Photography Week - Selfies

Here I am! Look at me! I am the subject of my story!

That's the basic message of selfies. Since the advent of smartphones, selfies have taken off. They're such a big deal now that the most popular Christmas gift in 2014 was the selfie stick. It can't be denied that selfies are a cultural phenomenon.

Selfies are growing on me. I'm not a huge fan of them, but I think they're valuable. I generally avoid taking selfies because I feel awkward about them. Is my face really interesting enough for it to be the focus of a picture?

If the camera lens is God glasses, and taking a photograph involves a “long, loving look at the real,” then selfies are like a God mirror. You look into the front facing camera on your smartphone and try to see God in yourself. That's intimidating.

St. Ignatius encourages us to see God in all things, and that included ourselves. I think that can often be the hardest place to find God. It's hard to find God in yourself because you know yourself so well, and you know all your faults and failings (both public and private). It's hard to find God in yourself because you don't want to get prideful and confused and start equating yourself with God. It's hard to find God in yourself because we're so used to thinking of God as other.

God is an old man in the sky. God is a young man on a cross. God is a mysterious spirit floating over us. God is “out there” and we go to God for help, for comfort, for companionship. God is most often presented to us as distinctly different. But if God is in all things, then God is in us. And not in us as a beneficent alter ego who comes to the forefront when we're at out best, God is a part of us. That's a depth of intimacy that we can't always handle.

So that's why I feel shy about selfies: because I'm afraid of that depth of intimacy with my friend Big G. But that's also why I don't sit back and criticize other people for taking selfies, because it means they can take that long loving look at themselves and see a beauty worth sharing with the world.

Selfie sticks, on the other hand, are dumb.