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Selfies have made us stars of our own glamour shoots and reality shows

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Koel Purie Rinchet
Koel Purie RinchetDec 17, 2016 | 15:20

Selfies have made us stars of our own glamour shoots and reality shows

Does the love for selfies make us love our selves more? Or at the least accept our physical selves more? Are we more forgiving about what and who we see? By knowing the angles that suit us better, by telling our story how we want it to be heard, by showing the side we want seen - is it making us more peaceful? Giving us greater insight into our lives?

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There was a time, not very long ago, when I would pack my book and bikini and off I’d go. I’d be off the grid and in my head. This "me" time, away from an industry that could be soul destroying, nourished and replenished me till I felt ready to fight the big fight again.

Often on these self-discovery trips, I would encounter other beings on similar expeditions of self-love and forge formidable friendships. Now the most essential items that anyone packs are a charger, extra battery and a selfie stick (the phone is a given).

It makes me wonder if journeys of selfielove can be as nourishing or bonding. It is a kind of "me" time. It’s you, yourself and your stick. You don’t even need to talk to a stranger to take your photo anymore. You see and soak in the world through the layer of a smartphone.

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You don’t even need to talk to a stranger to take your photo anymore.

It’s the selfie stick itself that truly fascinates me. It has made us stars of our own glamour shoots and reality shows. It’s so self-sufficient. There is no need for anyone else. You can truly be in your own zone, and the genius of it is that with a push of the button, you can welcome the whole world in to hear and see the ramblings of your mind. It’s definitely not falling off the grid, it’s creating your own grid, your own universe with its own language, where you can have a stream of consciousness through your selfie pictures and videos and it’s not only legit; it’s validated by followers and devoured by voyeurs.

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You still have your demons to deal with but instead of being on an isolated beach with a book and no one to talk to, you are on an isolated beach sharing and talking to the world. Your head’s not in your head, it’s in your camera and you are as connected as the network will allow. Of course, it’s narcissistic but it can also be a therapeutic vent. Is cutting yourself off to reach out directly to the world making us less lonely and more in control?

Privacy is so passé and 20th century. If you’re trekking in Venezuela’s lost world, or playing with chimpanzees in Lake Tanganyika, or eating black Sulphur ramen in Hakone, or have just given birth to the ugliest little munchkin, then you need the world to know. In fact, in the age of instant connecting, you are only doing some of those awesome things to inspire awe, else what would be the point.

The Japanese have always been obsessed with their cameras, and are infamous for getting a million photos in a celebrated place without so much as genuinely looking at it - the place, not the photo. So, it’s hardly a surprise that the first built-in camera phone in the world was invented in Japan at the turn of the century.

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Selfie sticks have made us stars of our own glamour shoots and reality shows.

I was drinking sake with a beautiful Japanese couple that runs a 700-year-old Ryokan the eve of their holiday. They were going from Tokyo to Moscow to Dubai to the Maldives and back to Tokyo in the space of four-and-a-half days. Remember that Tokyo is on the other end of the world and it takes more than half-a-day to get to Moscow. They had never been to any of these places and saw nothing strange about this insanely hectic plan. As long as they got their selfie in front of the Kremlin, the Burj Khalifa and could show how relaxed they were on pristine white sand, then it was a major tick off their bucket list. I haven’t met them since and their photos do look incredible and belie any sleep deprivation but the story that interests me is what was happening when the cameras were down.

I know it from my own experience that the life I post is barely the half-truth, there is a whole other saga that unravels behind the camera. I see it everywhere I travel - pose, smile, click and fight. Grin, snap and argue. Check pictures. Repeat. Sit over lunch and start posting. It must be done right away because by dinner when there’s Wi-Fi again you can start checking the likes.

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The Japanese have always been obsessed with their cameras.

It’s turning us into Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. One face for the camera, one for off. Often the stress of a good photo turns people into fire-breathing monsters, especially when it involves a group. Luckily the moments that will be recorded will have little to do with the real picture. As I pack for my winter holiday I decide I’m going to go offline and not share photos, this makes my still very private husband jump with joy.

The idea of being off the grid sends chills down my spine - good chills or gloomy ones I’m not sure yet. Just as we are walking out of the door, I run in pretending I need the washroom, grab my selfie stick and shove it slyly to the bottom of my bag. Happy holidays.

Last updated: December 18, 2016 | 15:44
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