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Selfie Culture
and the theology of the body ... 92
Selfie culture
Is there a problem with being mesmerised by our own image?
Billions of self-portraits are uploaded to social media each year by the world’s young people. Is this the sign of a narcissistic generation, or just an extension of youth culture? And is there space for God in the selfie? Marilyn Rodrigues
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Upsides to the selfie
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It’s fair to say that a selfie is more than just a photo when young people are growing up in a digital world where online social interaction is the dominant form of communication. Some experts argue that selfie sharing is an effective component of adolescents’ search for connection with their peers, the wider culture, and their own identities.
At its best, the taking and sharing of selfies draw people together, are affirming, bonding, and can be highly creative.
The selfie pope Pope Francis has posed for so many selfies that he’s been dubbed the ‘selfie pope’. Yet the Pope has also asked young people to spend less time with technology and more time investing with relationships in real life.
Ussie: a selfie with a couple of people included in the photo.
Groupie: a large group shot, either using a selfie stick or the person with the longest arms! Relfie: a self-portrait taken with one’s significant other.
Lensie: where a person uses apps to apply filters or distortions to add animations to their selfies. Helfie: a person’s photograph of his or her own hairdo.
Dronie: a selfie taken using a drone.
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Types of selfies
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Challenges of a selfie culture Pre-occupation with appearance Some experts warn that while young people have always faced social pressure to look their best and fit in with their peers, the ubiquitous nature of smart phones and social media has led to the normalisation of extreme standards of beauty and a pre-occupation with image. The distorted notions of physical perfection promoted by the entertainment and advertising industries are now encouraged through the selfie genre by young people themselves. Now everyone with a smart phone can make themselves appear slimmer, erase blemishes, whiten teeth, reshape facial structures and more, through selfie enhancement apps. Some young people spend hours each day comparing themselves with selfies posted online by their friends and peers. There seems to be currently no firm link between selfie-sharing and body dysmorphia leading to illnesses such as anorexia and bulimia. But studies have found a clear link to poor self-esteem and body image, which for some people can lead to these more extreme manifestations. Glasgow researcher, Petya Eckler, has explained that comparisons made against one’s peers may be more dangerous than those made against celebrities or models in traditional media because they can be just as unrealistic but hit closer to home.
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Boys & body image
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Body image worries boys, too. Researchers from the Australian Catholic University found that boys as young as eight are trying to lose weight and gain muscle. They confirmed that boys feel body image pressure just as much as girls, though differently. Girls tend to focus on weight and being slim, while boys aspire to be more athletic and muscular.
The researchers warned that while this could be healthy if pursued in moderation, it could also be a precursor to body dissatisfaction and the use of more dangerous body change methods as they get older. There is already an increase in the numbers of young men who are dependent on over-exercise and steroid use, as well as muscle implants and cosmetic surgery.
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Peer pressure and bullying
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The internet provides a very effective platform for acts of harassment and bullying. Thus it is little wonder that the reported instances of cyber-bullying have risen alongside the increased uptake among teens and pre-teens of internetconnected devices. The act of posting a selfie online expressly invites reactions and comments from others, including strangers, which can be vicious.
There is research to confirm that people often feel jealous, lonely and dissatisfied with their lives the more time they spend on social media and especially after viewing their friends’ party or holiday photos. One US study confirmed that teens are more likely to engage in risky activities such as smoking and drinking once they have seen photos of their friends doing it on social media.
There’s also the fact that most selfies are taken and uploaded so quickly that there is little, if any, time for considered judgment about their content and potential audience.
Parents are rightly concerned about the publishing of intimate, provocative or illegal behaviour by young people on social media because of this influence.
Sexting
Many young people still don’t realise that photos sent to someone else’s mobile phone cannot be guaranteed to remain private. Once a sext is received, even if the recipient intends to keep it private, it may be distributed online at any time by anyone using the phone. From there, it can end up in public forums, on porn sites, and in a range of feeds, timelines, and inboxes for which it was never intended. This leads to public shame and humiliation, insecurity, stress, and anxiety, and sometimes to suicide. Sexting also leads to criminal charges under child pornography laws when it involves those under 18. And it is increasingly being used as a method of blackmail and extortion, sometimes after relationships have failed. Surely there is a better way to approach the human body? Read on to hear from expert Christopher West.
Unwanted Sext “When my 12 year old son began to blush after receiving a text message, I was curious. On my questioning he confessed that a girl at school was sending him sext messages, that he didn’t want them, but she sent them anyway. We got him a new phone number and I contacted the school to alert them as such behaviour is common among sexual abuse victims. Turns out that girl needed help.” Jane
Marilyn Rodrigues is the editor of FRANKLY and CathFamily. She lives in Sydney with her husband Peter and five children.
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Australian parenting expert Dr Justin Coulson has pointed out a study that showed up to 30 per cent of the 1000 teenagers surveyed were engaging in sexting – sending naked photos of themselves to someone else’s phone. And about half of the study participants had been asked for one.
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What is the Theology of the Body ? Christopher West explains the Catholic vision for the human body
Rather than a selfie, a sign
‘The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine’ (St John Paul II). This is how we are meant to see the human body – our own and everybody else’s.
According to St John Paul II, God created the body as a ‘sign’ of his own divine mystery. This is why he speaks of the body as a ‘theology’, a study of God.
St John Paul II developed a fresh theology that explains how the Christian sexual ethic – far from the prudish list of prohibitions it is assumed to be – corresponds perfectly with the deepest yearnings of our hearts for love and union. He called it a ‘theology of the body’. In short, through an in-depth reflection on the scriptures, St John Paul II sought to answer two of the most important, universal questions: (1) “What does it mean to be human?” and (2) “How do I live my life in a way that brings true happiness and fulfilment?”
We can’t see God. As pure Spirit, He is invisible. Yet Christianity is the religion of God’s self-disclosure. Somehow the human body makes this eternal mystery of love visible. How? Specifically through the beauty of sexual difference and our call to union through marriage. Right from the beginning, the union of man and woman foreshadows our eternal destiny of union with Christ. As St Paul says, the ‘one flesh’ union is ‘a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church’ (Ephesians 5:31-32). Thus, we image God not only as individuals, “but also through the communion which man and woman form right from the beginning”. The Theology of the Body is not, as some might think, a list of restrictions on sexual activity. It’s a wholistic call to embrace our own greatness, our own God-like dignity.
This is an edited extract from Christopher West’s chapter in Freedom: 12 Lives Transformed by the Theology of the Body by Matthew Pinto. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Christopher West is a best-selling author, speaker and world-renowned expert in John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. He is the founder of The Cor Project ministry. Photo Credit :Emma Dallman, Theology of the Body Institute.
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Our bodies as the Image of God
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