Concept of Selfie Assemblage and How They Affect Individuals Social Lives - Literature review Example

The Concept of Selfie Assemblage (Name) (University Affiliation) (Date) Concept of Selfie Assemblage With the coming of smartphones that can access the internet as well as share texts and photos, today individuals are fond of taking pictures of themselves and sharing them through the social media. Individuals share these photos of themselves through social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr to receive compliments that can boost their self-esteem. Thus, in simple terms, a Selfie is a photo of oneself taken by him/herself and often shared on the social networking website such as Whatsapp, Instagram, Twitter and MySpace (Senft and Baym, 2015). As Frosh (2015) notes, the contemporary digital electronic gadgets as well as software provides a significant capacity and the opportunity to enhance individuals’ personal biographies. Accordingly, the digital devices such as the smartphones have the capability to document as well as archive vast quantities of personal information. Frosh (2015) further asserts that the digital devices have brought forth the concept of selfie assemblage which is associated with photos of oneself as well as the place individuals are occupying. As such, this paper will discuss in detail selfie assemblage in relation locative media. According to Hess (2015) assemblage is associated with the relationship of individual self, network, device and space. In other words, assemblage incorporates an individual, his or her phone, the networking of the phone as well as the space in the phone to hold document as well as edit photos and other texts. Evidently, selfie is becoming more widely socially accepted through various assemblages (Durran et al., 2011). First, the introduction of smartphones that have high sophisticated front and back camera and connected to the internet enables individuals to share their selfies through various social media platforms such as Instagram, Myspace, Whatsapp, Facebook and Tumblr. Second, the taking, editing and sharing of selfies has been enabled by the continuous development and enhancement of smartphones, tablets such as iPads, laptops and even desktops with high speed processor and high quality cameras. Smartphones such as iPhones, Samsung S3 and note, Blackberry Z10 have more than eight megapixel cameras that are able to take fine selfies that can be further edited (Senft and Baym, 2015). Some smartphones such as iPhones and Samsung galaxy have selfie sticks, which are connected with the device to take a group selfie from far above. Third, many mobile applications that enable the user to edit their selfies through filters, and upload them instantly have been developed. These editing apps include Photogrid, Facetune, PicsArt for iPhones, BeFunky Photo Editors for tablets and smartphones, Autodesk Pixlr, Picasa and Fotor Photo Editor (Wise, 2012). These photo editor applications play a significant role in selfie assemblage as the user can take selfies edit them to look better, which often incorporates creativity and versatility. These photo editing applications improve the appearance of the selfies thus increasing potential compliments from social media network users, which in turn satisfies an individual’s intention and social needs. With the digital devices such as tablets, smartphones and sophitisticated personal computers, individuals are connected through the social media network platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr (Slack, 2012). Today, many people mostly below the agae of thirty-five often like the selfie concept thus often spend much of their time looking, commenting and liking their friends’ selfies thus fulfilling their social lives. To make the sharing of selfies easy and interesting, connected friends often use hash tags such as #selfiesdayout and #selfieweekend to encourage as well as make the concept more interesting and eventful. Selfie is a tool for (to) authenticate one’s self (oneself). According to Drenten (2012), the self often needs to be accepted by others as well as be authentic and as such the selfie manages to address the authentication as it provides a visual proof. This proof is often essential as far as witnessing and journalism is concerned. In essence, as Drenten (2012) posits, selfies are considered as a form of communication as well as identity creation. Besides, selfies significantly contribute to the public understanding of events where and when they happen. In other words, one can prove to the audience that in indeed he or she attended an occasion, which in the real sense. For instance, in the U.K doctors often post their selfies on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook as prove that they actually on the weekends. These doctors are using selfies to prove to the government as well as the general public about their commitment and the antisocial hours they have to work. Through selfies, individuals can prove through photos that they witnessed certain events. In essence, selfies often prove that an individual was present during the event and he or she can claim an identity by putting the self in the epicenter of it. As Hogan (2010) notes, visual place of self in a certain situations always establish the relationship between the event, the individual and place. Therefore, it creates a particular impression of the creator’s identity that he or she wanted to prove as well as well present to his or her audience. Importantly, selfies can only be method of witnessing or even journalism if only the selfies are shared. The user of the selfie owner must inform others regarding the event, ensued by using a single messenger in authenticating the information as well as putting the selfie together with the event participant in one observable frame. Evidently, politicians today also use selfies