WHY SELFIE IS NECESSARY FOR PEOPLE BY DILARA NUR OKA

The selfie is a self-portrait photograph usually taken with a camera phone nowadays. People usually share these photos on social media accounts to share their daily lives, to show other people a change they like in themselves, and in some cases to prove themselves. Wanting others to see it right after taking a selfie is called attention-seeking. People like it when they prove themselves and their beauty. But after taking a selfie, we don't share the photos as we are, because we edit them. People act according to society's perceptions of beauty. However, sometimes some people exaggerate this situation so much that they risk their lives or even die for selfies to be known and get likes. To give an example, in July 2021, Chinese crane operator Xiao Qiumei died after falling from a height of 160 meters while shooting a video for his 100,000 followers on social media. Also, hiker Sofia Cheung fell to her death while taking a selfie by a waterfall in Hong Kong. Cheung, who had 6,000 followers on Instagram at the time of his death, appeared to frequently post photos from risky places. This is the proof that people risk their real lives for the sake of virtual life, upon the likes and intense demands of such posts with selfies.

According to a study conducted in Spain, 379 people in the world have died while taking selfies since 2008. According to University of Florida psychologist Michael Weigold, who saw 103 selfie deaths in 2016, he explained some of the reasons for his selfie craze. For him, the feeling of approval from the likes and positive comments on social media is rewarding for people who are lonely or insecure. Through selfies, people are given the message "Look, I'm here too". People share their lives with others on social media and direct their lives in line with their liking, and in some cases, they are so immersed in the virtual world that they care about the virtual instead of managing their real world. If the interaction they are looking for is to share, get likes, be recognized...

Performing through selfies creates a perception of a certain position in society, a desire to have a certain status. By leveraging digital possibilities like smartphones, photo editing software, and Snapchat, one can even completely change one's identity. Women can easily change their skin imperfections, skin tones, or anything they don't like with these programs and create a different identity for themselves. But this performance shows us that the society we live in today is a perfectionist and bored with monotony.