As June 21st is national selfie day, it seemed like a great opportunity to discover the meaning behind the selfie. What we once thought was a fun way to express yourself has recently become a force for misrepresentation.
After some research I discovered a term that was completely new to me… Sadfishing.
“Demonstrating emotions of sadness, distress or even anguish on social networks is enabling some influencers to lure viewers to their content and even to attract new followers. This trend has been given the term ‘sadfishing,’ and the phenomenon is such that it has given birth to a new filter on Snapchat: the crying face.”
“The term sadfishing was coined by Journalist Rebecca Reid back in 2019, it’s not so much about staging one’s sadness, but to accentuate it, in order to generate interest on social networks.”
Over the past few years, celebrities and influencers have tried to generate awareness surrounding mental health by expressing raw emotions in their posts and encouraging those who are suffering to speak out. However, with the emergence of “sadfishing” those genuine emotional moments aren’t being valued enough.
Living in a social media age our experiences and lives are captured through our social profiles. However, a selfie is merely a screenshot of the bigger picture, sometimes as we scroll through our feed forgetting that not all we see is genuine.
When it comes to social media, it is important to be safe with what we share on media platforms. Throughout the pandemic, social media became a crucial way for lots of us to connect with our friends and family. So for national selfie day, grab your phone and take a snap!
Check out Cosmopolitan who have put together a list of top tips and tricks for the perfect selfie!
Sources
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