People have been taking pictures of themselves for decades. Heck, kings and queens back in the day used to sit for hours having their image painted or bust sculpted. In other words, taking an image of oneself isn’t unusual; it’s practically human nature.

I remember using throw away cameras to snap a photo of myself, the result being a close up of my face that may or may not have been deemed a passable photo. I’ll be honest with you, I thought they were all great. Now, however, I have a phone and taking what is now called a “selfie” has never been easier, even if it takes me a few tries to find my best angle.

That’s just it though, we live in a world where technology allows us to grab not just one photo of ourselves but hundreds. We don’t have to wait around for the paint to try in order to parade our image around, rather a few quick swipes, a witty caption and we’re done. Image presented and double tapped.

Lately, older generations have taken to calling Generation Y arrogant and egotistical due to our love for taking selfies (and just general talent of being able to take a selfie without the camera being an inch from our face).

I, as evident by the aforementioned selfie attempts, am not against selfies. There are a lot of positive aspects of selfie culture but there’s also a few negative connotations as well.

For one, taking an image and then putting it online is a big deal. It’s an act of bravery and vulnerability, you’re opening yourself up to the internet. As children of the internet, we all know what a wonderful and horrible place it is. For every like and compliment in the comments, there’s a troll lurking around the corner waiting to bring everyone down to their petty level.

Secondly, the media often bombards us with what the ideal body image is. It’s not uncommon for our generation, or any generation for that matter to feel self-conscious of one’s body. Even just taking a selfie is a way to say “screw it” to body ideals, “I like me the way I am.”

Sharing a selfie then makes the acceptance level two-fold, because not only are you accepting your body but by showing the world you are, they can too. Acceptance all around!

Unfortunately, ideal images tend to get stuck in our heads and it’s easy to take a hundred photos until we take that perfect one, which we may proceed to edit until we’re totally satisfied.

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To summarize the downsides are the haters and the obsession with taking the “perfect” selfie, the upsides are much more impactful. They include acceptance, self-confidence, and love. And those three concepts conquer the trolls every day of the week.

So don’t be afraid to take a selfie and share it. If adorning the world with beautiful people (because everyone is) who love who they are is what it takes to make it a better place then so be it.