Who else doesn't do selfies?

[BigTimber]

I've done a couple for sites like OkCupid, but I always feel egotistical and awkward when I take them. How some people get a 'high' from it, I have no idea. I have relatives who take pictures of themselves constantly. Duckface and all.

 

[Datura]

I took quite a few selfies when I was younger, mostly to get an idea of what I really looked like and as a means of exploring my identity. I did use a couple of these photos as profile pictures, back in my Myspace days.

Taking a ton of photos of ones self and sharing them publicly just seem really narcissistic to me though.
I also generally hate pictures of myself, to the point that seeing one can cause me to break down crying. I also really hate having photos taken and sometime really have to stand my ground to prevent it. This is especially irksome with persistent friends.

 

[Spiller]

I do occasionally try to take a selfie so I can update my Facebook photo (yes, I have a fb account, mostly for work and partly because that's how people socialise now, apparently ), but I always look horrible, no matter the pose, the lighting, whatever.
I greatly dislike seeing myself in photos and especially videos but, as part of my 'Learning to Love Myself' programme, have been studying the few there are of me - invariably taken by others - in an effort to like my face more.. oddly, this works better in a mirror - even when I reverse the photo to get the same perspective and other peoples' pics of me always look better than my own..
I've even tried whipping out the phone in the middle of laughing at something on TV, say - just can't find a way.. is this my distorted personal image as compared with those of more sociable people, or do I (and Aspies in general - not you Suzanne, you look lovely in yours ) just look lousy in a photo?

 

[King_Oni]

True, true and point taken lol I should have made myself clearer. If of course, one is on their own and needs a photo taken, then naturally, selfie comes into play.

And is that you in your photo then?

In my photo? Well, in the "Post a photo of yourself" threads... it is very much pictures of me, lol. Would be odd if I'd post pictures of my neighbour, would it?

My avatar is me as well, just with some editing... since I come in more color than just a brownish tone with black nor do I have that background around me all the time, lol

 

[Jeffmoz]

This is one of those things that stems back to childhood/school days that has stuck with me ever since-

I basically don't like my photograph taken full stop-as at school I was told about indigenous peoples in the 19th century that thought a photograph stole part of your soul.
I cannot eat anything with dried fruit in it as i was told a currant bun was a flies graveyard (thanks to my Grandad for that one)
I always break through the bottom of boiled egg shells to stop them being used by witches souls to escape (saw that on a documentary about superstition and witchcraft in England many many years ago).

Other than the above I consider myself to be a perfectly well adjusted human being

 

[Harrison]

I dislike photos being taken of me, although I do take one selfie per year to update stuff like avatars.

Like Jeffmoz I was told that photographs 'steal part of your soul' although I am partial to a currant bun

 

[CaveDweller]

Obviously this one here is a selfie I took at a supermarket with mirrors on the ceiling. As somebody else mentioned on here, I take them for Avators but never bother otherwise. If it isn't for a purpose then it's just vanity I think.

 

[Lealea]

I too despise having my photo taken, all my school photos are of me looking at the floor scowling, I take a selfie now and again for a profile picture, mainly because I can judge myself how well it looks, and I avoid being in front of the camera other wise.

 

[CaveDweller]

Also at my age the further away the selfie is from your face the better! ;-)

 

[Judge]

I always use a tripod and a real camera. I hate camera phones.

Good point. While I'm intrigued by companies like Nokia incorporating a massive megapixel camera capacity into their phones, you can't tell me they consist of the highest quality lenses and equivalent functionality one can find with a more conventional digital SLR.

Although I cringe at the prospects of marketing gurus telling me that frankly the public doesn't care about such things. They may be right...but quality photography has been a hobby of mine since 1986. One I take quite seriously.

I know some people in retail who insist that the digital SLR market is dying thanks to these phone cameras. Scary prospect.

 

[wyverary]

If my photograph were being taken, I'd rather be the one in charge of it, so I'd prefer a selfie to trusting someone else to make me pose or make some facial expression that I don't want to. I had a selfie project a while back for my blog, but it wasn't out of vanity.

 

[zurb]

I see selfies like fashion trends. Its not that long ago that anyone posting a selfie was ridiculed. Now its the fashionable thing to do. I'll never understand how attitudes change so fast!

 

[Progster]

No, I don't take selfies, and I don't get all this selfie hype. I don't like having my photo taken or appearing in home videos. If I take pictures, I take them of buildings, objects or scenery, not of people. People rarely feature in my photos. However, I sometimes have to take a selfie for official documents or profiles.

 

[wyverary]

I see selfies like fashion trends. Its not that long ago that anyone posting a selfie was ridiculed. Now its the fashionable thing to do. I'll never understand how attitudes change so fast!

For anyone interested in this topic, or who might have an opinion (or no opinion), I recommend this blog post, written by an artist, in defense of the "selfie" phenomenon. - Selfies | Skepchick [fair warning...there's a couple of f-bombs and such]

 

[grommet]

Reminds me of how I've never really liked my picture being taken. Selfies withstanding.

