Identity and appearance in selfie culture

Liesbeth Woertman, professor in psychology at the University of Utrecht, declares that the proportion of self-idolization in society is weighing heavy upon human contact. Nowadays the ideal of beauty seems to be more important than ever.

A sense of emptiness and insecurity about ourselves, caused by the lack of meaningfulness and stable family-ties, seems to evoke an obsession with our body, which we think to control by means of diet, sports and plastic surgery.

Woertman sees selfie culture as a metaphor for society. The focus on the self is prominent in the virtual world, where the appearance in form of a perfect body seems to be of great influence. The urge to expose one's private life, to sell oneself as a sexual object seems to typify our selfie culture. Instead of photographing others or the environment, selfies are taken because we need to be seen.

As genuine social contact has been replaced by being watched, consequences on the quality of sexual relationships have been noted. When an individual is only focused on his image, he becomes an object that dehumanizes the other.

The quality of meaningful sexual relationships declines when an individual is primarily focused on himself and his own arousal as he doesn't pay attention to the other.

This distorted impression of sexual behavior is also caused by porn, often watched before the first actual sexual experience, and by advertising. Television and internet remain the reasons for a negative body image. This narcissist emphasis on appearance brings about phobic behavior, insecurity and panic attacks.

According to sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, social media are often used for the echo of one's voice, for the sense of control instead of the social skills needed to explore the world.

An individual's self-concept includes a personal and a social identity. The development of social identity can only manifest through relationships with others. It is a life-long task that changes along with the social roles that come with age. In order to avoid inferiority and ego problems, a conscious use of social media is advisable. Let's not forget to live together.

The ego era: (a)social media and narcissism

Social media allow people to stay in contact with hundreds of "friends". Twitter, Facebook and Instagram portray perfect lives in words and photographs. The question is whether social media make individuals happier or whether they turn us into more narcissistic creatures...

One tends to forget that social networks are being constructed around the ego, which unfortunately plays a prominent role in popular culture.

Researchers believe social media have an impact on a person's self image. In addition they think the way a person represents himself on social media could determinate his self image.

Social media do enhance the amount of digital social responses.

In average individuals look at their smart phones one hundred and fifty times a day, once every six minutes. Obviously it stays a challenging quest to deal with this swiping in a healthy way. For some the overload of impulses is hard to accept. When people are absorbed by the social network, they tend to cultivate their own image instead on focussing on the interaction with others. There's a clear correlation between facebook usage and enhanced exhibition scores.

Researchers from Western University of Illinois state that facebook appeals to our narcissist tendencies. People who regularly update their facebook status, tag themselves in pictures and have a large number of friends, are more likely to demonstrate traits of narcissism. They also demonstrated that individuals who spend one hour or more a day on a social network, have increased levels of narcissism.

Ego psychology emphasizes the role of identity, experienced by a person as a sense of self. Narcissistic tendencies can be found in normal range levels. Healthy ranges are essential for one's self image and -respect.

Named after the Greek myth of Narcissus, Narcissism involves high levels of self-absorption and conceitedness.

The characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder are excessive self-love, inflated self-admiration, self-centeredness, an excessive need for admiration, a tendency to overestimate personal abilities and achievements, extreme sensitivity to criticism and a constant need for attention. Narcissists lack empathy, are unable to recognize others' needs and expect a lot of those around them. These masters in exhibitionism( attention seeking behavior) and the manipulative exploitation of others for selfish ends tend to socialize with people who admire them and avoid social situations where their superior brilliance will fail to be noticed. When being challenged or criticized, they may become aggressive to achieve respect from condescending critics. They often daydream of fame, power, influence and envy others' successes.

Narcissists tend to look for appreciation in social media. The Me generation shows narcissist behavior. Their genuine interest in others is decreasing while they increasingly attach importance to fame, ego and money instead of less shallow values. The focus is on sharing each and every detail of their live to evoke response.

Shouldn't it be: be the best me instead of showing off the best look at me- and my selfie me?