In Defence of the Selfie

When I left my phone in a clothes shop recently, my first concern was not the costs involved with buying a new one. Likewise, I didn't give much thought to my contact list or whether someone would find it and run up a large bill. My exclusive worry, the sole fear niggling away at me for the half a day it was gone, was the selfies. Oh, the selfies.

I'll admit it. My phone is chocked full of 'em. For every obligatory snap of my culinary escapades, there are fifteen more of me in the bathroom mirror, surveying something off-camera with the sort of aloof scrutiny normally saved for a football match (sorry footy fans!). Stills of my beloved pup Rufus and gorgeous European coastlines lie buried under an avalanche of me. Me with my head tilted up slightly, to disguise a heinous double chin. Me with fringe shoved to the side, to spice things up a bit. Me with fringe back in place, because somehow it helps to hide the dark shadows under my eyes. 

I was horrified by the thought of a spiteful someone (I don't mean to judge, Spiteful Someone, but you did hypothetically steal my phone) pouring over my surplus of failed selfies. The vanity was shameful, the self-indulgence laughable. I was relieved when the phone was returned to me, thanks to a Good Samaritan New Look employee, photo album apparently unprobed.

The whole incident made me stop and think - what is actually wrong with photographing your face? The Beatles have being doing it for fifty years. Speaking of, how funny is the picture of John Lennon? Eyebrows raised, eyes to the side, minuscule pout  - it's just so MySpace, circa 2005.

There are only two real reasons we post selfies online; we're either doing something cool and want people to know it, or we think we look damn good today and still want people to know it. There's nothing wrong with either of these things whatsoever. We're taught our whole lives that vanity is a sin. To love thyself, but don't be in love with thyself. Well, I say sod 'em. 

You are divine. Celebrate the way your eyes look when the light hits them just right. Duckface all you like. Take a moment to capture yourself in the car, facing the sun, and marvel at your incredible complexion. It doesn't matter if you look like a completely different person. If it makes you feel good, do it. Your worth isn't measured in Instagram likes (in fact, your worth isn't quantifiable at all; you were born, so you matter), but who can deny the pleasure it gives us when it happens?

Present yourself as you wish people to see you.

Happy snapping!

"We're all worth it, man. We're all worth millions of planets and stars and galaxies and universes." 

- River Phoenix