Get Over Your Selfie!

Last week, I watched a high school student walk through a crowded hallway holding her phone in front of her and sticking out her tongue. She was taking a “selfie.” A selfie, for the two readers (I should stop there, right?) who do not know this term, is a picture taken of one’s self by one’s self almost always with a cell phone.

And there are a lot of selfies on the web and social network sites. One could argue that their purpose is to publish them. Many selfies are taken at arms length and look slightly distorted. Some are taken into mirrors.

The rise of the “profile” picture has encouraged people to take lots of photographs of themselves. People of a certain age are now as concerned with documenting their lives as they are with living them. An event doesn’t happen without photos. And nothing works better than a picture of me at an event.

It is seductive. I want to show my friends where I was. I want to take a picture with a celebrity or in front of a landmark. I want to show the world me! See me! Here I am! Look! Look! LOOK!

When my grandmother was packing to move, we discovered her old camera. I suggested that she use it to photograph her apartment. She told me that she didn’t know how to use the camera. I was confused. She had stacks of photos of her travels. However, as I looked at those pictures, I noticed something: she was in all the photos. She had never used her camera. She had always given it to someone else and asked that person to photograph her. Who knew that my grandmother was a trailblazer? She’d do wonderfully on Facebook.

What does it mean to be so focused on taking one’s own picture? When the point isn’t the experience, the sharing, or even the people, we are left with a narcissistic focus on the self –the selfie. It is always about me. Take the picture of me. Look at me. See where I have been and with whom. “Like” me!

And if you are with me, I might just cut you out. Another aspect of this phenomenon is the odd profile picture that is clearly a group shot – but the group has been excised. I have stopped noting how many people have disembodied hands on their shoulders or around their waists. Don’t look at the whole picture: look only at me!

To get you to look at me, I get tagged. Tagging (again for those two readers) is the labeling of the people (if there are other people – or their disconnected limbs) in the photo. Sometimes, we tag people who we wish were in the photo. Or were just outside the photo. Or might like the photo. Look at me!

The way to ruin someone’s perfect self-portrait: bomb it! Photo bombing is the practice of sneaking into someone else’s picture and facing the camera, often with an odd smile or funny face. It is not enough that I have lots of pictures of me; I have to ruin other people’s pictures. When you are looking at your picture, instead you will see me! Don’t look at you; look at me!

There is nothing wrong with a strong sense of self or a healthy ego. However, taken too far, we become all about ego and little else. When the world becomes one big mirror, we become obsessed with our image in it. We are important, yet there is so much more. Our cameras can record beautiful sunsets and landmarks, historic events, and feats of great courage and skill. Or they can be filled our distorted faces with our tongues sticking out.

Seven Simple Shortcuts I Really Use

Recently, I have seen several videos and articles on “life hacks,” quick tricks that make life a little easier. Here are seven that I actually use:

Get your lost smart phone back: If you use a pass code (as you should) to lock your smart phone, how will someone be able to return your phone to you? It is simple: put a “If lost, please call…” number on the lock screen. Of course, this number should not be the cell phone number! I use my work number. You can make this in any program and take a screen shot of it. I made mine in Word.

Get your flash drive back: I name my flash drives with my phone number. I also have an “If Found, Please Open” document on each one that lists both my email and phone number. This way, I help a good Samaritan find me without going through all the files on the drive.

Get your luggage back: In every checked (or carried-on) suitcase, I place a piece of paper at the top. If someone opens my bag, that person will see a note with my contact information and itinerary. Just to help my bag get to the correct destination, I put the airport code on a piece of tape on my luggage. My luggage is also marked with large orange H’s as well. It is very easy to spot and cannot be mistaken for someone else’s bag.

Stop annoying cell phone calls: My default ringtone on my smart phone is silent. I assign individual ringtones to my family and close friends who call frequently. I have a standard ringtone I assign to most other numbers. However, if I get a call from an unknown number or someone who has never called before, the phone doesn’t ring at all. I don’t even notice spam calls- and when I see I’ve missed an unknown call, I block that number.

Easy closet origination that shows you which clothes you really wear: When I put my laundry back in the closet, I put the hanger in backwards. This way, it is obvious which clothes I have worn recently. Each summer, I take out the items that are still hung on forward facing hangers. These are the clothes to give away because I have not worn them since my last closet clean out.

Thin your wallet and have more at your fingertips: Rather than stuffing my wallet full of loyalty, insurance, and other cards, I photograph or scan them and keep them in my smart phone. Yes, there are apps that do this, but this is far more simple. Most of these cards I use infrequently. Rather than having them make my wallet bulky, I create a photo album and store them there.

Good passwords you can remember: I have two types of passwords: those I need to have in my head and all the others. I let my password manager program (I use 1Password) create long and random passwords for any websites that I use only on my home computer. For the rest, I recommend creating a long and unique password using the first letters (or suitable replacements) for a phrase you know well. So, if I was going to use Hamlet’s famous speech, my password might be: 2BoN2b-TiT? I alternate capitals and replace words with numbers or symbols when I can. I often insert a special character somewhere in the password as well. I can remember this password and it is going to be much more difficult for someone to hack.

Do you have similar little life hack shortcuts? Post them in the comments!