Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Selfies: Witnessing And Participatory Journalism With A Point Of View, Michael Koliska, Jessica Roberts

Jessica Roberts

Selfies, as the word implies, are visual presentations of one’s self and as such can be understood as photographic representations and formations of identity (Barthes, 1981; Sontag, 2005; van Dijck, 2008). They are a “new visual genre—a type of self-portrait formally distinct from all others in history” because they are frequently shared online (Saltz, 2014). Selfies often serve to claim, “I’m here!” (Myers, 2010, p. 274) and “reflect the view of ourselves that we want to project out into world” (Gye, 2007, p. 282). Taking and sharing digital photographs is increasingly understood as a form of communication and social currency …