I admit it. I love taking selfies by myself and with my friends. I love having pictures to look back at where I'm enjoying life. Some of my selfies are from when I just thought I looked cute in a certain outfit, while others are from a special event. Every once in a while I like to post a selfie on Facebook to show others what I'm doing in my day to day life. I'm not doing it to boast or anything like that. I usually do it because I feel particularly good about myself that day.
Most people my age can relate to my feelings about selfies, but the older generations that don't partake in it don't understand why we do it. Not only posting selfies, but social media in general. I can't tell you how many time's I've had people from my grandparent's generation tell me they don't understand how I could have my personal life plastered on the internet for everyone to see. My response is simply I don't feel like I'm posting that much information for the world to see. Yeah I post pictures (usually selfies) when I'm out doing something fun and out of the ordinary, but I hardly ever make a post about my personal life.
I don't go on Facebook and post pictures every time I go to the gym, although I do post a gym selfie once in a while. I don't constantly post pictures of my morning hot chocolate, but if my barista makes it really pretty I just might post a picture of it. I just don't see what the big deal is about my generation sharing parts of their lives on social media. Instead of shaming us for posting selfies you could simply like them and go on with your day, because honestly I get so excited when I get a lot of likes on my pictures.
I know we shouldn't measure our self worth on the number of likes our photos get, but that's something that has resulted from places like Instagram. And if seeing our selfies bother you that much you can just continue scrolling, like you'd been doing already. There's no reason to get your undies in a twist.
I guess the point I'm trying to get across is that if you are one of those people that don't like it when your news feed if filled with selfies, please understand where we're coming from. We are in a day in age where we are constantly pressured to look like the girls on magazine covers, and the fact that a girl would post a selfie of her genuine self takes a lot of bravery. There are people on the internet that tear others apart for the photos they post on the internet. You may not see it for yourself, but I promise you, it happens. So the next time you see someone post a selfie on social media, please like it. It will boost that person's confidence. And if you want to go even farther, comment on the photo with a compliment. I guarantee you it'll make that person's day.
