As we hope we have managed to show through this timeline of self- photo-portraits, there is much to be gained from examining cultural artefacts. The confluence of culture and technology have resulted in the production of many photo-portraits through the years, culminating in the selfie culture we know today. As is clear from the write-ups that accompany each important selfie moment in our timeline, the factors that have affected the development of selfie culture are complex and varied, and we can only hope to have covered a minute aspect of the issue. To conclude therefore, we revisit a few of the more salient points in our project.
Why do people take selfies?
People now, as they did then, took self-portraits to show important moments. However, where in the past portraits had to be painted, and were usually commissioned in the prime as a memento, camera technology has become so widespread and accessible nowadays that many people are able to afford the technology that allows them to capture moment after moment after moment, at virtually no extra cost beyond the original piece of technology.
We feel that selfie culture is for the self as much as for others. People feel a need to share their experiences with others, and social media serves as a platform on which individuals can exist and prove their existence through a continuous feed of user-generated media. The experience of being validated by people acknowledging their posts might be a goal in itself, or it might be part of the drive towards getting better, more unique photos. The simulation of well-being in each carefully crafted selfie may be an escape from harsh, unfiltered reality.
The performance of self(ies)
Each of these photos is also a performance: in the recent past slower shutter speeds made it necessary to hold still for longer periods of time to get a decent photo, thus participants in the image would have performed as they wished to see themselves in the photo – an instance of life simulating art in order to produce it. Selfies today are also performed, but in a different manner. The advancements in technology have made cameras that are able to capture clear pictures in a flash, and so we no longer need to mimic still-life. The performative aspect remains, however, in the presentation of the photo: where we can now take large numbers of photos, a process of selection comes into play – people curate their own selfies, often selecting the one they think most suitable for posting on social media.
Media production
Also clearly part of the picture is this newer player, social media. Selfie culture has taken off in a big way on some of these social media sites, particularly Twitter and Instagram. The prominence of selfies in popular media today can in part be attributed to how these platforms have made it easy and socially rewarding to share selfies. As we have seen in the astronaut selfie and Ellen Degeneres selfies, the way these selfies came into the public eye was through being shared and passed via social media, and it was only after they had caused enough of a ripple on social media that traditional media recognised the newsworthiness of the pieces.
From the angle of production and reception therefore, much has changed in the selfie game. Most obviously, many more people are involved now than when it first began. More people are taking selfies, aided by the now-ubiquitous camera phone, and more people are seeing them, through online mediums that allow social networks to do the business of disseminating media.