Charge of The Selfie Brigade

Narcissism used to be a private affair (very mirror centric) or had a very limited reach until the troika of internet, smartphone and social media came along. Now if you go to a restaurant, pizza joint or take a stroll in a park, a beach you will come across someone taking selfies or a video on his or her longish smartphone or tab, all vital fodder for social networking sites, who in turn seem to rule our lives. Meanwhile 'selfie' has mutated to terms like 'groupfie' and 'belfie', but the strong underpinnings of narcissism remain.

The tyranny of film rolls had restricted photography for special occasions like marriage or a visit to a tourist spot. But memory chips changed the rules of the game as it eliminated the frequent need to shop for film rolls. So all you need is flip the view on your phone, put the best smile forward, position your thumb over the button and click. Whether it is a new dress, a tattoo, shoes or newly-acquired six pack ... everything is kosher for camera and it follows you like a shadow. It has also caught the fancy of our netas.

Even those who are sick or had met with accidents post their pictures in full medical regalia of fracture cast and bandages to evoke a flurry of 'likes' and 'get well soon' messages. In short it has now supplanted diary, minus  its privacy, in recording one's life in kilo, mega and terra bytes with tools like Photoshop to create a picture perfect world. The more intrepid ones even go for cosmetic surgery to enhance their looks.

One notable fallout is that it has become cool to attend school/college alumni meeting and it no longer evokes thin attendance it used to. Earlier only 'teachers' pets' and those living close to the institution cared to attend and it used to happen only in upscale public schools or high profile colleges. But now it has trickled down even to schools and colleges with pedestrian pedigree.

During their student days they may have loathed attending classes and writing copious notes, but now they try to squeeze in their portly frames on those ancient school benches to be 'framed' for posterity. Some even make peace with teachers with whom they never saw eye to eye during student days - all for the sake of Facebook or Instagram.

For many the obsession with online life has now eclipsed the offline ones. Even the day-to-day mood swings depend upon comments their posts and selfies draw on Facebook or Instagram. Cyber bullying has become more potent as online reputations have become more important than the offline ones. And so is flattery with the most common remark being, "Oh you look the same, not changed a wee bit", which make lie detectors gasp in disbelief.

Picture courtesy: Reddit (George Harrison selfie)

Also Read: Bangalore Beat