in their campaigns to depict their mammoth crowds and significant followers. For example, they sue iPads and smartphones to take selfies and then use sharing applications such as Instagram to show their followers the support they have. A selfie is also an important tool to identify as well as record the chain of events that have happened in an individual’s life. According to Sinigaglia and Rizzolatti (2011) individuals often use selfies as well as other images in the process of figuring who they are. This is associated with the looking-glass elf theory that asserts that people often look at themselves based on what others think of them(Senft and Baym, 2015). In other words, people find their identity from the assertions and viewpoints they collect from people about themselves. Accordingly, how people’ perceptions about themselves does not come from who they really are, but rather from how they think others view them. Thus, when individuals share their selfies through Instagram and Facebook, they expect comments and criticism about themselves thus forming an identity. Moreover, selfies are usually recorded from day to day to capture the various events that go on people’s lives in the digital or locative media. Therefore, the locative media provides individuals with a platform to record and later on revisit these historic moments to reflect on their lives. The other significance of selfie is that it is a tool for empowering, encouraging as well as redefining the stand of beauty among the society. As Rettberg (2014) maintains studies have indicated that celebrating selfies often empower individuals as the psychological experience associated with getting overwhelming likes and comments strengthens the individual’s confidence. The encouragement that they fetch of from the positive responses push them take more positive actions regarding their lives each day as it comes. Moreover, the modern-day beauty representations have been viewed to push back the traditional definition of beauty, whereby self-portraits from aristocrats represented beauty. In contrast, selfies today have given individuals the opportunity to feel significant and recognized in the society thus achieving the sense of love and belonging in the hierarchy of needs. Selfies also open up the profound issues associated with who give women the definition of beauty as well as who control women’s image (Rettberg, 2014). By posting selfies, individual are out to gather encouragement, regain confidence and acknowledgement. Some researchers have found out that selfies often have the ability to give individuals, especially ladies, the opportunity to express their various moods in a way that could not have been done before (Qiu et al., 2015). Individuals often snap away with various poses, outfits and hairstyles as a process of experimentation during a phase in life. Accordingly, they are able to define the identity that fits them and makes them most comfortable, thus boosting their self-esteem. With the coming of the social media, the power of comments, retweeets as well as likes should not be underestimated as they often encourage as well as boost the self-confidence of an individual. For instance, teenagers more so girls are often affected by the number of likes on Instagram as well as Facebook as it is considered an endorsement for being beautiful. Thus, the individual regains confidence and can carry out his or her activities with joy and morale. Through the comments, individuals’ appearances are complimented in a manner that does not happen in a normal personal encounter. Besides, selfies are often posted on various social media such as Instagram, Facebook as well Twitter, hence individuals benefit from inclusion through features such as hash tag (#) selfie. Through the hashtag# selfie, individuals get the opportunity to participate in various discourses thus joining the club, and bonding with strangers as well as strangers. With the hash tag, an individual manages to get a sense of belonging, if he or she is feeling isolated. Individuals often feel more confident about their physical appearance though taking selfies and sharing them on the social media. This is because when they share the selfies, those who may be having the same insecurities will embrace the selfies. As Reed (2015) notes, the principle of reciprocity works well with the age of selfie assemblage as individuals unknowingly embrace each other’s physical appearance by endorsing the on the social media with hopes of being endorsed in future. Reed (2015) further asserts that 68 percent of the “digital youth” spend much of their time flipping back and forth their friend’s selfies thus liking them and positively commenting on them with the hope that the same will apply to him or her when the individuals post selfies. Evidently, the teens often feel overwhelmed when undergoing through the mental pressures of adolescence as well as physical changes, and this is the period when they are trying to discover themselves. In addition, they try to find out if they are good looking and whether they are loved by others (Gerlitz & Helmond, 2013). Consequently, they will often take selfies and post the and significantly rely on how people will receive as well embrace the selfies. Thus, selfies help them to develop healthy self-esteem. Over the recent past, studies have indicated that the problems associated with selfies such as narcissism and hash tag #funeralselfies are on the rise. According to Dr. David Veal, a psychiatrist, the coming of smartphones has increased Body Dysmorphic Disorder cases (Miltner & Baym, 2015). This is because with the locative media there is a significant compulsion to frequently take as well as post selfies on the social media sites. Thus, patients who suffer from Body Dysmorphic Disorder are often taken through cognitive behavioral therapy in order to help the patient recognize or