How Selfies Portray Identity - Essay Example

A selfie is a photograph of oneself taken using a smartphone through holding the phone high or using a selfie stick to capture the image. People mostly share selfies on social sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Whatsapp among others. Selfies is, therefore, a self-portrait photograph whose history can be traced back to several years ago. Identity can be defined as the image that one creates about themselves in the entire lifetime and determines how people will refer and treat them in their daily interactions with them. It can, therefore, be said that identity is what a person is and it cannot be changed because of the mere fact that they are viewed by people and not themselves. An essay can be referred to as a portion of writing on a particular subject or object there are different types of articles, and they include explorative, argumentative, and descriptive among others. What makes a selfie a selfie is that it contains the photograph of the one taking it and when others join him or her in the picture then it is called a group selfie. Some scholars, however, argue that a selfie will only be determined to be a selfie depending on the definition that is given. Selfies are the same things as self-portraits on the one hand but can be different on another. They can be the same because they are photographs of oneself, but they can be different because self-portraits can be painted, curved drawn among other forms while selfies are purely photographs taken using a smartphone. The paper will, therefore, explore how a selfie can produce or obscure a sense of ones identity.

Upon taking a critical look on the selfies on Instagram, it is evident that most people dress to impress and they are at their best moods because from the facial expressions they are casual and jovial others put on funny faces on the selfies as a style. They pose using different forms depending on the messages they want to pass to the public, and they can smile, laugh or frown in a trend called funny faces. The pictures are typically framed in a manner that the background may capture something else or they may, either way, be understandable. Similarly, the lighting is pretty much so that it can give clear images of the people taking the selfies as they consider clear to be better. The cameras are held high up above using one's hand, or a selfie stick is used to raise the camera high to capture the image. The proximity of the camera is close as compared to other photographs that are not selfies. In most of the selfies on Instagram people alone and when others are involved the dominant person is the one taking the selfie. Some consider them besides objects such as portraits, flowers, and any other thing another thing if their interest. Similarly, most of the selfies are taken in places where people have just visited for the first time, or they find them exciting or beautiful, and in this case, they keep memories of the places through selfies. Besides, a common thing that can be experienced out of the selfies is that they are taken during the day and a few during the night and this are mostly in nightclubs or events that have taken place at night. What I noticed is that people use words that describe something about the selfie and this becomes its caption. Hashtags are also used to communicate about the selfies, and one can quickly know something about the selfie from the little information on the caption.

The above characteristics intersect with people's identities because they tell a lot about who people are from the casual posture because no much is hidden. Regarding race and ethnicity, the selfies can portray it through the people that are in the photo and how they are dressed because people of a given ethnicity in most cases although not all have a particular way of dressing. Similarly the skin color tells it all and one can know the identity of the people in the selfie. From the posture and the captions on the selfie, one can say if the person or people are educated or not because of the way they express their issues it is easier to tell. Besides, the places that people take selfies from saying to a lot about their income and financial stability because those who well up take selfies of show off and in right locations with posh residential while those who have lower income levels take photos from a background that is shanty. Additionally, from the face and the dress code, one can tell about the gender of the person on the selfie because female have standard dress code that portrays their feminine features and is accompanied by a lot of make on their faces. Besides, female love places that are beautiful for instance those with flowers. On the other hand, the male has backgrounds that are gloomy or with pictures of action movies celebrities and they do not put on a lot of makeup. Also, they do not smile a lot as female do and therefore one can quickly tell the gender of the person in the selfie.

In the first selfie that I chose, I am a casual dressed, and the selfie was taken at night, and it portrays me in a relaxed and a party mood. The background is dark because it was made at night and the proximity is relatively close, and the camera is at waist length, unlike other selfies it is not raised high. There are no objects at the background and the caption could be ready to unwind this weekend. In my second selfie I look calm but jovial, the background looks portrays the image of a study/ bedroom. The photo is taken near a lot of lighting in the background. I look like someone in deep thought. Additionally, my third selfie shows a lot of joy on my face and the smile can tell that I am relaxed calm and in a jovial mood the white t-shirts brighten the selfie beside a lot of light at the background. There are no objects around. The caption could be something like happy man there. In my fourth selfie, I am addressed like an executive ready to go to work or a bridegroom waiting for the bride. In the background, there is an object which is the wardrobe in my bedroom meaning I have just finished dressing and looking at myself from the mirror. The photo was taken during daytime. In my last selfie that is me with a microphone and one can know that I am presenting an item or addressing people. The selfie was taken at night with the background depicting that of a nightclub. How I have held the microphone shows a lot of confidence in me. My face shows my ethnic identity because I just look like someone from the Asian continent although my dressed code indicates a person who is civilized and has left the traditional form of dressing. The dress code also suggests that I am male. The selfies show that I am from a middle-income background and educated because in one them I am dressed like an executive.

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In my essay, I decided to have an introduction which defines the key terms used for instance selfies, identity and the word essay itself the reason for this is to give any reader a more natural understanding of the terms used throughout the piece it. The introduction also gives a brief account of the article so that readers can be able to get a preview of my work. Besides, in the last sentence of my introduction, I have stated my thesis this is what I am discussed about throughout the essay this is what makes the body, and from it, a conclusion is obtained. It is paramount to have a thesis to avoid going off topic, and it helps in building solid arguments. Similarly, there is the body which is the core part of the essay, and this expounds on the thesis which gives a deeper understanding of what I am talking. In the body the argument is well addressed and this determines whether the instructions regarding the essay have been followed or defied.

I learnt to format paragraphs as they are from a little knowledge from class and a lot from the online sources that give guidelines on how to format essays using different types of academic techniques. I learned to format the paragraphs in an indented form because as it is a robust educational way of doing it and this not only does my work to be formal but also trains me on how to write essays when I advance to higher levels of my studies. I learned to choose margins through reading the basics of academic writing styles and in the process I learned that one-inch margin is ideal for a university paper. Besides, there is also a perfect font size which is twelve and times roman font style. I made all the decisions except the margins which are standard in the word processor. What emerged to me about reading the writing and digital culture is that every aspect of the three has been taken to a more significant height by technology and the best essays can be written through guidelines that have been laid done on the digital platform and for one to be a good writer they must be right readers. The reading and writing culture has been transformed by the digital forms of doing it which makes work more comfortable. I like the fact that that skills can be shared online without the need to buy a hard copy of a book to obtain knowledge. Therefore reading and writing has been digitalized.

In working with selfies and essays, I have learned that images or photographs can speak for themselves. It is because from the way one poses, dresses, the objects they represent with tell a lot about who they are and probably their state of emotion. Selfies can be regarded as a genre of its own because it has unique features that define it and it can be categorized into a broader class of photography. It is rhetoric because an argument can be built out of it an essay about it can be written.