The Self Portrait Phenomenon

I have never liked having my picture taken.  But a weird thing started happening a little over a year ago: I started taking pictures of myself with my iPhone and posting them to my various sites.  They were, of course, titled: Self portrait, followed by a description of what I was doing when taking the photograph.  I have no idea why I was doing this.  Perhaps it was boredom, maybe it was because I thought it was funny, but most likely I was doing it because I could.  I could take a picture and post it right away.  And I could review it before I posted it.  The whole process was in my control - which is not usually the case when someone else is taking my photo.  Scrolling through the photo library on my iPhone now shows many self portraits, sprinkled with photos of my dogs and then various other activities, usually plates of food or various beverages.  And all of these have been with the previous versions of the iPhone.  The latest iPhone edition has a front facing camera, sure to enable better self-portrait shots.As it turns out, this self portrait phenomenon and observation is not unique to me.  According to the New York Times:

"With the debut last week of Apple’s newest iPhone, the latest show of vanity has kicked into high gear. With a second camera lens that faces the viewer (instead of the view), the iPhone has simplified something people have been struggling with — some covertly, some flagrantly — ever since they signed up for AOL more than a decade ago: taking a good picture of themselves. Finally, the iGeneration has a good head shot."..."As a result, the self-snap is fast becoming as vital a facet of how we present ourselves as our clothes, figures or voices. Photographing oneself easily and well is a talent that, like being able to download music via mind control or reduce whole paragraphs to acronyms at warp speed, is now a given for young people."..."'This really represents the shift of the photograph serving as a memorial function to a communication device,'said Geoffrey Batchen, formerly of the City University of New York and now a professor of art history at Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand, who has written extensively on historical and contemporary photography. 'The camera was used to record something that happened so it could be remembered. Now it’s used immediately. It’s uploaded to Facebook to say, "Here I am in Istanbul" or whatever, so it also goes back and forth between personal and promotional use. It really represents the refashioning of the self for a semipublic view.'”

I am a fan of the self-portrait: there is something intimate, incorruptible, interesting and immediate about the taking and online posting of these photographs.  While, I am relieved to know that I am not alone in this ridiculously narcissistic behavior, I am curious to see how the trend further develops as self portraits become easier to take and people are less inhibited when taking them.  I really like the thought of photography serving as a "communication device."  After all, "a picture is worth a thousand words" and with our decreasing attention spans as a result of technologically delivered snippets of information (more on this later), pictures could be how we ultimately receive most of our information.  Maybe.  Maybe not.