Selfies are blamed for encouraging everything from risky behaviour to rampant narcissism. But selfies can be potent acts of self-communication – and anyway, is self-regard a bad thing?
Westminster Abbey doesn’t want you to take any selfies.
Jay Zagorsky
It’s easier than ever to visually record our lives thanks to the smartphone and now Snapchat glasses, but many museums and other places are fighting a losing and misguided battle against the trend.
The rise of the selfie can lead to a great deal of negative comparison and self-doubt.
Shutterstock
Social media can have a damaging effect on body image, but the way to protect against that is learning how to view images critically.
Akbar Maulana, an Indonesian high school student in Turkey, talks with his teacher. Akbar is the main character in the newly released documentary Jihad Selfie.
Aswan
Why do boys decide to join Islamic State? A new documentary focusses on an Indonesian teenager who considers becoming a foreign fighter but takes another path. The film is now being screened to young people across the nation.
Researchers in Maine pose with terns after measuring, weighing and banding the birds. But what if they weren’t scientists?
Amanda Boyd, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/Flickr
Why do so many people take safety risks or abuse wild animals for the sake of a photo with them? In one researcher’s view, scientists may encourage this trend by sharing their own wildlife selfies.
A sign banning selfie sticks in an Osaka train station in Japan.
Reuters/Thomas White
In 2015 more people around the world died while taking selfies than were killed by sharks. Many tourist landmarks have banned the taking of selfies and selfie sticks to prevent untimely accidents.
Some selfies are more dangerous than others…
'Selfie' via www.shutterstock.com
After a selfie-snapping man was mauled to death by a bear, a psychologist wonders why people feel so compelled to capture and share images of themselves.
Reddit’s new policy to remove unsolicited nude photos is a step in the right direction to prevent celebrity nude photos and revenge porn from appearing on its site.
Pilots have the privilege of a birds-eye view, but should they resist the temptation to snap from the cockpit?
Frans Zwart/Flickr
Last week, Quartz published an article showcasing photographs pilots have taken from the cockpit of aircraft to post on Instagram. As explained in the story, by taking these photos – many of which appear…
Professor Digital Culture, Business and Computing at Durham University Business School and Advanced Research Computing (ARC), Durham University, Durham University
SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney