Disclaimer- This blog is for entertainment purpose only. The author loves all persons and communities so no holier- than- thou judgement please. Enjoy the blog.
Hi lovelies….now this is a topic really close to my heart.
THE SELFIE CULTURE!!!!!!!
Well…I announce it like a statement, not a sentence and yes I end it with an exclamation mark because that’s how big a phenomenon it is.
WHY ARE PEOPLE CLICKING SO MANY SELFIES AND GROUP SELFIES?
This is a very common phenomenon on Planet Gurgaon. More common than shaking hands and saying hello. It’s as if we meet someone and instead of saying hi/ hello we say “come! let’s take a selfie….”
Firstly let me clarify what I am talking about, (read as… save my ass from getting kicked by half of Gurgaon.) Taking too many pictures of yourself or with other people at a single event be it a party, in the gym, at the club, lounge bar, coffee shop or a get-together with friends etc…and then promptly posting them on all known and semi-known and unknown social media.
Now, before I am crucified here, I must say there is no harm in clicking a selfie or two or three or clicking pictures with your gang of people.. is there a word for it? groupie? Maybe….. just to preserve the memory of the place/ event. Heck I do that too..
However I am completely baffled when people feel the need to click 75 selfies or group selfies at a single event, in the same clothes, with the same people, and the same duck face. You go to a party, see a nice sofa, sit on it and get clicked, by all means, sure, but to click your pic on the same damn sofa, in various postures and poses that would put even a yoga guru to shame, till such time that the thread count of the sofa has reduced from 500 to 150… well …. why ? Why on earth? Why?
I have attended so many parties now on this party-crazy planet Gurgaon. Each time I see more and more of this insanity, gathering momentum faster than a miniskirt gathers attention.
Everywhere you go… it’s there… at coffee shops, lounge bars, clubs, heck even at a beauty parlor. People are taking selfies with hair golden from color and lips red from threading. Sometimes I have to physically stop myself from screaming out “lady at least wait for the red lip to settle down”.
Why on earth do some people need to click so many pictures of themselves? No really…. who are we trying to impress?
Our neighbors? Please remember they have seen us standing in our balcony early morning scratching our arse with one hand, cup of tea in the other. They have also very likely heard us and our spouse, in the middle of an argument, yelling at the top of our voices, calling each other the choicest of words, so they are certainly not falling for our “I woke up like this”, “we are so in love” routine online.
Are we trying to impress people at work? Well, they have also seen the boss kick our ass from time to time, so that doesn’t cut it either. The ones who sit in close proximity to us also might have heard us hissing and spouting venom at our spouse if they change a plan suddenly, or call to say that they might be late, and we need to pick up the kid from daycare.
Are we trying to impress our acquaintances? Well… we all have a few close friends and many acquaintances. As a result of staying in a place for a sufficient amount of time. Now… these are friends who meet you very nicely at a social do, have a hearty laugh with you, have a couple of drinks and then bid adieu once the night is over, till the next social do. They don’t think of you, worry about you, care too much for you, ask you about your kids, spouse, dog /cat. So is it really worth our time, energy and Data Plan to post endless selfies of ourselves at parties, in the forest, in the club , etc.. etc… for their benefit?
That leaves us with our close 3 AM friends…. now, they know each and everything about us, they know when we have fought with our spouse, when we have a tiff with in-laws, when we exchange a few words with our sister in law etc. They also know what marks our kids are getting at school, how much and what brand of make-up we wear to get the “no make-up” look. So really, this is the last category of people we need to try and impress. They have seen us in times of flu, fevers and suspicious rashes. So there. These guys love us no matter what…
So to come back to the main question.
Who are we trying to impress?
To me it seems like , and this is completely my personal opinion, before the free- the- nipple, burn- the- bra ladies judge me, our selfie/groupie obsessed friends don’t trust themselves to make a personally good impression when they meet someone in person. Why? Do you not have anything worthwhile to say? An opinion worth sharing? Do you not trust yourself to make an intelligent conversation? Why do you feel that the only way to get people to remember you is to post 101 pics of yours on social media the next day?
If I meet someone at a party and we have an interesting conversation and I walk away feeling mentally stimulated, there are greater chances of my remembering her/ him the next day, rather than seeing their selfies/group selfies on social media.
Another big disconnect I have is, when you are at a party busy taking selfies, with all and sundry around, you cannot connect deeply with anyone. You cannot have a meaningful conversation with anybody. I have seen this happen countless times at a party, the selfie lovers make it a point to click pics with all the group members, and promptly post them on FB, Whatsapp groups, and the much popular Tik-Tok. Well not promptly… just as long as it takes to edit, Beauty Plus and filter the picture. Let me not even get started on the filters our selfie lovers are using these days. Sometimes it makes the person look so different that I have to do a double take and say… hey… were these people there at the party too?
Do you not feel that you are missing out on great food, great conversations, great wine, or Toddy that seems to be the flavor of this winter season?
As I pondered on this question, my phone alarm rang and dragged me out of my reverie, reminding me that I have to leave for Yoga class in a while. Well… off I go to start my day with yoga and pranayam…. but first… let me take a Selfie….
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