Thanks, Internet! (via stupidselfshots.com)
LOS ANGELES — How do we talk about real shit online? In the selfie world, where we become two-dimensional representations of ourselves as we would like to be seen, it’s sometimes not possible to do more than just like, reblog, retweet, ignore, or simply comment. It is a selfie, after all. But some people are getting into deeper selfie questions that are getting serious attention.
Danny Bowman, a 19-year-old in the UK, is in remission from a selfie obsession that nearly ended his young life. In a story of isolation and fear in the digital age, this young boy became completely addicted to snapping and posting selfies. His life was ruled by clicks and likes; in a sense, the internet was his mirror, until, after overdosing on pills and being saved by his mother, he realized that he was more than just his selfie. “Gradually I realised everyone wasn’t looking at me. I didn’t need to check my appearance the whole time,” he told the Daily Mirror.
Up in the Arctic Circle, NATO soldiers shot selfies during a drill called the Cold Response. The soldiers’ selfies position them as celebrities in their own right — a new brand of military heroes, on social media for everyone to see (and reminiscent of the #Instawar aesthetic coming from the Israeli army). For this selfie — I mean, military exercise, 16,000 men and women from 16 NATO countries participated, soldiers with their dogs and their guns. Apparently #selfieduty calls at the same time as real-life duty (no hashtag). Here are other responders, from France, Ireland, Arkansas, and New York.
Read the full story on Hyperallergic: http://hyperallergic.com/116858/selfie-illusions/
