Question

Turn that Camera Around: Women & the Perils of Selfie Culture
by Bree Rolfe

1 It might be hard to believe, but more people died in 2015 from selfies than from shark attacks, and while the number of deaths for both is relatively low, it’s shocking that such a ubiquitous practice can end in tragedy. This statistic, though a sad one, is ultimately true. In fact, from 2011 to 2017, 259 people died while attempting to take a selfie. People have perished in all manner of ways from being mauled by wild animals to falling off cliffs to countless traffic accidents. And while the negative effects of the selfie in these instances are obvious, is our cultural obsession with our own image hurting us in less obvious ways? Even if most selfies do not lead to deaths or freak accidents, they do have harmful psychological effects that can be especially destructive for women.

2 In a society that is constantly offering perfectly edited and filtered versions of ourselves, where authenticity is no longer expected or celebrated, it is easy to see why selfie culture is taking a collective toll on women’s self-esteem. According to clinical psychologist and author of Parenting a Teen Girl: A Crash Course on Conflict, Communication and Connection with Your Teenage Daughter, Lucie Hemmen, selfies and self-promotion can “damage our self-esteem” (Hemmen in Yadegaran). She goes on to explain that women “are often driven by insecurity to construct a desirable persona” and because of this, they are “vulnerable to the negative side of self-portraiture” (Hemmen). By constantly creating carefully stylized versions of themselves, women, especially teen women, can lose touch with their true identity and the ability to accept themselves and embrace their flaws. Thus, resulting in lower self-confidence when one’s actual self does not measure up to their online persona.

3 Even though selfies allow women to manipulate their public persona and meticulously curate their image, these edited versions do not actually make women feel any better about themselves. In fact, most women who regularly engage in posting and viewing selfies feel worse. A study done at York University found that “women who took and posted selfies to social media reported feeling more anxious, less confident, and less physically attractive afterwards” (Williams). Additionally, the ability to improve their looks wasn’t helpful and “harmful effects” were “found even when participants could retake and retouch their selfies” (Williams). Regardless of how good women make themselves look on social media, the constant photographing only further damages how women feel on the inside by creating a hyper focus on outward or superficial beauty. Ultimately, this focus will irrecoverably hurt a woman’s self-esteem and cause anxiety and even depression.

4 In more recent years, the selfie has been used as a tool for women’s empowerment and to raise awareness for social issues. On Instagram, there was a movement for “no makeup selfies” that raised money for breast cancer charities and a black and white “challenge accepted” campaign for women to lift each other up through positive affirmation. However, these campaigns are also problematic as they are sending women mixed messages and still focusing on a woman’s looks. For one, should not wearing make up and posting a photo a really be a “challenge” for women? Secondly, women praising one another’s artistic self-portraits is all well and good, but the focus is still on physical beauty and not accomplishments. This over-emphasis on appearance will ultimately cause women to have a distorted view of their value in society.

5 So, while most women aren’t trying to take pictures of themselves with wild bears or perilously teetering on the edge of mountains, they are still in danger of allowing a seemingly harmless activity to damage their sense of self. It might be time for women to simply turn the camera around and capture what the world has to offer beyond their own perfectly rendered reflections.


Extended Constructed Response:

Read the article “Turn that Camera Around: Women & the Perils of Selfie Culture.” Based on the information in the article, write a response to the following:

Explain your opinion on whether you believe “selfies” have a negative or positive impact on individuals.

Write a well-organized argumentative essay that uses specific evidence from the article to support your answer.

Remember to –

clearly state your claim
organize your writing
develop your ideas in detail
use evidence from the selection in your response
use correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar
Manage your time carefully so that you can –

review the selection
plan your response
write your response
revise and edit your response
Write your response in the box provided.


Characters: 0 of 2300

Answer 1

Claim: While selfies can offer short-term fun or community-building, overall they have a negative impact on individuals—especially women—because they increase physical risk, undermine self-esteem, and encourage a narrowed, appearance-focused sense of worth.

First, selfies can be physically dangerous. Bree Rolfe notes the striking statistic that more people died in 2015 from selfies than from shark attacks, and between 2011 and 2017 some 259 people died attempting selfies. These incidents—falls from cliffs, traffic accidents, animal attacks—show that the behavior is not merely trivial selfie-taking but a risky pursuit of attention or the “perfect” image.

More importantly, selfies damage psychological well-being. Rolfe cites clinical psychologist Lucie Hemmen, who explains that selfies and self-promotion can “damage our self-esteem” because women “are often driven by insecurity to construct a desirable persona” and thus become “vulnerable to the negative side of self-portraiture.” The article also summarizes a York University study finding that women who took and posted selfies reported feeling “more anxious, less confident, and less physically attractive afterwards,” with harmful effects persisting even when photos were retaken or retouched. This evidence shows that curating an idealized online persona does not soothe insecurity but deepens it by fostering constant comparison and a hyper-focus on outward appearance.

Proponents point to empowering campaigns—“no makeup selfies” or “challenge accepted”—and these can raise money or solidarity. Yet Rolfe argues these efforts still center looks and send mixed messages: why should removing makeup be a “challenge”? Focusing praise on appearance instead of accomplishments reinforces a distorted sense of value.

In sum, while selfies can connect people and occasionally support causes, the physical dangers and documented psychological harm make their overall impact negative. A healthier approach is the one Rolfe suggests: “turn the camera around” and engage with the world and others in ways that celebrate experience and achievement rather than curated appearance.