Hey, I went to buy “sabzi”: “sweaty” selfie!

Hey, I went to the washroom: “pouty” selfie!

Hey, my teacher is giving a lecture: “bored” Selfie!

Hey, my boyfriend dumped me: “sad” selfie!

Hey, that house is on fire: “astonished” selfie!

Hey, my dad beat me to death: “zakhmi” Selfie.

Hey, my neighbor died: “dead body” selfie.

We are just one selfie away from having human excrement as the background of a photo. Why this selfie? I want to share with the world what the byproduct of the human digestive system looks like.

Oh yes, the obsession has actually gone that far. Whether it is good or bad is an entirely different story but the intensity has certainly reached another level. You can all deny that you don’t take selfies but we know. And we know the truth. Even I took a selfie right before I started typing this down. “Blog writing” selfie.

And hey, not everyone has friends. The “selfie” was most definitely introduced by some “forever alone” person with a sad life. It is only in such misery that inventions that change the world occur.

Furthermore, we need memories. We feed on them daily. We cherish them. Memories make us move forward every single day. And no matter how ridiculous a habit it might be, taking selfies helps us make memories. Save them. Imagine being of the top of Mount Everest. You need to take a picture to make this moment memorable. But you are alone (let’s just assume your partners died while climbing up that majestic mountain). Behold, the selfie! You can just take out your mobile device, hit camera, hit click and there you go. You have proof that you were at the top of Everest.

Selfies make one independent. You don’t need anyone to take photos of you. You are a tourist, in a strange land, with a language so strange that you for the life of you cannot understand. You don’t ask anyone to take your photo. You take out that camera, turn it towards yourself and CLICK. No more dependency.

Selfies give an illusion that you are very close to somebody. Imagine taking a picture with a celebrity. All that space between you and the celebrity whose “objectionable” poster is hanging at the back of your door. With a selfie, that distance is going to be illuminated and, well, the rest of the world is going to think you are BFFs with them. Bonus!

But oh, all the negativity selfies have brought upon this generation. It is not just this generation’s habit. No. Even grandpas and grannies and papas and mamas have fallen into the “self-obsessing” embrace of selfies. And note that not everyone shares their selfies on social media. Some people just like seeing their pretty faces all the time through their front cameras.

Is there a psychological problem with us all? Are we turning narcissistic? Are we becoming self-obsessed? Do we require that much attention? The answer to all these questions is a big fat “Yes”. And I think the people before us were, too. If they weren’t, well, mirrors would not have been invented. Camera would not have been invented. Camera would not have been fixed in that mobile telephone device of yours. It would not be wrong to say that Adam was a narcissistic, self-obsessing, attention seeking human being. And we being his kids are just following the footsteps. 

So, I conclude by saying that the selfie culture has its pros and cons. Like everything else. Why waste time debating on it and make people feel bad about it. It is just another way of expression, soon to become a course book compulsory.

Before that happens, let me take a selfie.