realize the reasons for the compulsive behavior thus taught how to regulate it. The concept of selfies is associated with various problems such as wasting time trying to take several selfies continuously to get the ideal photo that can be posted on the social media for endorsement. Besides, the habit of seeking approval from selfies can lead to self-consciousness issues as well as a sense of false confidence. Taking selfies in the insensitive moment such as funeral; it is more about self- satisfactory rather than acknowledging of the occasion. As Murray (2015) postulates, the coming of smartphones, which in turn brought the selfie concept, has also incepted inappropriate behaviors in the society. Many youths are nowadays seen taking selfies in the funerals, a behavior that often insult the feelings of mourners. After taking the selfies, they share the on their Instagram and Facebook accounts. According to Murray (2015) funerals deserve the most respect for the deceased as well as the family and friends of the deceased. Individuals who are said to be suffering from narcissism will want to take selfies anywhere anytime including a funeral thus disrespecting the family members. Moreover, individuals who are obsessed about themselves often inconveniences funeral members who may be needing privacy and comfort during such moments. Selfie is sometimes associated with negativity because of photos taken in inappropriate environment. It must be noted that taking selfies is associated with happiness and feeling good about oneself and it is for this reason to find an individual taking selfies when in a bad mood or having low self-esteem issues. As such, Gibbs et al (2015) warns that taking a selfie during a funeral is uncouth and is viewed with a lot of negativity. This is because the family as well as friends of the deceased may assume that the individual taking the selfie using his or her expensive tablet or smartphone is a happy about the situation. Gibbs et al (2015) thus asserts that it is imperative for individuals to mind about people’s perception with regards to selfies when attending funerals to avoid conflict and negativity. In summation, the paper has delineated the concept of selfie assemblage asserting that assemblage refers to the dynamic assortment of heterogeneous elements, in this case structures, enunciations, practices, affects as well as materials, which express the identity and moreover asserts a territory. Further, the paper has highlighted the use of selfies and how they affect individuals’ social lives. Finally, the paper has indicated the demerits that are associated with taking of selfies References Frosh, P. (2015). Selfies| The Gestural Image: The Selfie, Photography Theory, and Kinesthetic Sociability. International Journal of Communication, 9, 22. Hess, A. (2015). Selfies| The Selfie Assemblage. International Journal of Communication, 9, 18. Slack, J. D. (2012). Beyond transmission, modes, and media. In J. Packer & S. B. C. Wiley (Eds.), Communication matters: Materialist approaches to media, mobility, and networks (pp. 143–158). New York, NY: Routledge. Wise, J. M. (2012). Attention and assemblage in the clickable world. In J. Packer & S. B. C. Wiley (Eds.), Communication matters: Materialist approaches to media, mobility, and networks (pp. 159–172). New York, NY: Routledge. Durrant, A., Frohlich, D., Sellen, A., & Uzzell, D. (2011). The secret life of teens: Online versus offline photographic displays at home. Visual Studies, 26(2), 113–124. doi:10.1080/1472586X.2011.571887 Senft, T. M., & Baym, N. K. (2015). What Does the Selfie Say? Investigating a Global Phenomenon Introduction. Fox, J., & Rooney, M. C. (2015). The dark triad and trait self-objectification as predictors of men’s use and self-presentation behaviors on social networking sites. Personality and Individual Differences, 76, 161–165. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2014.12.017 Wiley, S. B. C., Becerra, T. M., & Sutko, D. M. (2012). Subjects, networks, assemblages: A materialist approach to the production of social space. In J. Packer & S. B. C. Wiley (Eds.), Communication matters: Materialist approaches to media, mobility, and networks (pp. 183–195). New York, NY: Routledge. Drenten, J. (2012). Snapshots of the self. In A. Close (Ed.), Online consumer behavior: Theory and research in social media, advertising, and e-tail (pp. 3–34). New York, NY: Routledge. Hogan, B. (2010). The presentation of self in the age of social media: Distinguishing performances and exhibitions online. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 30(6), 377–386. doi:10.1177/0270467610385893 Sinigaglia, C., & Rizzolatti, G. (2011). Through the looking glass: self and others. Consciousness and cognition, 20(1), 64-74. Rettberg, J. W. (2014). Seeing ourselves through technology: How we use selfies, blogs and wearable devices to see and shape ourselves. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Qiu, L., Lu, J., Yang, S., Qu, W., & Zhu, T. (2015). What does your selfie say about you?. Computers in Human Behavior, 52, 443-449. Reed, M. (2015). Narcissism and the Selfie: Investigating Millennial Narcissism on Instagram. Miltner, K. M., & Baym, N. K. (2015). Selfies| The Selfie of the Year of the Selfie: Reflections on a Media Scandal. International Journal of Communication, 9, 15. Murray, D. C. (2015). Notes to self: the visual culture of selfies in the age of social media. Consumption Markets & Culture, 18(6), 490-516. Gibbs, M., Meese, J., Arnold, M., Nansen, B., & Carter, M. (2014). #Funeral and Instagram: Death, social media and platform vernacular. Information Communication and Society. Advanced online publication. doi:10.1080/1369118X.2014.987152 Gerlitz, C., & Helmond, A. (2013). The like economy: Social buttons and the data-intensive Web. New Media & Society, 15(8), 1348–1365. doi:10.1177/1461444812472322 Read More

