Selfie-culture has come a long way. From back when we first borrowed our parents point and shoot cameras, through the time of low quality pixel webcams with parental controls only allowing us a few hours of selfie-time per day, to now, being able to take selfies all day, and anywhere, which we most definitely do. I find it hilarious to know that most of us have more photos of ourselves saved on our camera phones than we do photos of actual events, or moments we hope to remember. And in the majority of those photos, we could probably point out over a dozen things we hate about how we look (which is most definitely why they didn’t make it up on Instagram). Here’s a look at how selfies have evolved over the years and 10 of the most popular techniques I’m hoping never make a comeback, ever:
1.The oh-so-dramatic–look-down-away-from-the-camera-and-appear-emotional selfies that we all took back in grade 8 in deep shades of black and white, or if you were really ballsy, maybe even sepia.
2. The headphones in selfie. This selfies form made you look super cool while you jammed out to the newest Hilary Duff album on your Walkman back in the 2000s.
4. The “don’t look at my boobs, but please note how big they are” selfie. (I’m totally not pushing them together with my elbows, I promise).
5. The “I’m laughing with my mouth open because I want to look like I’m having a ton of fun in this weird hue of a filter” selfie. Even though, well, I’ve spent the last 45 minutes taking selfies from different angles and lighting settings.
6. The mirror-pic and duck face classic all in one selfie. My mirror’s dirty, but it’s so worth looking past that to see how great I look in this reverse flipped mirror-photo! I’m also bent over like this because it makes me look thinner, and my boobs more prominent. Duh.
7. I’m smizing here but you can’t really see because my hair is covering the majority of my face. I do have great hair, and there’s a ton of my face I really am not that confident about (including the zit on my cheek), it’s a win-win and you’d never know if I didn’t tell ya. #nofilter
8. SELFIE-STICK selfie! Yes I shouted this in a girly squeal before taking this photo. This selfies-stick is the BEST way for me to show off my #ootd.
9. The “I work out and I’m not afraid to show off #girlswholift” selfie. Truth be told, I haven’t sweat at all yet. I just put on these cute workout clothes and am scrolling through Instagram on my yoga mat.
10. The fish-pout selfie. The newest trend, which requires only a slight facial distortion to get the look I was looking for. Don’t my lips look luscious?
All jokes aside, and following the apparently important Instagram moral code, I know most of you will rarely post more than 2 consecutive selfies in a row. I’m sure I can also guess that your phone is filled with hundreds of only slightly different takes and photos of yourself. Not because you’re conceded, or overly self-interested, but merely because you’re practicing an attempt to look a certain way. The right way, as society makes you feel. But that’s not the right way, and It’s kind of messed up how central we are all socialized to feel about our appearance. We add filters, touch-ups, or 300 different camera angles before feeling okay with going public on our appearance, but somehow are never pleased with the end result. In my student house, we have a wall for “the best lighting in the house” and I have friends who won’t keep photos posted online if they get (ugh, how dare they) under 100 likes. It’s ridiculous!
Why does taking a picture of ourselves has to come along with a book of rules showing us how we can become someone we’re not? The evolution of photos we take of ourselves shows nothing more than the great lengths we’ve all gone to please others. I say take your selfies for yourself ladies, but don’t worry so much about distorting the reality of them. Be proud of who you are; now that’s a photo I’d like.
Featured image via Gustavo Fring on Pexels
