Showing posts with label Selfie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Selfie. Show all posts

Monday, September 23, 2013

Save Us From The 'Selfie' - When Innocent Becomes Suggestive


IMAGES : MORGUEFILE.COM | Save Us From The Selfie

It's a subject that's been playing on my mind lately, particularly as I watch my first born child heading towards her teen years like a clumsy snowball barrelling down a hill. Perhaps it's because we sat as a family and watched old videos of her as a toddler this past weekend, or simply due to the fact that her newly discovered sometimes surly teen-like attitude is belting me over the head as a reminder that my firm, motherly grasp is gently loosening. Either way, I need to give further consideration to this especially tricky subject that all parents face thanks to the wonders of technology and connectivity.  I am of course referring to the modern age artistic phenomenon of the 'selfie'. For those still living in 1980 or with their head buried in the sand (any room there for me?) a 'selfie' is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as follows:

Selfie
noun
(plural selfies)

informal, a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Conscience Versus Codeine...


IMAGE : MORGUEFILE.COM | Conscience Vs. Codeine
Just as I was beginning to boast about having survived winter without one cough or cold to speak of, WHAMMO. In it came to teach me a lesson that sometimes even my paranoid hand washing and love of antibacterial liquids can't protect me from an apparent tsunami of kiddie germs. Seven days in bed, two Dr's visits, drugs (not the fun kind) and plenty of drips and sniffs and I'm finally upright again. Woop! *cough, splutter*. So while in a codeine-fuelled haze (how innocent people don't get murdered thanks to this drug I don't know), I wrote a somewhat bitter and twisted piece about this damn election, why the whole thing is driving me crazy and how I have a strong desire to stick my head in the sand and wish it away.  The post provided witty, dry criticism of Kev's egocentric selfies (which I still say are maddening for what it's worth), Tony's evil and dangerous old boys' thinking, Clive's ludicrous plan to spend $200M on building a replica Titanic, and Julian's plan to rule the country from the four walls of the Ecuadorian Embassy and yet, I haven't yet been able to hit the 'publish' button. Why? Because when you boil it down, it's mean spirited. 

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Taming The Beast - Social Media And Pre Teens



IMAGE : MORGUEFILE.COM | Taming The Beast


Social media: the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.[1] (Wikipedia)

 Sounds harmless enough, doesn't it? Sounds almost necessary and educational according to the above definition.

As a parent, if I was asked to visually define social media, the first thing that comes to mind is an enormous, towering transformer - like beast, casting a large dark shadow, complete with heavy doors which open and close allowing only the brave to enter, loudly slamming shut behind them. Okay - I concede it's a little dramatic but despite my own familiarity and understanding of said beast, I feel as though I need to go back to seeing it as something new and fearful in order for me to navigate it as a parent of an almost ten year old girl who in the coming years will will commence her journey into the online space. I may not like it, but it's going to happen unless the internet blows up so I figure I might as well do it correctly, right?