video hosting website Flickr, Flickr users used 'selfies' to describe seemingly endless self-portraits posted by teenage girls.[10] According to Losse, improvements in design—especially the front-facing camera copied by the iPhone 4 (2010) from Korean and Japanese mobile phones, mobile photo apps such as Instagram, and selfie sites such as ItisMee—led to the resurgence of selfies in the early 2010s.[11] Kari Sealey is known to hold the world record for the most selfies.

Self-portrait of a female Celebes crested macaque (Macaca nigra) in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, who had picked up a photographer's camera and photographed herself with it

Initially popular with young people, selfies gained wider popularity over time.[12][13] By the end of 2012, Time magazine considered selfie one of the "top 10 buzzwords" of that year; although selfies had existed long before, it was in 2012 that the term "really hit the big time".[14] According to a 2013 survey, two-thirds of Australian women age 18–35 take selfies—the most common purpose for which is posting on Facebook.[13] A poll commissioned by smartphone and camera maker Samsung found that selfies make up 30% of the photos taken by people aged 18–24.[15]

By 2013, the word "selfie" had become commonplace enough to be monitored for inclusion in the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary.[16] In November 2013, the word "selfie" was announced as being the "word of the year" by the Oxford English Dictionary, which gave the word itself an Australian origin.[17]

Selfies have also taken beyond the earth. A space selfie is a selfie that is taken in space. This include selfies taken by astronauts,[18] machines[19] and by an indirect method to have self-portrait photograph on earth retaken in space.[20]

In January 2014, during the Sochi Winter Olympics, a "Selfie Olympics" meme was popular on Twitter, where users took self-portraits in unusual situations.[21] The spread of the meme took place with the usage of the hashtags, #selfiegame, and #selfieolympics.[22]

A selfie orchestrated by 86th Academy Awards host Ellen DeGeneres during the 2 March 2014 broadcast is the most retweeted image ever.[23][24] DeGeneres said she wanted to homage Meryl Streep's record 18 Oscar nominations by setting a new record with her, and invited other Oscar celebrities to join them. The resulting photo of twelve celebrities broke the previous retweet record within forty minutes, and was retweeted over 1.8 million times in the first hour.[25][26][27] By the end of the ceremony it had been retweeted over 2 million times, less than 24 hours later, it had been retweeted over 2.8 million times.[24][25] As of 18 March 2014, it has been retweeted 3,400,395 times.[24] It beat the previous record, 778,801, which was held by Barack Obama, following his victory in the 2012 presidential election.[27][28][29]

Sociology

The appeal of selfies comes from how easy they are to create and share, and the control they give self-photographers over how they present themselves. Many selfies are intended to present a flattering image of the person, especially to friends whom the photographer expects to be supportive.[12][13] However, a 2013 study of Facebook users found that posting photos of oneself correlates with lower levels of social support from and intimacy with Facebook friends (except for those marked as Close Friends);[30] The lead author of the study suggests that "those who frequently post photographs on Facebook risk damaging real-life relationships."[31] The photo messaging application Snapchat is also largely used to send selfies. Some users of Snapchat choose to send intentionally-unattractive selfies to their friends for comedic purposes.

Posting intentionally unattractive selfies has also become common in the early 2010s—in part for their humor value, but in some cases also to explore issues of body image or as a reaction against the perceived narcissism or over-sexualization of typical selfies.[32]

Gender roles, sexuality, and privacy

Selfies are popular among all genders. Sociologist Ben Agger describes the trend of selfies as "the male gaze gone viral", and sociologist and women's studies professor Gail Dines links it to the rise of porn culture and the idea that sexual attractiveness is the only way in which a woman can make herself visible.[33] Writer Andrew Keen has pointed out that while selfies are often intended to give the photographer control over how their image is presented, posting images publicly or sharing them with others who do so may have the opposite effect—dramatically so in the case of revenge porn, where ex-lovers post sexually explicit photographs or nude selfies to exact revenge or humiliate their former lovers.[33] Nonetheless, some feminists view selfies as a subversive form of self-expression that narrates one’s own view of desirability. In this sense, selfies can be empowering and offer a way of actively asserting agency.[34] Copyright law may be effective in forcing the removal of private selfies from public that were forwarded to another person.[35]

