I don’t generally consider myself to be a shy person. But for some reason I always get overly anxious when it comes to taking my own picture (common term selfie). Not necessarily because I think my phone screen will crack, but because I’m petrified of what people will think of me.
I always feel a sense of embarrassment for other people when I see them randomly looking into a camera moving to entertain people behind a screen. It comes off like a charade, a performance. I understand that social dynamics have changed, and technology has influenced the way we now choose to connect but no one seems to want to address the degree of shallowness that may or may not behind it.
Perhaps shallowness is overly harsh, as there are positive sides to seeing people showcase themselves. I personally find cooking demonstrations, fitness videos and acne-related facial tutorials to be useful. I suppose it’s those that you can’t gain any sort of benefit from that I am perplexed by.
On the other hand, what does narcissism and vanity actually mean today when self-promotion has become a way of life and in some cases an integral part of helping others to find themselves? For instance, a marginalized LGBT youth may instantly connect with another LGBT youth online who lives in their truth and indirectly serve as a form motivational, self-help therapy.
Vanity has always been looked down on. Staring in the mirror too long when I was a child would have earned me a snide remark like: “She think she nice;” or, “You proper like admire yuhself”. Perchance, this is the root of the problem, embracing our individuality has been historically placed in the bad habits bag. Maybe this is why I feel so guilty when I think I am even worthy of stopping and snapping myself for social media. Maybe this is why some of us meticulously tailor what we post to ensure we are fitting in just right.
There is no doubt that some of us over share and become slightly addicted to broadcasting ourselves, but vanity shouldn’t be regarded as something dirty and terrible in its entirety. After all, it is through vanity that we embrace ourselves and become even more comfortable with who we are.
I have no social media rules. I believe all of us know deep down inside how honest we are being with ourselves and what not. We know when we are lying, we know when we are visually plotting an illusion, because we are even more terrified of our authentic selves. So maybe vanity within ourselves is not be such a bad thing after all.
