Sublime selfies: To witness death

Abstract

Selfies have become more dangerous than sharks, if the 15 reported selfie deaths in 2015 are compared to the 8 shark attacks in the same year. Determining the exact parameters for a selfie death or death by selfie is difficult; in some cases one may argue that the selfie is not the cause of death but in fact only occurs tragically before the event. The focus of this article falls on those selfies that were taken in pursuit of experiencing a sublime encounter with mortality and that in the end succeeded in evoking that looming encounter. It is argued that the obsession to experience the inexplicable is however not a recent endeavour, and the sublime is a useful aesthetic category to unpack the phenomenon of selfie deaths. In the analysis, three categories are identified to interpret the subject, namely selfies unknowingly taken before death; selfies of death where the takers death is almost witnessed; and selfies with death where the taker stands by while someone else dies. The emphasis falls on the analysis of selfies of death that overlaps with the sublime experience almost entirely and it becomes nearly impossible to distinguish between selfie and sublimity. http://mc.http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ecs European Journal of Cultural Studies Abstract:Selfies have become more dangerous than sharks, if the 15 reported selfie deaths in 2015 are compared to the 8 shark attacks in the same year. Determining the exact parameters for a selfie death or death by selfie is difficult; in some cases one may argue that the selfie is not the cause of death but in fact only occurs tragically before the event. The focus of this article falls on those selfies that were taken in pursuit of experiencing a sublime encounter with mortality and that in the end succeeded in evoking that looming encounter. It is argued that the obsession to experience the inexplicable is however not a recent endeavour, and the sublime is a useful aesthetic category to unpack the phenomenon of selfie deaths. In the analysis, three categories are identified to interpret the subject, namely selfies unknowingly taken before death; selfies of death where the takers death is almost witnessed; and selfies with death where the taker stands by while someone else dies. The emphasis falls on the analysis of selfies of death that overlaps with the sublime experience almost entirely and it becomes nearly impossible to distinguish between selfie and sublimity.

You are the agenda: The pursuit of personal significance in social media contexts

“…The primary motivation for uploading content on social media is to seek endorsement by others online. When people seek validation by others, they share information about their friendships or intimate relationships (Miguel, 2016); in certain cases, they share content about risky or dangerous behaviors (Du Preez, 2018;Hart, 2017). One common practice among social media users relates to their efforts to create photoshopped images of themselves in an effort to advance an image of an improved self (Tiidenberg, 2016).…”

Influencers and Their Salience: Public Perceptions of Individual Agendas on Instagram

“…Although focused on television, individual performances of various types are associated with building personal salience. Du Preez (2018) explores the phenomenon of risky selfies. Three categories of photographs were analysed: ‘selfies are unknowingly taken before death, selfies of death where the taker’s death is almost witnessed and selfies with death where the taker stands by while someone else dies’ (p. 745).…”

Selfie-Related Incidents: Narrative Review and Media Content Analysis

“…Thus, users may take selfies with the aim of distributing them on social media. Users have discovered that selfies that picture the sublime, risky activities, poses, and beautiful scenes have the propensity to deliver them the elusive “instafame,” which they seek [ 32 ]. Selfies taken in aquatic locations, often picturing waterfalls, and cliff edges, are particularly enticing to selfie takers as these photographs contain all the essential ingredients for viral content [ 33 ].…”