News blog Jezebel criticized selfies as being the opposite of empowering.[36] The article published continued to state how selfies are a reflection of how women are represented and the most important quality is their physical attractiveness.[37] Author Erin Gloria Ryan continued to say selfies are mostly used for social media, in an environment where people are encouraged to “like” them and respond to them.[38] The Jezebel article drew much attention with the media, including a piece by writer Maria Guido defending selfies, saying it is acceptable to take and enjoy pictures of yourself since society and advertising is constantly condemning women to that in which they are not “good enough, pretty enough, [and] skinny enough”.[39] The blog started a hashtag of #feministselfie, which then started a larger group on Flickr called the #365feministselfie, where women aim to post a selfie everyday advocating a new way of approaching individual, and unconventional beauty standards.[39]

Celebrity selfies

Many celebrities – especially sex symbols – post selfies for their followers on social media, and provocative or otherwise interesting celebrity selfies are the subject of regular press coverage. Some commentators, such as Emma Barnett of The Telegraph, have argued that sexy celebrity selfies (and sexy non-celebrity selfies) can be empowering to the selfie-takers but harmful to women in general as they promote viewing women as sex objects.[40] Actor and avid selfie poster James Franco wrote an op-ed for The New York Times defending this frequent use of selfies on his Instagram page.[41] Franco defends the self-portrait stating they should not be seen as an egocentric act, but instead a journalistic moment as it cultivates a “visual culture, the selfie quickly and easily shows, not tells, how you're feeling, where you are, what you're doing”, much like a photojournalist image.[41] Franco continued to write how peoples' social lives are “more electronic, we become more adept at interpreting social media. And, as our social lives become more electronic, we become more adept at interpreting social media.[41] A texting conversation might fall short of communicating how you are feeling, but a selfie might make everything clear in an instant.[41] Selfies are tools of communication more than marks of vanity (but yes, they can be a little vain)”.[41]

Reality Television star and socialite Kim Kardashian received much backlash after posing and posting a selfie on her social media account in a revealing white bathing suit, several months after giving birth to her baby.[42] Twitter users commented on the photo calling it desperate, sad, and inappropriate.[43] Kardashian is known to post selfies in a glamourous fashion, and has then made a video for news entertainment outlet Extra giving tips on how to get the “perfect selfie”.[44] She believes it's important to know your “right” angle aesthetically, shoot from a higher angle, be aware of the lighting, and pouting will give you defined cheekbones.[44]

In Korea, the term selca is used rather than selfie. The term is a portmanteau of "self" and "camera".[45]

Politician selfies

Barack Obama

President Barack Obama made news headlines during Nelson Mandela's memorial celebration at the Johannesburg's FNB Stadium with various world leaders, as he was snapped taking a selfie and sharing smiles with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, and later with British Prime Minister David Cameron, as they gathered to pay tribute to Mandela.[46] The decision to take the selfies were considered to be in poor taste, as British political columnist Iain Martin critiqued the behaviour as behaving like idiots, as they were “clowning around like Muppets”.[46] The photos also depict the First Lady Michelle Obama sitting next to them looking “furious and mortified”.[46] Despite the criticism, Roberto Schmidt, the photographer who captured the photos taken at the celebration, reported to the Today show it was taken at “a jovial, celebratory portion of the service”.[47]

David Cameron

In March 2014, Prime Minister David Cameron was mocked as he turned to Twitter to show his followers his “direct line to the White House” while he was discussing the situation in Ukraine with POTUS Barack Obama.[48] The tweet went viral, with the text "I've been speaking to @BarackObama about the situation in Ukraine. We are united in condemnation of Russia's actions".[48] Soon various celebrities mocked the photo including comedian Rob Delaney pretending his toothpaste was a phone, and actor Sir Patrick Stewart holding a container of Wet Wipes to his ear.[48]

Funeral selfies

The Tumblr site "Selfies At Funerals", posting photos of selfies taken at funerals, mostly in bathrooms, was used as an example of millennials being self-centered.[49][50] After Obama's selfie as Nelson Mandela's memorial service, the site announced it would shut down: "Obama has taken a funeral selfie, so our work here is done."[50]

London's Moving Image Contemporary Art Fair launched an exhibition called the “National #Selfie Gallery”.[51] The gallery contains various displayed self portraits either in digital or motion video format by artists from the United States and Europe selected by curators Kyle Chayka and Marina Galperina.[51] The images are said to have “poetic internet confessionals to humours commentaries on exhibitionism and experimental new-media portraiture”.[51]

In August 2013 the Guardian produced a film series titled Thinkfluencer[52] exploring selfie exposure in the UK.

