Selfie-ness

Feb 17, 2015 | Uncategorized

selfie-Howard-Ignatius

Photo by Flickr user Howard Ignatius licensed via Creative Commons

By Yay Padua-Olmedo

Movies have their own sequels so you can treat this post as part two of “Check the Selfie” which registered one of the highest views in this blog.

We can guess that sequels are a movie producer’s way of milking a franchise (like “Rambo”) till it runs dry or once movie goers start asking, “Who’s Sylvester Stallone, anyway? He’s so Jurassic!”

Which suggests that an actor’s glory days will eventually fade just like classic Levi’s jeans—and that’s in spite of all the nip, tuck and botox treatments.

Sorry, anything can only be stretched so much; to overdo it would result in botched jobs.

Meanwhile, we can still milk the selfie for all its amazing revelations. I don’t think we’ve bashed it enough that it can shout back, “Enough already! Won’t you give me a break?” The selfie is so hot, it’s just entering its golden age.

One juicy selfie news: Kim Kardashian it seems is finding it a feat to satisfy the tsismosos (gossipy) among us because she’s running out of selfie ideas to keep us glued to her site. Her baby, North, unwittingly fills the gap. Poor baby!

Which is the greatest purveyor of selfie?

You guessed right, Facebook! Hey, all of us have been guilty of plastering FB with our faces—or our ideologies—so as I point to you, my three other fingers point to me likewise; so let’s tackle this 21st century addiction in the spirit of self-deprecating humor.

Let’s cross-examine ourselves and see the extent of our-selfie dependence:

How often am I tempted to take my personal selfie for the urge to show off… er… share something new about myself?

When I eat out, do you have this irresistible unquenchable tendency—just when your guests are about to pounce on that crunchy crispy pata—to say, “Hold it!” then your camera clicks, before telling everyone, “Dig in!”

When you travel, are you in the habit of letting the whole world know you’re in this or that airport or you’re bound for some place spectacular?

And a lot more: New car. New mani-pedi. New pair of shoes. New bling.

Overheard this comment: Wala nang itinago. (Everything exposed.)

This sobering comment (by a guest speaker in last year’s gathering of OMF writers) should give us pause:

At the rate people share photos, personal information, whereabouts, feelings, etc., they’re giving room for evil-intentioned people to steal their identities (and many have been reported in the US) or track their every move so that they can ransack homes or stalk them to satisfy their fetishism or obsession.

The millennial demographic is prone to selfie-ness, claim the experts. Often referred to as the narcissistic generation, these gen-Yers are said to be self-obsessed.

And they could easily express their center-of-the-universe attitude through, how else, but their smart phones and tablets—technologies which seem to have been born with them.

Social media and the millennials are just two peas in a pod—and just perfect for each other!

But many among oldies like us genuflect in the altar of selfie-ness. Let’s face it, we are all narcissists.

Don’t blame FB and Twitter. All they’ve really done is magnify our self-absorbed, self-seeking nature. Some of us are probably more coy about blatantly bragging; but nonetheless, it’s in our nature to show-off .

“I’ve accomplished this.” “I’m capable of this.” ” I own this.” “I know this.” “I bought this.”  “I’ve been there.”

On the other hand, there are those share on social media Frankly, others who share via social media do sLet’s pray that even when we share  in our sharing on social media, we are not motivated by a desire to boast or ese are not the reasons we share wha

1 John 2:16 reminds us: “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but the world.

Solomon in Proverbs urges us to seek wisdom, for in so doing, we gain prudence, knowledge, discretion, guidance.

Many social media posts are not about selfie-ness at all. You may have posted FB messages because you:

  • Want to share helpful information on keeping fit physically or spiritually;
  • Make your friends laugh and smile, for example, with funny and baby posts;
  • Have asked for prayers or help, especially when a friend or a group of kababayans were in crisis;
  • Desire to boost your pals’ morale as they face crises;
  • Are after a sense of community and building good relations;
  • And to let far-away loved ones know that their relations on this side of the globe are doing just fine.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ms. Celia “Yay” Padua-Olmedo is an accomplished author of three inspirational books, the first two written for young people and yuppies: “Sorry to Burst Your Bubble: Life Leadership Lessons from the Greatest Dreamer,” and “Going Up? Making Right Choices at Work;” and to encourage other grandparents and parents about God’s promises for families: “Grandparenting: Happiness and Hard Work.” All are available at popular and OMF Literature book stores. To be launched soon is “Now that You’re Boss: Timely and Timeless Lessons for New (& Even Seasoned!) Leaders.” “Going Up?” and “Grandparenting” are available in e-book format at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Yay%20Padua-Olmedo&search-alias=books She is also a consultant and resource speaker on business and motivational topics; a part-time college instructor at the Southville Foreign University: and well-rounded in marketing, public relations and advertising. Yay is wife to Carmelo V. Olmedo with whom she has two children and three grandchildren.

Help us REFRESH others with the life-giving Word of God today!


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