Whether it's Kim Kardashian uploading picture after picture to Instagram or your roommate posting a mid-vacation shot to Facebook, selfies receive mixed reactions. But are selfies more than, as many critics lament, a symptom of a self-absorbed generation? Millennial Alicia Eler's The Selfie Generation is the first book to delve fully into this ubiquitous and much-maligned part of social media, including why people take them in the first place and the ways they can change how we see ourselves. Eler argues that selfies are just one facet of how we can use digital media to create a personal brand in the modern age. More than just a picture, they are an important part of how we live today. Eler examines all aspects of selfies, online social networks, and the generation that has grown up with them. She looks at how the boundaries between people’s physical and digital lives have blurred with social media; she explores questions of privacy, consent, ownership, and authenticity; and she points out important issues of sexism and double standards wherein women are encouraged to take them but then become subject to criticism and judgment. Alicia discusses the selfie as a paradox—both an image with potential for self-empowerment, yet also a symbol of complacency within surveillance culture The Selfie Generation explores just how much social media has changed the ways that people connect, communicate, and present themselves to the world.

The Psychology of the Selfie provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of research on the significance of selfies, offering insights into the topic from a psychological perspective and examining important issues such as body image, self-objectification, mental health and psychological benefits. Selfies are a worldwide phenomenon. Although dismissed by critics as a sign of self-absorbed narcissism, they are also a social currency that maintains and reinforces friendships, a feedback loop for self-identity affirmation, a promotional tool for gaining social influence, and a method for preserving memories of life events. In this book, Barrie Gunter expertly explores the psychological underpinnings of the contemporary global phenomenon of "selfies", from the historical roots and meteoric rise due to technical advancements, to the different personality types of selfie-takers, to social relationships, to group and personal identity. Looking at both the psychological nature and impact of selfies, this book reviews different psychological outcomes for selfie-takers, both positive and negative, and the growth in psychological and physical problems that can sometimes arise. Presenting a comprehensive analysis specifically of selfie behaviour, this book is an essential reference for students and researchers in communications and media, journalism, information studies, psychology and sociology, as well as anyone with a general interest in the phenomenon.

This collection explores the cultural fascination with social media forms of self-portraiture, "selfies," with a specific interest in online self-imaging strategies in a Western context. This book examines the selfie as a social and technological phenomenon but also engages with digital self-portraiture as representation: as work that is committed to rigorous object-based analysis. The scholars in this volume consider the topic of online self-portraiture—both its social function as a technology-driven form of visual communication, as well as its thematic, intellectual, historical, and aesthetic intersections with the history of art and visual culture. This book will be of interest to scholars of photography, art history, and media studies.

This book is a theoretical examination of the relationship between the face, identity, photography, and temporality, focusing on the temporal episteme of selfie practice. Claire Raymond investigates how the selfie’s involvement with time and self emerges from capitalist ideologies of identity and time. The book leverages theories from Katharina Pistor, Jacques Lacan, Rögnvaldur Ingthorsson, and Hans Belting to explore the ways in which the selfie imposes a dominant ideology on subjectivity by manipulating the affect of time. The selfie is understood in contrast to the self-portrait. Artists discussed include James Tylor, Shelley Niro, Ellen Carey, Graham MacIndoe, and LaToya Ruby Frazier. The book will be of interest to scholars working in visual culture, history of photography, and critical theory. It will also appeal to scholars of philosophy and, in particular, of the intersection of aesthetic theory and theories of ontology, epistemology, and temporality.

After years of pushing the boundaries of fashion with her best girlfriends, Tiel shares her tricks for living a bold and successful life. In The Absolute Woman, Tiel writes with passion and humor about her one-of-a-kind experiences, from the glamorous parties and famous men of her career in Hollywood and Paris, to the Chanel straw hats and home-grown meals of her idyllic Florida home in “Life Part Two.” You’ll learn all her best secrets for living a sensational life: how to seduce and keep an ideal lover, turn a setback into success, steer clear of “crazies,” eat for health and beauty, dress with poise, harness your smarts, and find the power to create the life you want. Bringing together all of Tiel’s best stories, original sketches, and personal photos, The Absolute Woman is an unforgettable tribute to fearless women everywhere that will inspire you to unlock your own unique feminine power.

Step into the vibrant pages of “Love Your #Selfie” and unlock the secrets to thriving in a world where filters fade and authenticity shines. This isn’t just a book; it’s a movement, a call to arms for teens everywhere to stand tall in their unfiltered glory. 🌟 Unmask Your Worth: Learn to see beyond the pixels and love the real you. 💪 Defy Digital Pressure: Equip yourself with tools to resist social media’s siren call. 📖 Real Stories, Real Inspiration: Get motivated by tales of teens who’ve conquered the comparison game. ✨ Confidence Hacks: Discover daily practices to boost your self-esteem sky-high. 🌐 Positive Presence: Master the art of crafting an online persona that reflects your true self. “Love Your #Selfie” is more than a book—it’s your roadmap to a self-love revolution. #JoinTheSelfieRevolution and embrace your story, one unfiltered selfie at a time! Dive into the pages of “Love Your #Selfie: Embracing Your Worth in a Filtered World” and embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery. This book is a heartfelt guide for teens navigating the choppy waters of self-image and identity in the age of social media. With wisdom, wit, and a touch of humor, it tackles the pressures of the digital era and offers a beacon of hope for those seeking to find their true value beyond the screen. 📸💖

This explorative study of personal spiritual expressions on Instagram generated important data in relation to the emerging field of cyberspirituality and showed the need for further development and research. The book reveals several forms of spirituality present on Instagram, mainly belonging to secular spirituality. Many spiritual practices emerged in posts from all over the world, demonstrated through photography as spiritual practice. The Internet—and social media in particular—present an opportunity for individuals and communities to develop spiritual narrative when communicating online, especially with young people who are more likely to express themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” Spiritual authenticity on social media, as a part of building spiritual capital, is an important step.

This book presents a rich and nuanced analysis of selfie culture. It shows how selfies gain their meanings, illustrates different selfie practices, explores how selfies make us feel and why they have the power to make us feel anything, and unpacks how selfie practices and selfie related norms have changed or might change in the future.

This book investigates the convergence between locative, mobile and social media in order to show how people use mobile media for their creative practice—creative writing, photography, video and filmmaking. The central thematic focus of this book explores how mobile media has created new opportunities and contexts for creative practitioners. It draws together creative practice research with non-representational theory and digital ethnography to provide a fresh perspective on the place mobile media has in our everyday creative lives. Fictionalized and semi-fictional vignettes are used to present empirical material taken from fieldnotes and interviews to demonstrate how new forms and genres of art making have arisen because of the affordances of mobile media. The chapters in this volume have been arranged into a sequence according to the kinds of actions that make up various creative practices.

Photography’s prominence in the representation and experience of India in contemporary and historical times has not guaranteed it a position of sustained attention in research and scholarship. For a technology as all pervasive as photography, and a country as colossal as India, this scenario is somewhat of an anomaly. Photography in India explores elements of the past, present and future of photography in the context of India through speculation and reflection on photography as an artistic, documentary and everyday practice. The perspectives of writers, theorists, curators and artists are selectively brought to bear upon known as well as previously unseen photographic archives, together with changes in photographic practice that have been synchronous with contemporary India’s rapid urban and rural transformation and the technological shift from chemistry and light to programming and algorithms. Essential reading for anyone interested in Indian photography, this book binds insights into a history of photography with its contemporary development, consolidating wide-ranging thinking on the topic and setting the agenda for future research.