Some time ago, Elsa Godart – a French psychoanalyst and philosopher – treated a young girl who had taken semi-naked pictures of herself that went viral.
The girl was distraught (the pictures were intended for her boyfriend alone) “and it all came down to this momentary lapse of consciousness, a moment so powerful that all critical thought was suspended – along with any common sense”, Godart said.
“I’m not here to judge or say that this is down to any one celebrity or public figure in particular, because they’re all doing it: just look at the Pope, the Queen and Obama.
“But where it becomes worrying is when the illusory virtual self you’re selling is more appealing than the real self.
“So you can Photoshop yourself into your ideal and of course that illusion is so perfect that nobody wants real life any more, where you actually have to work really hard to get anything done – or look a certain way.
“So I could be a slob all day at home, while constructing this shining virtual image of myself online, and that’s going to paralyse my actions in real life, because I can never get anywhere near the perfection of my virtual life.”
It’s that disparity, along with the isolation of selfie-taking, that concerns her most.
One study in the book shows that the more selfies people take, the less sex they have.
“It makes sense that the more time spent on oneself in a virtual world, the less open one is going to be to others in any capacity, certainly sexually.”
There is even a site, beautifulagony.com, where people can post pictures of their faces at the point of orgasm, doing away with any need for a sexual partner.
“So although selfies can be fun, there is a real danger of us losing our connection to, and consciousness of, the world around us.
“All I would say is this: spend 10 hours a day on the internet if you want, but be capable of going beyond that screen in life, because otherwise what you’re really losing is your own freedom.” — The Daily Telegraph
Selfie mania ‘amplifying neuroses‘
The girl was distraught (the pictures were intended for her boyfriend alone) “and it all came down to this momentary lapse of consciousness, a moment so powerful that all critical thought was suspended – along with any common sense”, Godart said.
“I’m not here to judge or say that this is down to any one celebrity or public figure in particular, because they’re all doing it: just look at the Pope, the Queen and Obama.
“But where it becomes worrying is when the illusory virtual self you’re selling is more appealing than the real self.
“So you can Photoshop yourself into your ideal and of course that illusion is so perfect that nobody wants real life any more, where you actually have to work really hard to get anything done – or look a certain way.
“So I could be a slob all day at home, while constructing this shining virtual image of myself online, and that’s going to paralyse my actions in real life, because I can never get anywhere near the perfection of my virtual life.”
It’s that disparity, along with the isolation of selfie-taking, that concerns her most.
One study in the book shows that the more selfies people take, the less sex they have.
“It makes sense that the more time spent on oneself in a virtual world, the less open one is going to be to others in any capacity, certainly sexually.”
There is even a site, beautifulagony.com, where people can post pictures of their faces at the point of orgasm, doing away with any need for a sexual partner.
“So although selfies can be fun, there is a real danger of us losing our connection to, and consciousness of, the world around us.
“All I would say is this: spend 10 hours a day on the internet if you want, but be capable of going beyond that screen in life, because otherwise what you’re really losing is your own freedom.” — The Daily Telegraph
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