A vanity affair...

Splashed over all kinds of social media today are selfies. A selfie is basically a self-portrait photograph typically taken with a hand-held digital camera or camera phone. Popular among youngsters, the concept of taking a selfie has gone way over one’s imagination in a short span of time. Nowadays, there are even competitions for ‘best selfies’ and the like.

 Selfies are of great use even at movie promotions especially when fans want a picture with their favourite celebrities. A few minutes later, these are up on many social networking sites followed by a series of people commenting on them.

Aparna B, a college student says, “If I am having a good hair day, feel pretty or am wearing something nice or feel like taking a selfie, then I would go ahead and take one.”
 According to Varsha RK,  a baker, “Selfies come in handy when I go shopping. In the dressing room when I try on new stuff, I don’t know if it looks good or not. So I take a selfie and send it to a friend to get an approval. But otherwise, I don’t like taking selfies as I think I look bad in close-ups.”

A first-year engineering student, Madhanika J, feels selfies are addictive. “You feel like the whole moment of fun is captured in that one picture. They make for good memories,” she says. When asked about her favourite celebrity selfie, she replies beaming, “My all-time favourite would be the selfie taken by Ellen DeGeneres at the Oscars. I think it was really cool.”

On the other hand, Vrushali Rao is not too much for selfies. “I think it’s narcissistic and something that cries out for attention. Once in a while it is alright but I feel the people who are obsessed with them are imposing themselves on others and forcing them to compliment them,” she says.

Saimyukta Pai, a first-year BCom student, is not much into selfies either. “I can’t take selfies properly. I end up looking very stupid. But there are some people who manage to take such good ones. I guess it also depends on the quality of your camera. On the whole, selfies aren’t for me. It would be nice if I could take a nice one but I just can’t,” she says.

Today, there are many apps and softwares developed for photo editing. One wonders if selfies too can be edited like all other pictures.

Arun George, an undergraduate student, says, “I do not like taking selfies. I find them self-obsessive. Nowadays, people want an excuse to post anything on social networking sites.”

Youngsters today feel it is a must at any gathering to take a selfie to spice things up and look cool. But as they say, too much of anything is bad. The tradition is now changing. Not many are really interested in taking selfies anymore. They prefer taking photos the usual way. Also, a perfect picture needs good lighting and other technicalities, all of which cannot be covered by a simple selfie.