If you have been following along with our selfie series, you already know that selfies have changed significantly over time, and the word itself has seen changes over many years, too. Nowadays, a “selfie” is an image taken of at least the head and shoulders, typically with the arm extended in frame as the person captures themselves. This strong, self-contained identity has turned selfies into their own, unique form of art.
However, art is not the only function of the selfie. In this article, we’ll consider how selfies function as modern communication and a language unto themselves.
Selfies as a Modern Language
The purpose of a language is, at its most foundational, to communicate. Humans are already skilled at conveying language that goes far beyond words; think of TED Talk speakers who discuss how to read body language, or the Silbo Gomero language of the Canary Islands, which uses whistles instead of words. People are adaptable, and so it may come as no surprise that selfies, too, have evolved into their own sub-language.
One of the most valued aspects of the selfie is its ability to convey the intangible. Suppose that you are sitting overlooking a beautiful jungle vista. You may describe it in terms of the types of trees, the temperature, or the color of the sky, but none of those things likely captures the minute realities of the experience. Taking a selfie, however, wraps those minutiae and the intangibles surrounding them (i.e., the “feeling” of the entire scene, taken together) into a single, perceptible instance. A person looks at the photo and immediately gains an understanding that, if words could capture it at all, it would have taken much longer.
This is appealing to many people. The notion that humans want to be images has increasingly surfaced in recent years, all based around the central human condition: a focus on the self.
Modern Drivers of Non-Verbal Communication
Selfies are a form of non-verbal communication, as are photographs in general. Pictures, videos, art, music, and more can all count inside this category. The creation and commodification of social media and smartphones have directly tied non-verbal language to the daily lives of the majority of people on the planet.
For many, non-verbal communication is irreplaceable or even preferred. It offers an instant way to communicate aspects of identity, mood, or whatever a person is experiencing in ways that written language cannot.
Also consider the illocutionary function that selfies can serve. In any language, an utterance may fulfill multiple purposes: locution (the surface-level meaning), illocution (the intended effect), and perlocution (the result). Suppose, for instance, that you are riding in the passenger seat of a vehicle, and the driver is smoking a cigarette. You don’t like the smell of cigarette smoke. You say, “Do you still notice the smoke smell if you leave the windows open?”
The locutionary act is the literal meaning: you are asking whether leaving the car’s windows open (e.g., overnight) can get rid of the smoke smell. However, the illocutionary act is subtextual: you are drawing the smoker’s attention to their actions in a bid to get them to stop. The perlocutionary act is what they do with that information; they may put their cigarette out and answer your question.
Humans function on this multifaceted level of meanings in language, and selfies do, too. Imagine that your mother loves roses, and you take a selfie in a foreign country next to some roses. No words are necessary in order to convey ideas such as “I wish you were here” or “I’m thinking of you, you matter to me.” In this sense, a selfie is just as effective a means of linguistic communication as any other type of language.
The “Risk” of Selfies
Of course, not everyone has been ready to jump aboard the selfie train. Some people dislike how they look in pictures, and some cultures even believe that pictures can be spiritually or morally harmful. For example, many Amish communities decline to be photographed out of concern that it promotes pride or vanity.
One of the primary driving factors behind those who balk at the use of selfies is the risks they allege that they pose. Some people fear the risks posed by Photoshop and similar image editing programs, which may lead to the use of selfies in scams, elder financial abuse, and more. Now, with AI more powerful than ever, distinguishing between a real selfie and one that has been heavily edited or entirely fabricated is a real concern for many.
However, those in disagreement with such risks note that challenges like these have always been present in language. What is the difference between fabricating a selfie and engaging in plagiarism or text modification of written language? When it comes to communication, selfies are just as complex as some forms of language humanity has relied on for millennia. The way we use selfies will continue to develop, and what role they will eventually play in our species’ communication preferences remains to be fully realized.