Third, many mobile applications that enable the user to edit their selfies through filters, and upload them instantly have been developed. These editing apps include Photogrid, Facetune, PicsArt for iPhones, BeFunky Photo Editors for tablets and smartphones, Autodesk Pixlr, Picasa and Fotor Photo Editor (Wise, 2012). These photo editor applications play a significant role in selfie assemblage as the user can take selfies edit them to look better, which often incorporates creativity and versatility.

These photo editing applications improve the appearance of the selfies thus increasing potential compliments from social media network users, which in turn satisfies an individual’s intention and social needs. With the digital devices such as tablets, smartphones and sophitisticated personal computers, individuals are connected through the social media network platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr (Slack, 2012). Today, many people mostly below the agae of thirty-five often like the selfie concept thus often spend much of their time looking, commenting and liking their friends’ selfies thus fulfilling their social lives.

To make the sharing of selfies easy and interesting, connected friends often use hash tags such as #selfiesdayout and #selfieweekend to encourage as well as make the concept more interesting and eventful. Selfie is a tool for (to) authenticate one’s self (oneself). According to Drenten (2012), the self often needs to be accepted by others as well as be authentic and as such the selfie manages to address the authentication as it provides a visual proof. This proof is often essential as far as witnessing and journalism is concerned.

In essence, as Drenten (2012) posits, selfies are considered as a form of communication as well as identity creation. Besides, selfies significantly contribute to the public understanding of events where and when they happen. In other words, one can prove to the audience that in indeed he or she attended an occasion, which in the real sense. For instance, in the U.K doctors often post their selfies on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook as prove that they actually on the weekends. These doctors are using selfies to prove to the government as well as the general public about their commitment and the antisocial hours they have to work.

Through selfies, individuals can prove through photos that they witnessed certain events. In essence, selfies often prove that an individual was present during the event and he or she can claim an identity by putting the self in the epicenter of it. As Hogan (2010) notes, visual place of self in a certain situations always establish the relationship between the event, the individual and place. Therefore, it creates a particular impression of the creator’s identity that he or she wanted to prove as well as well present to his or her audience.

Importantly, selfies can only be method of witnessing or even journalism if only the selfies are shared. The user of the selfie owner must inform others regarding the event, ensued by using a single messenger in authenticating the information as well as putting the selfie together with the event participant in one observable frame. Evidently, politicians today also use selfies in their campaigns to depict their mammoth crowds and significant followers. For example, they sue iPads and smartphones to take selfies and then use sharing applications such as Instagram to show their followers the support they have.

A selfie is also an important tool to identify as well as record the chain of events that have happened in an individual’s life. According to Sinigaglia and Rizzolatti (2011) individuals often use selfies as well as other images in the process of figuring who they are. This is associated with the looking-glass elf theory that asserts that people often look at themselves based on what others think of them(Senft and Baym, 2015). In other words, people find their identity from the assertions and viewpoints they collect from people about themselves.

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