This post examines representations of “selfies” across YouTube. The purpose of this post is to support the creation of a typology of selfies and discuss the sociological themes behind how selfies are represented in popular culture.  YouTube was the chosen platform as it sits in a unique position, being able to capture live synchronous performances (for example live make up application streaming sessions) and curated exhibitions, as part of the identity creation process (Hogan 2010). This enables the platform to provide a wide selection of media and attracts a broad, dedicated userbase.

The selfie occupies and awkward place in culture and academia. After reviewing the literature, a person’s interpretation of a selfie is based around a triumvirate of: the perceived identity of the poster/creator, the context of the image and the purpose of the post. For example, if a user engages with a social media platform in a mundane fashion, selfies are likely to be uncontroversial representations of a grounded reality (Baym 1998). In contrast, the rise of predominately visual platforms like Instagram, enable users to express themselves in a presentative, rather than representative manner, to create their own narratives (Rettberg 2016). However, creative processes involve intense labour to produce the desired image or message (Marwick 2013). Extravagant selfies posted by the privileged or those who have developed an identity around a theme, do not break the normative threshold; if they do it frequent enhances status or is seen as typical behaviour. Aspirational selfies posted by “normal users” are more likely to cross this threshold and be judged as narcissistic (Senft & Baym 2015).

By examining YouTube’s top selfie related content, there is clear evidence of a typology of videos that indicate the importance of the selfie in modern culture. To collect a rough dataset, a new YouTube account was created to remove algorithmic bias. “Selfies” was used as the keyword to find videos. After scanning the results, it was clear videos fit into 4 broad categories. The theme of the first 50 videos found in the search results were recorded.[1] Foreign language videos were omitted. Sentiment for the entertainment category was a value judgement based on the title of the video. For example “Top 10 Selfies Before Death” was viewed a as negative portrayal of selfies.  Positive sentiment are videos such as “Parents Recreate Their Children’s Selfies”.  Figure 1 represents a tally of the findings.

 

Entertainment (- Sentiment Toward Selfies)	Entertainment (+ Sentiment Toward Selfies)	Technical (Tutorials on Selfie Production)	Academic/Educational (Discussing Selfies as a Social Phenomenon)
7	12	23	8

Figure 1. First 50 Video After Searching “Selfies” on YouTube

Whilst not a rigorous quantitative experiment, this snapshot dataset highlights that a significant quantity of users seek to enhance their selfie taking abilities. This reinforces two sociological concepts regarding identity. The first being the three components of Cooley’s “looking glass self” writ: (1) we imagine how other perceive us; (2) we imagine their judgment of us; and (3) we feel something from this imagined judgment such as pride, joy, or embarrassment” (Kaufman 2014). Tutorial videos from YouTube enable users to refine their ability to curate a selfie and achieve their desired image, whilst adhering to the latest norms. Content creators also receive tangible feedback from the community through comments and views.

YouTube itself is a platform that enables vulnerable communities to communicate about sensitive issues such as depression, ethnicity and gender. The platform enables a reciprocal relationship with the content creator and community (Zanatta 2017). This relationship enables users to understand their personal identity whilst conforming to normative social identity markers, through interaction with that group. This supports Snow & Anderson’s “identity work” concept, that a person has an idea of who they want to be. To achieve this, a person can engage with a community in a specific way to have this self-conception reflected back at them (Snow & Anderson 1987).

The above analysis is not an exhaustive examination of the selfie. What it has highlighted is the importance of the selfie in modern culture. A wide variety of demographics make selfie tutorials for their community. The popularity of these videos from diverse content creators, reinforces the selfie as an important part of understanding the self and contributing to a sense of belonging, rather than a reductionist display of narcissism.

References

Baym, N. (1998) Cybersociety 2.0: Revisiting Computer-Mediated Community, Edited by S.Jones. America: Sage Publishing. Available at: URL (Accessed: 05 Oct 20).

Hogan, B. (2010) ‘The Presentation of Self in the Age of Social Media: Distinguishing Performances and Exhibitions Online’, Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 30(6), pp. 377–386. doi: 10.1177/0270467610385893.

Marwick, A. (2013) Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity and Branding in the Social Media Age. Available at: URL (Accessed: 5 Oct 2020).

Peter Kaufman (2014) A Sociological Snapshot of Selfies. Available at: URL (Accessed: 05 Oct 2020).

Rettberg, J. (2017) SAGE Handbook of Social Media, Edited by J.Burgess, A.Marwick, and T.Poell, America: Sage Publishing. Available at: URL (Accessed: 05 Oct 20).

Senft, T. M., & Baym, N. K. (2015). ‘What does the selfie say? Investigating a global phenomenon’. International Journal of Communication Systems, 9, 1588–1606. Available at: URL (Accessed: 05 Oct 20).

Snow, D & Anderson, L. (1987). ‘Identity Work Among the Homeless: The Verbal Construction and Avowal of Personal Identities’, American Journal of Sociology. 92(6), pp.1336-1371. Available at: URL (Accessed: 05 Oct 20).

Zanatta, J. A. (2017) Understanding YouTube Culture and How It Affects Today’s Media. Senior Theses. Dominican University of California. DOI (Accessed: 05 Oct 2020).

[1] Search was conducted on www.youtube.com (UK) 05 Oct 20.

Oct 6, 2020