American dance music duo The Chainsmokers released a single #SELFIE in 2014.

Psychology and neuroscience

According to a study performed by Nicola Bruno and Marco Bertamini at the University of Parma, selfies by non-professional photographers show a slight bias for showing the left cheek of the selfie-taker.[53] This is similar to what has been observed for portraits by professional painters from many different historical periods and styles,[54] indicating that the left cheek bias may be rooted in asymmetries of brain lateralization that are well documented within cognitive neuroscience. In a second study,[55] the same group tested if selfie takers without training in photography spontaneously adhere to widely prescribed rules of photographic composition, such as the rule of thirds. It seems that they do not, suggesting that these rules may be conventional rather than hardwired in the brain's perceptual preferences.

References

  1. ^ "Robert Cornelius' self-portrait: The First Ever "Selfie" (1839)". The Public Domain Review. Open Knowledge Foundation. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  2. ^ "Robert Cornelius, self-portrait; believed to be the earliest extant American portrait photo". Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. Library of Congress. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Beginners Guide To Understanding And Using A Brownie Box Camera".
  4. ^ "Diaries and Letters – Letters of Grand Duchess Anastasia".
  5. ^ "bogon.8m.com SelfPix". Archived from the original on 13 April 2004.
  6. ^ "bogon.8m.com Out & About". Archived from the original on 11 October 2001.
  7. ^ "bogon.8m.com Bogons". Archived from the original on 28 September 2001.
  8. ^ "Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2013 is..." OxfordWords blog. Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  9. ^ Jim Krause, Photo Idea Index, 2005. page 148.
  10. ^ Horatia Harrod (22 March 2009), The world's photo Album, Sunday Telegraph, p. 18, retrieved 20 November 2013
  11. ^ Kate Losse. The Return of the Selfie. The New Yorker. 5 June 2013
  12. ^ a b Adewunmi, Bim (2 April 2013). "The rise and rise of the 'selfie'". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  13. ^ a b c McHugh, Jillian (3 April 2013). "'Selfies' just as much for the insecure as show-offs". Bunbury Mail. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  14. ^ Steinmetz, Katy (4 December 2012). Top 10 Buzzwords – 9 Selfie, Time
  15. ^ Melanie Hall, "Family albums fade as the young put only themselves in picture" Telegraph, 13 June 2013.
  16. ^ Coulthard, Charissa (7 June 2013). "Self-portraits and social media: The rise of the 'selfie'". BBC News online. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  17. ^ "The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2013 is… | OxfordWords blog". Blog.oxforddictionaries.com. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  18. ^ "The 50 Best Space Photos of 2013". AOL Weather. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  19. ^ "Ancient Mars lake may have supported life". Associated Press. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  20. ^ Howell, Elizabeth (11 June 2013). "'Space Selfie' Telescope Could Hunt Alien Planets … If It Raises A Cool $2M". Universe Today. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  21. ^ Lingebach, Chris (4 January 2014). "Trending: 2014 Selfie Olympics Take Over Twitter". CBS Washington. Retrieved 4 January 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ Boboltz, Sara (3 January 2014). "'Selfie Olympics' Are Here To Prove Selfies Will Only Get Crazier in 2014". Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 January 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ "Selfie at Oscars breaks retweet record". BBC News. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  24. ^ a b c DeGeneres, Ellen (2 March 2014). "If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars". Twitter. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  25. ^ a b #BBCtrending: Selfie at Oscars breaks retweet record. Bbc.com (3 March 2014). Retrieved on 12 March 2014.
  26. ^ Ellen DeGeneres' Selfie at Oscars Sets Retweet Record, Crashes Twitter, pictured: Jared Leto, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Ellen DeGeneres, Bradley Cooper, Peter Nyong'o Jr., and, second row, from left, Channing Tatum, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong'o and Angelina Jolie.
  27. ^ a b Hubbard, Amy. (2 March 2014) Oscars 2014, the year of the selfie: Ellen tweet grabs retweet record. Latimes.com. Retrieved on 12 March 2014.
