Selfie

How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us

Will Storr

• Publisher: Abrams Press
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9781468316957
• eBook ISBN:
  9781468315905
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Psychology
• Index: Social Sciences

"An intriguing odyssey" though the history of the self and the rise of narcissism ( The New York Times).
Self-absorption, perfectionism, personal branding—it wasn't always like this, but it's always been a part of us. Why is the urge to look at ourselves so powerful? Is there any way to break its spell—especially since it doesn't necessarily make us better or happier people? Full of unexpected connections among history, psychology, economics, neuroscience, and more, Selfie is a "terrific" book that makes sense of who we have become (NPR's On Point). Award-winning journalist Will Storr takes us from ancient Greece, through the Christian Middle Ages, to the self-esteem evangelists of 1980s California, the rise of the "selfie generation," and the era of hyper-individualism in which we live now, telling the epic tale of the person we all know so intimately—because it's us.
"It's easy to look at Instagram and selfie-sticks and shake our heads at millennial narcissism. But Will Storr takes a longer view. He ignores the easy targets and instead tells the amazing 2,500-year story of how we've come to think about our selves. A top-notch journalist, historian, essayist, and sleuth, Storr has written an essential book for understanding, and coping with, the 21st century." —Nathan Hill, New York Times-bestselling author of The Nix
"This fascinating psychological and social history . . . reveals how biology and culture conspire to keep us striving for perfection, and the devastating toll that can take."— The Washington Post
"Ably synthesizes centuries of attitudes and beliefs about selfhood, from Aristotle, John Calvin, and Freud to Sartre, Ayn Rand, and Steve Jobs." — USA Today
"Eminently suitable for readers of both Yuval Noah Harari and Daniel Kahneman,  Selfie also has shades of Jon Ronson in its subversive humor and investigative spirit." — Bookseller
"Storr is an electrifying analyst of Internet culture." — Financial Times
"Continually delivers rich insights . . . captivating." — Kirkus Reviews

Notes and references

Book Zero: The Dying Self

—A few days previously, Debbie: My account of Debbie’s attempted suicide is based on an interview with Debbie, and the account she has given in her self-published memoir, Sex, Suicide and Serotonin.

—overall rates in the US and UK have seen a general decline since the 1980s: Office for National Statistics: Suicides in the United Kingdom: 2014 registrations.

—the introduction of ‘blockbuster’ antidepressants Gauging an accurate view on this is hard for a variety of reasons: firstly, for a minority of patients, a side effect of taking them is thought by some to be increased suicidality (although some studies don’t find this effect); secondly, researchers are currently at odds on their overall impact on suicides – some deny any effect, whilst others find they have caused a highly significant decrease.

—more people die by suicide than in all the wars, terrorist attacks, murders and government executions combined: WHO Global Health Observatory Repository, apps.who.int/gho/data.node.main.RCODWORLD?lang=en, accessed 7 September 2015.

—… twenty times more attempted: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/. The AFSP estimate the true number to be higher. Gordon Flett had it at twenty-five attempts to every completion. The WHO report ‘Preventing Suicide, A Global Imperative’ estimates the figure at twenty (p. 26) but acknowledges the data is far from perfect.

—As it is, men make up around 80 per cent: In the UK it’s 78 per cent: ‘Male suicide rate worst since 2001, ONS reveals: Office for National Statistics reveals male suicide rate in UK has “increased significantly” since 2007, while female rates have stayed “consistently lower”’, Daily Telegraph, 19 February 2015. In the US, it’s 79 per cent: CDC, National Center of Injury Prevention and Control, Suicide fact sheet, 2012. In Australia it’s 77 per cent: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Gender Indicators, Australia, January 2013, Suicides. In Canada it’s ‘about three times that of women.’: ‘The silent epidemic of male suicide’, Dan Bilsker and Jennifer White, British Columbia Medical Journal (December 2011), vol. 53, no. 10, pp. 529–34.

