Selfies was the 2013 Oxfords Dictionary’s word of the year and have impacted on social media websites across the internet. To this day the world has been caught in this selfies
trend by mocking it or participating in it. Younger students and teens tend to be more affected however by this new trend and although some selfies may be damaging, there are many advantages to them including raising your self-esteem.

As an example, not taking in Freshman Caroline Kim’s strong confidence and self-assurance, when a photo of herself is posted on social media sites, she is hoping to get encouragement, flattering comments, shares, and likes. For each one of these social media highlights she receives, her confidence level becomes much higher. She said that “Every like and positive comment I get does help raise my confidence. I feel I am socially well integrated and have a lot of friends. When I post a picture, of course, I always hope that I will get a lot of likes and comments, and I do get a little insecure. However, I do know the internet isn’t everything and I would rather be out with my friends.”

A Common Sense Media survey shows that over 1000 teens between age 13 to 17 years old, a percentage of 1 in 5 teens felt more popular, confident, and more self-esteem about themselves when using a social media website while only a 4% felt worse about their appearance and selves. It is said by Chaiyont “If someone posts a selfie of him/herself, then depending on the public’s response, it will either encourage him/her to continue posting selfies or discourage him/her. It’s the reactions that will shape a person’s behavior. Insecure people probably are not going to take selfies and post them [but if they do and receive positive feedback] it would encourage them to do it more. I might not necessarily make them more self-confident, but it will make them less shy exhibiting themselves.”