There have been a series of school fires in the country in recent years, many of them which have turned out to be arson
africa10 hours ago
Who do you think clicked the world's first selfie? As a simple Internet search will tell you, it may just have been American photographer and lamp manufacturer Robert Cornelius, who took a picture of himself right outside his lamp store in Philadelphia way back in 1839. For Cornelius, taking a selfie was not as simple as it is for modern smartphone users. He took the self-portrait by getting rid of the lens cap and then "running into frame where he sat for a minute before covering up the lens again". There are two reasons why that trivia becomes important - one, it's only appropriate to revisit the genesis of the trend on Selfie Day, which happens to be today; second, those who are chided for taking selfies can take comfort in the fact that the seed for what is often considered "narcissistic" was sown at least 150 years ago.
Today, the world is largely divided between people who love selfies, those who cannot stand them and others who simply couldn't care less. The battle lines are clearly drawn between the first and the second tribe. However, once in a while, you may even find a selfie-hater ditching his tribe to either appear in someone else's self-portrait, or sneakily clicking one himself. The problem is when the same folk begin to see the very act of taking selfies as 'pomposity'. This scorn is often misplaced. All lives need a witness. Today, that witness is an inanimate object - your smartphone - and the photographs of our experiences are merely proof of us having been there and done that. As a climber, who scaled Mount Everest this year, told me, "You haven't reached the top of the world if you haven't clicked a selfie." (This year, the climbers at Everest were also seen pushing and shoving each other in their pursuit of a selfie, leading to chaos and overcrowding.)
So, why do people go to obnoxious lengths to click a selfie? Perhaps there is a sense of fulfilment in having an object of your admiration - be it a mountain or a monument - be dwarfed by your presence. It allows us, even if for a fleeting second, to be the leading ladies, or lads, of the stories we want to tell the world about ourselves. But the instinct that lies at the very heart of this indulgence is hardly new. Why else do we want our children to imbibe our values? Why do we like films that have either relatable characters or plots? Why do we attempt to spot ourselves in the books we read and people we meet? Because it makes us feel relevant to the world.
Most of what is widely considered 'good art' is also premised on deep love for oneself. An artist's self-portrait can be just as indulgent as a writer's autobiography. Both are, after all, rooted in the belief that one's story is greater than someone else's and deserves to be in the public eye. If that is indeed so, then what do we do with lives of those who are less than 'extraordinary' - people like you and me who are less likely to make history? Turn to our social media pages and document our lives, perhaps - and what better way of doing it than with a selfie?
anamika@khaleejtimes.com
There have been a series of school fires in the country in recent years, many of them which have turned out to be arson
africa10 hours ago
Salama Alfalacy is into realistic art featuring landscapes and wildlife, while Meera Jamal Al Midfa is setting new grounds in performance art and filmmaking
arts11 hours ago
Dubai Police have asked drivers to be extra cautious
transport11 hours ago
The storm had already claimed the lives of at least two people in China's Hainan and 16 people in the Philippines
asia12 hours ago
Dubai Police have asked drivers to be extra cautious
transport12 hours ago
The former all-rounder has returned to cricket during the past year after a horrific car crash at the end of 2022
cricket13 hours ago
Dubai Police have asked drivers to be extra cautious
emergencies13 hours ago
The country has set a new Guinness World Record by creating the largest falcon hood, beating the previous record of 1.65 metres
uae14 hours ago