—There are many vulnerabilities: Rory O’Connor.

—One examination of: ‘Gender-Related Schemas and Suicidality: Validation of the Male and Female Traditional Gender Scripts Questionnaires’, Martin Seager, Luke Sullivan, John Barry, New Male Studies: An International Journal (2014), vol. 3, issue 3, pp. 34–54.

—… a report on male suicide that Rory co-authored: ‘Men, Suicide and Society, Why disadvantaged men in mid-life die by suicide’, Samaritans’ research report, Clare Wyllie et al., September 2012.

—Baumeister theorized: ‘Suicide as escape from self’, Roy Baumeister, Psychological Review (January 1990), 97(1), pp. 90–113.

—Although the worldwide data is relatively scant: Rory O’Connor, comment during fact check, via email.

—… women actually attempt suicide in greater numbers: ‘Cross-national prevalence and risk factors for suicidal ideation, plans and attempts’, Matthew K. Nock et al., British Journal of Psychiatry (January 2008), 192(2), pp. 98–105.

—some of which display ‘triple zero’ mannequins: ‘Tiny waist, insect legs: fashion still in thrall to triple zero’, Josh Boswell and Elisabeth Perlman, Sunday Times, 25 October 2015.

—… 61 per cent of young women and girls in the UK felt happy: 2016 Girls’ Attitudes Survey: https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/globalassets/docs-and-resources/research-and-campaigns/girls-attitudes-survey-2016.pdf.

—self harm … eating disorders … have perfectionism as a predictor: ‘Predicting depression, anxiety and self-harm in adolescents: The role of perfectionism and acute life stress’, Rory O’Connor et al., Behaviour Research and Therapy (January 2010), 48(1), pp. 52–9. Here, the researchers found evidence that social perfectionism ‘interacted with acute life stress to predict self-harm.’ ‘Perfectionism and eating disorders: Current status and future directions’, Anna M. Bardone-Cone et al., Clinical Psychology Review (April 2007), 27(3), pp. 384–405.

—risen by around 30 per cent: ‘Perfectionism Is Increasing Over Time: A Meta-Analysis of Birth Cohort Differences From 1989 to 2016’, T. Curran and A. P. Hill, Psychological Bulletin (2017). Advance online publication, full study supplied by the authors.

—The number of adults reporting self-harm between 2000 and 2014 has more than doubled: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey: Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, England, 2014, NHS Digital, Chapter 12: ‘Suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts and self harm’.

—One senior psychiatrist told reporters that rises in youth self-cutting: ‘NHS figures show “shocking” rise in self-harm among young’, Denis Campbell, Guardian, 23 October 2016.

—in the US anxiety and depression has been rising in adolescents since 2012: ‘Teen Depression and Anxiety: Why the Kids Are Not Alright’, Susanna Schrobsdorff, Time Magazine, 27 October 2016.

—Dr Jackie Cornish, of NHS England, said, ‘In common with most experts’: ‘NHS figures show “shocking” rise in self-harm among young’, Denis Campbell, Guardian, 23 October 2016.

—Paediatrician Dr Colin Michie placed much: ‘Stark rise in eating disorders blamed on overexposure to celebrities’ bodies’, Denis Campbell, Guardian, 25 June 2015.

—One US study found body dysmorphic disorder: ‘The prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder in the United States adult population’, L. M. Koran et al., CNS Spectrums (April 2008), 13(4), pp. 316–22. See also a 2016 study that found body dissatisfaction to be nearly as prevalent. ‘Correlates of appearance and weight satisfaction in a U.S. Nati...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Dedication
• A note on the text
• Book Zero: The Dying Self
• Book One: The Tribal Self
• Book Two: The Perfectible Self
• Book Three: The Bad Self
• Book Four: The Good Self
• Book Five: The Special Self
• Book Six: The Digital Self
• Book Seven: How to Stay Alive in the Age of Perfectionism
• Acknowledgements
• A note on my method
• Notes and references
• Index