“So let me rephrase, we live at the end of an era characterized by relentless anxiety around the self as a product: what it means, who owns it, what it costs, what it’s worth. The word celebrity suggests that this value can be quantified and, generally, stands as a catch-all term for the collective disorders (disembodied desire, objectified anxiety, schadenfreude as catharsis) underpinning a cult of self.” ~ “Toward a More Radical Selfie,” The Paris Review).
India Ennenga, author of that quote (and the article from which it came) calls this an era of unfolding “digital self-harm” — or as I’d say, selfies with absolutely no connection to one’s actual Self.
That’s bound the lead nowhere good — or at least it hasn’t so far (unless you consider increases in narcissism, depression, anxiety, feelings of isolation, etc. worthwhile progress).
Imagine life without the gazillion duck face–fish gape selfies mindlessly slapped everywhere, or those self-respect-mutilating ‘taken in the bathroom mirror’ selfies (often incorporating duck face or fish gape); or the swarms of selfie-ing people around you!
“Living as characters,” writes Ennenga.
Ennenga continues:
“In 2018, the ambivalence toward how to treat one’s digital self, how to create one’s “character,” is a particularly unwieldy knot for women. The collapse of the critical space between one’s personality and one’s online persona erases the distinction between self-expression and self-promotion. Every post now seems to fall into a dangerous trap.”
But maybe, just maybe, something else is whispering itself into being.
(1) Check out the full article — it’s a good read.
Toward a More Radical Selfie (by India Ennenga, The Paris Review, Nov. 27, 2018)
It’s a timely reflection, and may well stir up some renewed passion, clarity, and inspiration for another way of being and living.
(2) What comes after the selfie era of shallow celebrity culture and digital self-harm?
A re-worthing — very Uranus in Taurus — and a reconnection with what we’ve yearned for all along?
• It’s Time for Uncommon Skills & Islands of Sanity. Again (or Still?).
• On Restoring the World’s Lost Heart.
• Let’s Be (and Some Crazy Bat Wisdom).
• In This Moment, I Begin Anew: Phoenixing From the Ashes.
Big Love,
Featured Image: Art by Vaqume. Original link to Vaqume’s work is no longer active.

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Lots of love,
December 1, 2018 at 8:43 pm
Reblogged this on Blue Dragon Journal.
December 1, 2018 at 9:01 pm
Thank you for sharing (and so quickly!), Eliza. It does seem one of those very current issues, doesn’t it? Blessings to you! Love, Jamie
December 1, 2018 at 9:19 pm
When it comes to selfies, I think it’s part of the entitlement (to anything one wants) and an “all about me” mentality. I have a hard time drawing the line between what’s okay and what’s too much. Long before digital cameras and self-phones, people on vacation would take pictures of each other at the sites they visited. The results ended up in a box of slides or photographs, though, and not flung around in the social media world ot today.
December 1, 2018 at 9:42 pm
interesting piece
December 4, 2018 at 12:24 am
Thank you for visiting, Terihagh. 🙂
December 4, 2018 at 2:49 pm
you’re welcome Sophia’s children
December 6, 2018 at 1:11 am
🙂
December 2, 2018 at 1:13 am
Reblogged this on dreamweaver333.
December 4, 2018 at 12:25 am
Thank you for the reblog, ViGold!
December 3, 2018 at 8:45 pm
Never was one for those selfies. Excellent essay. Thank you.
December 4, 2018 at 12:24 am
Maybe one or two here and there, but after that, I’d get bored with myself. 🙂 Thanks for visiting, JoHanna.
December 4, 2018 at 6:57 pm
I feel so blessed that for some reason I have pushed back against everything in modern day life that has ended up being a negative, since I was very young. I do not have a cell phone nor do I ever want one. The only thing techy for me is my computer. Period! Life is difficult enough to navigate without the added burden of addictions to technology. I.E. Selfies, social media etc…There is work involved getting oneself free from that…But the change is upon us. It is now world wide even though Main Stream Media won’t tell the people. France, Belgium, Germany, the E.U. are all rioting and not about gas…This is a massive movement not being reported at any length if at all, and it is all against the elites and a dying paradigm needing change. It is alive and well and we are fast moving forward so hang on tight! There is hope ahead…VK <3
December 6, 2018 at 1:11 am
Thank you, V-K! Definitely feels like some accelerated motion and wild dynamics, to be sure. Wishing you well (and keep your hope-candle lit! If we all do that, it’ll create quite a light-field. 🙂
December 5, 2018 at 8:33 pm
I try to keep my digital narcissism in check 😉 Hope you are well. Cheers!
December 6, 2018 at 1:10 am
Ahhh, don’t we all. 😉 Thank you, Jeff. I’m well and hope the same for you!