  28. ^ "Barack Obama victory tweet most retweeted ever". BBC News. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  29. ^ "Four more years" Barack Obama on Twitter, 6 November 2012.
  30. ^ Houghton, David and Joinson, Adam and Caldwell, Nigel and Marder, Ben (2013) Tagger's delight? Disclosure and liking in Facebook: the effects of sharing photographs amongst multiple known social circles. Discussion Paper. University of Birmingham, Birmingham.
  31. ^ Sharing photographs on Facebook could damage relationships, new research shows. News & events, Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh. 9 August 2013.
  32. ^ Hills, Rachel (29 March 2013). "Ugly Is the New Pretty: How Unattractive Selfies Took Over the Internet". New York Magazine. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  33. ^ a b Murphy, Meghan (3 April 2013). "Putting selfies under a feminist lens". Georgia Straight. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  34. ^ Simmons, Rachel. (20 November 2013) Selfies on Instagram and Facebook are tiny bursts of girl pride. Slate.com. Retrieved on 12 March 2014.
  35. ^ Hartzog, Woodrow (10 May 2013). "How to Fight Revenge Porn". The Atlantic.
  36. ^ Ryan, Erin Gloria. "Selfies Aren't Empowering. They're a Cry for Help". Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  37. ^ Ryan, Erin Gloria. "Selfies Aren't Empowering. They're a Cry for Help". Jezebel.
  38. ^ Ryan, Erin Gloria. "Selfies Aren't Empowering. They're a Cry Out For Help". Jezebel. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  39. ^ a b Guido, Maria. "(Updated) Selfies Are Not A Cry For Help, Jezebel – #feministselfie". Mommyish. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  40. ^ Barnett, Emma (19 August 2013) Why sexy girl pictures online are more harmful than lads' mags. Telegraph. Retrieved on 12 March 2014.
  41. ^ a b c d e Franco, James. "The Meanings of the Selfie". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  42. ^ Eby, Margaret. "Kim Kardashian draws backlash over sexy swimsuit selfie, called 'disgusting' and 'nasty'". Daily News. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  43. ^ Eby, Margaret. "Kim Kardashian draws backlash over sexy swimsuit selfie, called 'disgusting' and 'nasty'". Daily News. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  44. ^ a b "Kim K and Brittny Teach you how to take the Perfect Selfie". YouTube. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  45. ^ Heng, Melissa (21 November 2013). "Selfies: K-pop idols do it better but they call it 'selca'". Straits Times Online. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  46. ^ a b c Soltis, Andy. "Michelle not amused by Obama's memorial selfie". New York Post. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  47. ^ Swann, Elaine. "What's the etiquette of 'selfies' at funerals?". CNN. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  48. ^ a b c Chorley, Matt. "David Cameron ditches the phone after serious selfie mockery to tweet a picture of himself meeting Bill Clinton face to face". MailOnline. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  49. ^ "Selfies at Funerals". Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  50. ^ a b Fiefer, Jason. "Obama's funeral selfie is a fitting end to my tumblr - Selfies at Funerals". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  51. ^ a b c Garber, Megan. "And Now there is a 'National Selfie Portrait Gallery'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  52. ^ #Thinkfluencer episode 1: Selfies – video | Technology. theguardian.com. 29 August 2013.
  53. ^ Bruno, N (2013). "Self-Portraits: Smartphones Reveal a Side Bias in Non-Artists". PLOS ONE. 8(2). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055141. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  54. ^ McManus, C., C. (1973). "Turning the left cheek". Nature. 243: 271–272. doi:10.1038/243271a0. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  55. ^ Bruno, N (2013). "Selfies reveal systematic deviations from known principles of photographic composition". Art & Perception. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to selfies.
Look up selfie in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • Selfie Meter, Rate People's Selfie Photos
  • ItisMee, Selfie social media site
  • Live Selfie, Live realtime streaming of selfies posted on twitter
  • Kpop Selca, Rate Korean pop celebrity and K-pop fan's selca photos
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Selfie&oldid=601358268"