Stories We Tell Our Selfies

Selfies have become a common social practice for a significant number of people throughout the world. While some criticise selfies as attention seeking or narcissistic, others have argued that they are a form of visual diary and a way for an individual to tell their own story. This would make them a kind of autobiography that, facilitated by the characteristics of new technologies, has its own internal logic and mode of speaking. When people curate the information they want to show, and decide on how it is presented, they are revealing their notions on what is important and worth sharing. So, by analysing selfies and images posted on Instagram as storytelling, we can also learn about cultural values. This paper shares the findings of an ethnographic research with Instagram users and tries to discuss how they use images to tell stories. It discusses the elements that compose the stories and the 2 specific ways that people are using to present themselves online. It also tries to reflect on how collaboration with other people, through likes and comments, affects the narration of these stories. Modern technology also allows selfie takers to manipulate their image by appropriating techniques that were once only utilized by the media and by leaders of the power hierarchy. Which prompts the question: how the practice can affect people’s awareness of how discourses are constructed and can it challenge the current power relations?