SELFIE-NESS (SELFIE PART 2)

Movies have their own sequels so you can treat this post as part two of "Check the Selfie" which registered one of the highest views on this blog.

Sequels are a film producer's way of milking a franchise, like "Rambo," till it runs dry, or once movie goers start asking, "Who's Sylvester Stallone, anyway?"

Which suggests that an actor's glory days will eventually fade just like classic Levi's jeans---and that's in spite of all his nip, tuck and botox treatments. 

Skin and themes can only be stretched so much.  

Meanwhile, we can still milk the selfie for its amazing lessons. I don't think we've grilled it enough that it can shout back, "Enough already!" 

Selfie-ness is on the rise, that's for sure.  

One juicy selfie news: Kim Kardashian it seems has found it challenging to satisfy the tsismosos (gossipy) around us---I among them, mea culpa---because she's running short of selfie concepts to keep us glued to her site. Her baby, North, unwittingly fills the gap. Poor baby!  

We of course know the greatest selfie-ness purveyor.

You guessed right, Facebook! All of us are guilty of plastering FB with our faces. But as I point to you, my three other fingers are directed me-wise. So let's tackle this 21st century addiction with a candid and self-deprecating attitude.

Cross-examine ourselves now to rightly diagnose our selfie-addiction: 

• How often am I tempted to take a selfie picture for the urge to show off... er... share something new about myself?

• When I eat out, do I have this irresistible, unquenchable tendency---just when my companions are about to pounce on that crunchy crispy pata---to holler, "Hold it!" Camera clicks. Then the go-signal to "Dig in!" (In a few seconds, the crispy pata is up on FB cloud as the real deal sadly makes its way into its gut-wrenching destiny.)

• When I travel, am I in the habit of letting the whole world know I'm in this or that airport or I'm bound for some place spectacular? 

• And a lot more: New car. New mani-pedi. New pair of shoes. New bling.  

Overheard this comment? Wala nang itinago. (Everything exposed.)

This sobering comment (by an IT expert in last year's gathering of OMF writers) should give us pause: 

At the rate people share photos, personal information, whereabouts, feelings, etc., they're giving room for evil-intentioned people to steal their identities (and many have been reported in the US) or track their every move so that they can ransack homes or stalk them to satisfy their fetishism or obsession.   

The millennial demographic is prone to selfie-ness, claim the experts. Often referred to as the narcissistic generation, gen-Yers are said to be self-obsessed. 

They express their center-of-the-universe attitude using their smart phones and tablets---technologies which seem to have been born with them. 

Social media and the millennials are two peas in a pod---and just perfect for each other!
  
But oldies like myself and some middle-aged people I know---nandamay pa---genuflect in the altar of selfie-ness, too. 

Let's face it, we are all narcissists. 

Don't blame FB and Twitter. All they've really done is magnify our self-absorbed, self-seeking nature. Some of us are probably more coy about blatantly bragging. Nonetheless, it's in our nature to show-off:  

"I've accomplished this." "I'm capable of this." " I own this." "I know this." "I bought this."  "I've been there." 

1 John 2:16 reminds us: "For all that is in the world---the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions---is not from the Father but the world."

Solomon in Proverbs urges us to seek wisdom, for in so doing, we gain prudence, knowledge, discretion, guidance.  

Many social media posts are not about selfie-ness at all. You may have posted FB messages because you:

Want to share helpful information on keeping fit physically or spiritually; 

Make your friends laugh and smile, for example, with funny baby or pet posts;

Have asked for prayers or help, especially when a friend or a group of kababayans were in crisis;

Desire to boost your pals' morale as they face crises; 

Are after a sense of community and relating well with your friends and loved ones no matter the distance; and to assure them that you are doing just fine. 

No one's judging anyone, OK? But it's up to us to manage the selfie beast inside. 

Better yet, let's boast in Jesus alone.

Photo credits: 
www.feedbox.com
www.dadsteachthebible.blogspot.com
www.kingkurtissmith.wordpress.com