Thursday 25 July 2013

What's the harm in a selfie?



What’s the harm in a #selfie?


Australia’s Next Top Model on Fox8TV recently launched a competition for girls (and guys) to take photos of themselves (selfies) and post them online, in order for judges to select the ‘best selfie’ – how this is judged I do not know.


Sounds fine, right? Except if you consider that participants only need be 13 years old to enter in this kind of modelling competition. And especially if you consider that ‘selfies’ are renowned for being sexually provocative, usually showing lips pursed ready to kiss, or cleavage exposed in a sexually styled pose.  Girls as young as 8 and 9 have been taking part in this online ‘selfies’ competition. This means girls as young as 8 and 9 are fully aware of being ‘sexy’ and are encouraged to take photos of themselves to share online with millions of internet users - and no security precautions.


If that doesn’t seem problematic enough, then take a moment to consider websites that host ‘sexy selfies’ or ‘naked selfies’. These websites assumedly pull 'selfies' from instagram and other social media these kind of websites give shocking insights as to the kind of images young girls are sharing, these pictures very quickly turn from sexy into outright underage child pornography.

So how does taking sexualised self-images have a place in a 13 years old life?

When I was 13 I knew nothing about being pretty, nor did I understand the idea of sexy. When I was 13 I wouldn’t have had a clue on how to take a photo of myself, nor would I have ever cared to do so. I remember being one of the first young people to get the mobile phone with a camera, but certainly I’d never considered taking ‘sexy’ photos. It simply was never a pressure that I experienced.

Its 13 years since I was 13, and now 13 year old girls are openly encouraged to model and self photograph by TV shows, celebrities and peers alike, this means that 13 year olds are going to have to be fully aware of their image, they are going to learn to be self-conscious, they are going to learn what constitutes pretty, beautiful and sexy, they are going to learn to judge themselves and others on their ‘sexiness’, and for this ‘sexy’ learning curve what are the likely outcomes? What will this mean for their relationships with themselves, with girls, boys and their health?

A quick look at some recent statistics of girls under 16 will give some hard-hitting insights as to the effects of this growing trend. 70% of girls report being unhappy with their body image. While only a small percentage of children are obese, around 25% of young girls cite wanting to diet, lose weight and have plastic surgery (NEDC 2013). We are talking about young girls – unhappy in life, dieting and wanting to surgically mutilate their healthy bodies! This is not to mention the pervasive effects of eating disorders on life expectancy and mental health outcomes. Studies have CLEARLY shown that exposure to TV left girls feeling dissatisfied with their bodies and lead to disordered eating habits. We are literally KILLING our children with this media.

We can also take a look at the research surrounding sexual experiences of young girls, growing trends toward earlier sexual encounters, growing rates of forced sexual encounters and sexual violence. And in particular relevance, the growing trend for young girls to share their own pornographic images.

Is it then fair for Fox8TV to dismiss taking ‘selfies’ as a fun, light-hearted activity for young people? Does that response do justice to the millions of suffering girls and boys who feel unhappy in their own skin, who are going to struggle with happiness and confidence because of this pressure? Does Fox8’s response do justice to the young people literally starving themselves to death? Does Fox8’s response do justice to the young people whose lives are cut short at the hands of an eating disorder? What responsibility does Fox8 take for the pressure their ‘beauty competitions’ place on young and vulnerable people?

None.

It infuriates me further to see that these problems are lumped onto the young girls. Girls are given instruction that they must ‘increase their confidence’ they must ‘learn resilience’ or ‘dress more modestly’. If we look at the pressure on young girls in today’s world, the likelihood of being psychologically resilient is basically null and void. Today’s media forces low self-esteem on girls, particularly by these invasive modelling competitions, pitting girls against one another, enforcing the idea loud and clear to all little girls ‘YOUR VALUE IS DEFINED BY YOUR LOOKS’.

Thank you Fox8 producers; I wonder how you sleep at night.


Anyone needing support to cope with pressure, self-esteem or eating concerns should see their GP immediately. Resources are also available on

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