Easy Ways To Tackle A Dangerous Obsession

November 15, 2018

Selfie Obsession — Image used for representation only.

It’s an obsession which has grown over time, spreading into the human system like a fast growing virus.

In this digital age, taking a ‘selfie’ has become the ‘IN’ thing, age no bar. Any spare moment of our lives is spent in taking selfies and posting them on social media like Facebaook or Instagram.

Go to any function in the city, or a home celebration anywhere and you see phones raised at weird angles while four or five people make duck faces at the front camera.

The selfie has eaten away into our lives, growing in cultural importance where narcissism, self glorification and identity on social media platforms have become excessive and obsessive.

The social impact of selfies can be quite dangerous particularly with the young. It can lead to depression and even death.

Here are some facts which can help understand and tackle this sometimes fatal obsession.

Identification: It is very important to identify if you are addicted to selfies or not. Just pause and check how many selfies you posted during the day and at what times. Keep a tab on that daily. Also check the times at which you took – for example just while leaving for work which may have delayed you. Try and avoid this and try cut down the number of selfies done in the day if high.

Identity Crisis: By continuously posting selfies, a person has created an image for himself/herself which he tries to live up to. This will directly lead to an identity crisis at some point when the number of Likes and retweets diminish. Self-doubts will crop up and this will lead to depression, particularly among youngsters. Proper guidance is required urgently at this moment and the young must be encouraged to develop a personality of their own beyond the social media.

Comparisons: There will always be comparisons on social media. Someday a friend may swamp the Likes and you get only a few. May be he/she wore better clothes than you did. Don’t ponder on it or aspire to put better pictures. Don’t keep a tab on it too. You are just another cog in the social media wheel. The real you is outside of the social media.

Get the Picture: Image-centric platforms like Facebook and Instagram actually encourages people to form a perfect picture of their selves. They curate the image of a perfect person, without flaws and post pictures of this being, dressed in the latest line of clothing, expressing opinions on all subjects (probably borrowed) and steal quotes without batting an eyelid. Don’t get carried away with that. They are probably only creating false images of themselves and will get exposed someday. You don’t have to hide your flaws. Be what you are and don’t imitate.

Dangers: Always be aware of where you are while doing a selfie. Many people have lost their lives by losing their foothold and falling to their deaths. There is always a chance that you may get knocked down on the road too.

See The Positive Side: Once you understand what selfies stand for, have fun instead of getting bogged down. Don’t use it for self-glorification and instead post funny pictures or nice ones without wondering about the impact. It’s a good forum to display different shades of the Real You and not a glorified image of what you are not.