In 2013, the word ”selfie" was selected as the “International Word of the Year.” Daniel Ryan wrote an article detailing the addition to the Oxford Dictionary and his opinion on the world’s fascination with the word, which I first came across while taking a test. He writes that he does not see the importance in the word and believes it may be a leading cause of mental and physical illnesses. In the end, he asks that society boycott the word. My opinion is that the word is the world’s way of crying out for attention and should not be considered a real word as it leads to problems down the road.
What started out as a simple word to describe a certain type of photo has now grown into the cause of increased narcissism and isolation in people across the globe. If one word could cause this decrease in moral standards, what else could happen? Daniel Ryan speaks on both sides of the selfie debate. One side being that selfies are seen as an art form and give the selfie taker creativity to show off their life story. Opposite of that, selfies prove that there is no art behind a selfie. The word only promotes people to think of oneself as an object they have to sell. No one needs to ever feel that way. Ryan states that, “Selfies are mere self-promotion and exhibitionism, or, more sad than annoying, a desperate cry for attention.” When someone posts a selfie online, they expect only one thing in return—likes, comments—attention, basically. No one has an exterior motive. Ryan has the right idea that the need for affirmation from viewers is boring and sad. This motive to exhibit narcissistic tendencies causes mental and physical illnesses. All the confirmation of beauty is “false self-esteem,” as Ryan states. All this false self-esteem can only cause the mental downfall of the person posting the selfies. Later, Ryan says that the rise in selfie-taking will only lead to the downfall of the society itself because people will spend their time posting selfie after selfie instead of going out and participating in activities. Ryan’s last sentence reads, “Live life; don’t just take pictures of it.” If time is spent with a camera in hand and nothing else, why be out trying to live life? All the camera is doing is showing the person not living the experience, and instead, spending all the living by documenting it all. That is no way to live, and I agree with Ryan.
With the rise in mental health issues, “selfies” can certainly be to blame. There is a need in society to be well liked and accepted, and with this need, comes attention seekers who continuously post selfies to receive confirmation of their outer beauty. In turn, the confirmation causes the selfie taker to feel great about themselves for a short period of time until they feel the need to once again post another picture. Society asks itself why there is such a high rate of depression and self-depreciation when they could be looking at the most prevalent activity on social media. Selfies are creating false realities and causing a worldwide decline in mental stability. Ryan believes that the world needs to boycott selfies in order to re-establish the stability society craves. I believe this would help people enjoy life and actually live it instead of living through a camera lens. If a girl is posting selfies while out with friends or participating in an activity, she is living her life the way others are living hers—through the camera lens. It’s sickening to think that someone could waste the opportunities on the best selfie. Living is what we are here for.
The large number of selfies is tearing down the society. Mental illness is the effect they can leave, and they need to be eradicated. Daniel Ryan wrote that he believed that they were boring, sad, and caused people to stop living their lives normally just so they can receive false self-esteem from their peers. I agree solely with his paper to remove this word from society to alleviate the illnesses around us. The Kid President says in his "Pep Talk" that we need to: “get out there and give the world a reason to dance.” As a child, he has figured out the need to live life instead of taking a picture of it. I think that is something we all need to accomplish, and we can start by destroying the word.
Daniel Ryan's article was provided during a test.
