Selfie Pedagogy I-IV

     When I first saw that Miriam Posner had a class that looked to be dedicated to selfies, I was a bit skeptical. How could an entire semester be devoted to taking pictures of yourself? But Posner uses it as an entry point into discussing "the experience of being a young adult in the digital age." Unfortunately, many of us who consider ourselves separate from this generation see it as a culture of vanity. That's not always the case, as Elizabeth Losh aims to reveal.

     Something that struck me about the first blog was the seeming negative connotation of the term "millennial." Posner and her students don't wish for a generic term to lump the entire generation together. This indicates a distinct difference between the youth who value the ways in which the digital age can help to develop a meaningful depiction of themselves, versus those who just love to take pictures of themselves. Perhaps the one of the main indicators of the millennial generation, pervasive use of the internet and social media, has perpetuated the notion that they are all the same, more so than any other generation.

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     Terri Senft's work is very intriguing to me because it touches on the permanence of what is posted on the internet. It's unfortunate that stories like that of Amanda Todd, a young girl who committed suicide after relentless cyber-bullying, are a reality. The danger of the internet is that spontaneous actions, such as Amanda flashing a stranger, live on and can be used for nefarious purposes. That the boy whose sexual involvement with Amanda, leading to more ridicule, was not seen negatively is incredibly deplorable and highlights the double standard that still exists.

     This slut-shaming accentuates the importance of educating our youth on how to treat one another, as well as showing young girls how to maneuver social media in a safe way. The anonymity of the internet makes it incredibly easy to get away with malicious acts that might not otherwise occur. It can be simple, and possibly even inviting, to dump on a kid when everyone else is already doing it.

     The odd thing about this is that one of the alluring aspects of the internet is how it joins people together. Whenever I hear of someone being bullied to the point of taking his or her own life, I wonder if they had a support system they could reach out to online. The sheer number of students who are being bullied should be enough to build a community to ensure they always have a safe place to turn.

     Sandra Bland's situation was highly unfortunate. Her presence on social media makes it difficult to see her as the kind of person who should be placed in such a situation. As the link further explains, she had many things going for her professionally and it seems unlikely someone in her situation should want to commit suicide.

     I watched the video of her arrest when it was first made available. I've always told my students that if you get stopped by the cops, just comply, even if you think they are in the wrong. In fact, experts say the best thing to do is to let them bring you in and let it play out. No one was ever dragged out of his or her car and handcuffed, only to be let go after they put up enough of a fuss. Also, you might be in the right, but that won't do you much good if you get shot or killed. That does not mean what happened to Sandra Bland was justified. For many people, the lasting image of her is from her arrest. Her digital identity helped others see her a person and allow her loved ones to remember her as more than someone face down and handcuffed.

     Our ability to choose how we are represented on online allows us to determine how others view us. Look back at your last few selfies. Were they posed? Were they taken because you thought others would be impressed? Or were they sneak peeks into the honest you? Do you agree with Calvin's idea of what an ideal picture is?

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