But then I don't even own a cellphone let alone one with a camera.

Nor do I exclusively "advertise" myself in any social media.

I do have a cellphone, I finally got one out of necessity. I use a wheelchair and there is the chance I could break down somewhere. I have had the phone for three years I think and in all that time I don't know if I've spoken on it for a total of 30 minutes.

I have come to accept taking pictures of myself for internet avatars. I don't like being photographed either, I kind of hate it, but it seems necessary now. I just kind of do it like getting a shot.

 

[XrayMe]

I dont have the self confidence nor the coordination.

 

[Slithytoves]

For anyone interested in this topic, or who might have an opinion (or no opinion), I recommend this blog post, written by an artist, in defense of the "selfie" phenomenon. - Selfies | Skepchick [fair warning...there's a couple of f-bombs and such]

Hoooooo, Boy, wyverary. This was rich. Pardon me while I respond to the author:

"Society and particularly the younger generation of tech-savy internet users have been quite fond of the selfie for many years now, as it gives an immediate way to show the world how you feel at any particular moment in time via social media outlets or texting devises."

That, in my opinion, is a problem in a nutshell. Why does anyone think everyone else should care how they're feeling at any particular moment? I see this statement as further support for the assertion that social media is key to encouraging young people to be more and more narcissistic.

"Since then, artists like Frida Kahlo have used paintings of themselves to express the myriad of human emotions."

So now we're all comparing ourselves to revered artists? See comment about narcissism, above.

"Another issue that seems ignored in the vilification of the selfie is the socio-economic issues surrounding it. It used to be that only the wealthy could afford portraits."

Let's not go there with the sweeping socio-economic triumph bit. Statistically, a heck of a lot of poor folks today don't have camera phones, or even basic cell phones. A shocking number have no Internet access at all.

"But now one can take a hundred selfies in mere moments, see the results in seconds and discard the ones not desired."

^^ combined with...

"Selfies are one of the very few avenues in which we have control over how we are portrayed. This is extremely important for women. Many of us are taught that we are not goodenough, not tall enough, not thin enough or not pretty enough. The not enoughs go on and on. There is constant pressure from outside sources to look a certain way and act a certain way and then when photos of us are posted online, often without our consent, we are shown through the lens or the eyes of someone else and often it’s not flattering or at the very least not in anyway in our control. Selfies give us a chance to show the world how we see ourselves. And that is giving us back the control that is often stripped away from us."

I agree that selfies give women control over how they're portrayed, but this argument is severely undermined when you consider that many women DO take a hundred selfies and post only the one that looks exactly the way society dictates a woman should, discarding any that look the way they actually do. Tell me again: How exactly does this solve the very real underlying social problem?

I personally don't take selfies, but if other people do it, fine. I get it. Until they start trying to justify it like it's a virtuous or even sacred activity.

That's just silly.

 

[Judge]

I personally don't take selfies, but if other people do it, fine. I get it. Until they start trying to justify it like it's a virtuous or even sacred activity.

That's just silly.

Selfies didn't seem virtuous or sacred today. Especially to the media itself.

Clearly professional tennis star Roger Federer wasn't amused when some kid ran out onto the French Open tennis match just to get a selfie with him. He took it pretty well, considering that it was clear that basic security for the tennis players failed.

The young man seeking the selfie has been banned from all future tennis events.

 

[Slithytoves]

Selfies didn't seem virtuous or sacred today.

Clearly professional tennis star Roger Federer wasn't amused when some kid ran out onto the French Open tennis match just to get a selfie with him. He took it pretty well, considering that it was clear that basic security for the tennis players failed.

The young man seeking the selfie has been banned from all future tennis events.

Add to my previous comments that selfies have come to encourage entitlement as well as narcissism.

When I was doing personal assistant work, people would ask to do selfies with my celebs off-hours in the restaurants or bathrooms (!) of convention hotels. Rude as that is, it's even ruder that they viewed taking the photos themselves as justification for avoiding the fee for having their picture taken at the actors' scheduled photo ops. Well, aren't we special?

 

[Peeta]

I'm not a fan of getting my photo taken, but that's more because I can't smile on command. So when someone forces me on a picture I always looked very stressed out and awkward. Which makes me hate most photos of me.

In general I don't want people on my pictures period. My favourite photo subjects are landscapes and buildings, I have no interest in people blocking my view in the photo. I don't know them, I'm here for the monument. When taking a picture I prefer to use a normal camera, but I admit having a camera on my phone can come in handy. Especially when I see something funny that I'll want to share at home, or want to visit an interesting place without having to wear a giant camera around my neck.

Incidentally I made my first selfie in a very long time last Friday, however this was more for proof reasons, to show I was at a certain place with certain people (long story). Not because I wanted my own picture.

Having said that, I think the selfie culture is idiotic. I'm hearing more and more stories about people getting hurt or hurting someone else because they HAVE to make themselves a selfie.