Meese et al. argue that the selfie has been a usual form for expressing emotion. The virtual images can be considered as effective tools not only for representation but communication. Some selfie-makers intend to develop a sense of empathy, and then shorten the distance with other online users. For instance, posting the funeral selfies on social media that is no longer considered as conceit or lack of respect; instead, the funeral selfies can bring its particular setting to a wider social community. In Meese et al.’s opinion that this kind of online memorialization has been redefined as a common vernacular on social media, where people can react emotionally, and engage in the broader society.
Similarly, in 2015 Tawny Willoughby(TW) post a skin cancer selfie on Facebook that immediately went crazy, the number of skin cancer searches had rapidly increased in the following days, and news media started to report Tawny Willoughby story. According to Noar et al.’s research, TW’s selfie contributed to the improvement of public health awareness, and ‘skin cancer’ has been a new metric of public engagement. During the TW effect period, there were over 200,000 searches for “skin cancer”. Beside, Noar et al. argue that TW’s story and her selfie can be viewed as a powerful combination, which would not be possible without social media.
Moreover, there is another study to support the viewpoint that selfie can play a role in improving engagement. However, posting ‘food selfie’ on social media has already been the popular form on social media. Researchers Middha et al. undertook a study to try to explore the social implications of the food selfie-posting behaviour. To be more specific, they asked participants to post their daily food selfies on social media, and encouraged them to interact and have conservations with each other. As a result, this online activity greatly improved interactivity and sociality among participants, they exchanged opinions and evidently influenced their personal dietary practices. And they were combined by this activity in both ‘physical’ space and ‘virtual space’. Also, Middha et al. found that this kind of digital engagement provides an open environment for analysing people’s everyday practices, such as, but not limited to, dietary practice. Therefore, posting food selfies on social platforms enables people to improve community interaction.
Consequently, posting selfies on social media is not simply narcissistic or peacockish, it has become an approach for sharing information and bonding them with a broader community. Moreover, it does offer a space to make emotion connections cross physical boundaries.
Reference:
James M. & Martin G. & Marcus C. & Michael A. & Bjorn N. & Tamara K. 2015, ‘Selfies at Funerals: Mourning and Presencing on Social Media Platforms’, International Journal of Communication, pp.1818-1828.
Middha, B 2018, ‘Everyday digital engagements: using food selfies on Facebook to explore eating practices’, Communication Research and Practice, vol. 4, no. 3, pp.291-304.
Seth, M. N. & Eric, L. & Benjamin, M. A. & Mark, D. & Dannielle, K. & John, W.A. 2017, ‘Can a selfie promote public engagement with skin cancer?’, Preventive Medicine, pp.280-283.
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