But First, Let Me Take a Selfie ☺

28 April, 2015

I had the pleasure of taking a Social Media class my final semester of college. The only downside was all my peers were also in their last semester, so basically the only person who cared about school was, well, no one. Lol. The teacher was one of my all-time favorites, though, and the class was very lively & upbeat. We definitely jived well and had a blast together. Shout out to Prof. Ballard, aka da man. (insert fist pump)

Prof. Ballard understood our senioritis, so he assigned homework accordingly. Instead of having us study facts for complicated tests or the like, he assigned group projects. One of which, we were given the task of creating an academic study related to social media. My group and I decided to focus on the #SELFIE phenomenon.

For all you living under a rock the last decade (harsh, Paige), let me clue you in. Over the last few years, selfie pictures have become not only acceptable, but almost expected to be posted via social media, whether it be a daily upload or a lone profile picture.

There's all types of selfie's. You've got the awkward, sitting home on a Friday night selfie:

You've got the I'm at a party see I even have a party hat to prove it selfie:

& you've got the I'm so classic I don't need to smile selfie:

You're guilty too. Own it.

So, for our project, we bribed 30 students to come to our selfie party, of which each were evaluated (through a reputable questionnaire) on how self-confident they felt. We asked questions regarding self-worth and popularity, collecting answers from each participant. Over pizza and video games, each participant was asked to take a selfie and post it to their social media platforms.

Participants were checking their phones constantly after the initial post (coincidence? I think not!), most likely checking on their climbing 'like' count. Participants were given another evaluation based on self-confidence post-selfie upload, and the results were staggering. Out of the 30 students, over half felt less confident after posting the picture. Hm.

Our culture tells us we need reassurance from others to feel a sense of worth, largely in part to the social media boom. I, as well as virtually all of you, have allowed my mood to be swayed based on a good or bad response on a Facebook, Twitter, or Insta post. (no need to hide the truth)

I remember a few years ago, my dad posted a picture of me I wasn't fond of. He tagged me, heaven forbid. I was livid! How could he post such an unflattering picture of his only daughter? Was he trying to ruin my life? (lol)

He was dumbfounded over the fact I cared so much about what others thought. "Everyone you're actually close with isn't changing their opinion of you based off a Facebook picture. Why do you care about people you barely know?" Good point, dad. Good point.

Ladies and gents, here's my advice. JESUS, the only one whose opinion truly matters, does not care about how you look on Facebook. At all. He does, however, care about the beauty in your heart. God does not see as humans see, and Heaven does not see as Earth see's. We are insecure, judgemental beings lacking the infinite knowledge of Christ.

Therefore, darling, be careful not to allow your emotions and feelings of self-worth to get too entangled into posts, be them statuses or pictures or comments or check-in's or whatever! Whether you receive 5 likes or 500 likes, don't let it phase you. Worry less about what others think and meditate more on what GOD thinks.

On that note, let's shake it like a polaroid picture, shall we?

Please ignore the minor language in intro :)