Teach Me About Yourself(ie): Exploring Selfie-Takers’ Technology Usage and Digital Literacy Skills

Abstract

Creating selfies has become a cultural phenomenon that has prompted researchers to examine their effects and meanings. While selfies have been observed in relation to narcissism and self-promoting behaviors, little is know about their technology usage and its implications. The present research adopted a uses and gratifications approach and utilized an online survey of Millennials (N = 205) to extract selfie-takers’ activities, as well as their connections to positive effects, such as digital literacy and self-enhancement. Participants uploaded their “best” selfie to the survey and answered a series of questions about their selfie-related attitudes and behaviors. Participants’ best selfies were content analyzed to examine features of these photos, and the relationships between selfie practices, motivations, and digital literacy engagement were examined. Results indicated that selfies are considered as meaningful content, as selfie-takers were mostly motivated to produce selfies to capture memorable moments. Selfies were also created using both nondigital and digital techniques, which can exhibit selfie-takers’ digital literacy skills and confidence in using technology. Lastly, selfie-takers were motivated to engage in further media production. Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of selfies’ educational value.