#Selfie: THE BRIGHT SIDE AND THE DARK SIDE

By Aira Nina B. Cosico

Grab your camera phone, ready yourself and you’re one click away from that perfect-post-
worthy selfie. Without a doubt, almost everyone knows the popular hashtag word, ‘Selfie, but
the thing is not everyone is aware of the pros and cons that comes with it. Or they simply don’t
want to know. Now, let’s take a look at the bright side and the dark side of this popular trend.

The Bright Side. If you ask people, especially the teens, why do you take Selfies? What do you
get from these Selfies? Most of them would answer that Selfies boosts their confidence and
seld-esteem. In fact, Selfies are scientifically proven to boost self confidence as well as self-
esteem. Selfies make people feel good about how they look. Selfies is a way of self-expression.
Some says Selfies are empowering and promote a healthy self-image. Other positive reasons of
Selfies are they find it fun and something they can do during their spare time. People find taking
Selfies, entertaining. It saves them from the most annoying thing we call boredom. Also, Selfies
become one’s memento of a certain occasion or happening.

The Dark Side. This is the side of Selfies that most people do not realize. Teens post Selfies for
self-validation and positive feedback but that doesn’t mean they’ll get it. The moment you post
your Selfies online, you are letting other people see you and bear in mind that people have
different perspectives. Some may ‘Like’ your picture and post positive comments about it while
on the other hand there will always be people who will do the opposite. Psychologist Jill Weber,
Ph.D., says there's a danger that your self-esteem may start to be tied to the comments and
Likes you get when you post a Selfie, and they aren't based on who you are—they're based on
what you look like. People can be very judgmental when they see Selfies. Selfies cause people
to look at what’s on the outside but not what’s on the inside. Looks over Personality. Selfies
can be used against you, blackmail, bullying and other mean stuffs. Scientists links Selfies to
narcissism, addiction and mental illness. Others sees Selfies as promoting narcissism and self-
obsession. Sometimes Selfies go over drive leading people to addiction of it. Psychiatrists say
that ‘Selfie-Addiction’ is no laughing matter. Danny Bowman, a man diagnosed with body
dysmorphic disorder says he grew suicidal due to his addiction to taking selfies. He said he
became so obsessed with trying to take the “right” selfie that he ended up shooting about 200
pictures a day while trying desperately to capture the perfect image of himself.When Bowman
failed to take what he perceived to be the perfect selfie, he attempted suicide by taking an
overdose of drugs. Dr. David Veal, a physician involved in caring for Bowman, says Selfies may
cause mental illness, including body dysmorphic disorder, which has “an extremely high suicide
rate.” Other experts and physicians says that that taking selfies can be detrimental to a
person’s mental health and that indulging in them is indicative of narcissism, low self esteem,
attention seeking behavior and self-indulgence.

These may just be a glimpse of both sides, who knows what’s yet to be discovered on both
sides. Are you in awe? I think it’s time to sit back and evaluate your ‘Selfie habit’. Is it still fun? Is
is still healthy? Are you still soaking in the sunlight of the bright side or are you doomed at pits
of the dark side? It’s all up to you to shape the future of the habit.
 Live your own life
By Aira Nina B. Cosico

Have you ever found yourself having a glimpse of someone else’s life and wishing your life was
like that? I know I have. It’s a normal phenomenon in our lives, it only becomes ‘not normal’
when we start comparing our life to their lives and making their lives the basis of what our life
should or would be. And that’s just wrong.

Brigitte Meinders says that comparison is natural, but if you're constantly trying to be like
others it's a huge red flag that you need to do some soul searching, realize what's important in
life, and learn how to maximize the unique opportunities of your own life. Touché!

Don’t live someone else’s life, don’t copy, stop comparing. You have your own life right there in
front of you, make the best of it. Live it. Be unique. Be different---a good different.

When we start to live our own life, when we’ve decided to be different and make the best of it
there’s another obstacle that we encounter along the road. And that is when others (another
‘someone else’) intrude our life. Trying to control, dictate or eventually dominate your life. This
is, I think, the biggest bump in the road that everyone encounters.

It’s your life but you’re not the one in control of it. You’re like a robot programmed to do this
and do that. Isn’t that ridiculous? It is. There would be people who would come into our lives
and tell us how to live it, what should we do with it, it’s like they have a blueprint of what our
life should be. Because of that, expectations are set, goals are soaring high and all that’s left of
you is the pressure consuming you. Life isn’t fun and exciting anymore.

I’m not saying that we should ignore others advices or inputs in our life but simply we should
not be tied down to their ‘wants’ for our life. Our life shouldn’t be chained to their dictation, to
their expectations, to the blueprint they made for us. A good balance in things would do the
thing. If you think your life is being run by someone, you need to take over and start truly living.
Be the author of your own story.

Don’t live your life without a direction. Take time to think about what you REALLY want to do.
We are given the freedom of choice, let’s use it wisely. Mistakes are inevitable, it’s part of life.
Don’t let it bring you down. And remember, “Disappointments are just God’s way of saying:
“I’ve got something better.” Be patient, live life, have faith.”