Selfies
Searching for the Image of God in a Digital Age
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Selfies are ubiquitous. They can be silly or serious, casual or curated. Within moments, smart phone users can capture their image and post it across multiple social media platforms to a global audience. But do we truly understand the power of image in our image-saturated age? How can we seek God and care for each other in digital spaces?
Craig Detweiler, a nationally known writer and speaker and an avid social media user, examines the selfie phenomenon, placing selfies within the long history of self-portraits in art, literature, and photography. He shows how self-portraits change our perspective of ourselves and each other in family dynamics, education, and discipleship. Challenging us to push past unhealthy obsessions with beauty, wealth, and fame, Detweiler helps us to develop a thoughtful, biblical perspective on selfies and social media and to put ourselves in proper relation to God and each other. He also explains the implications of social media for an emerging generation, making this book a useful conversation starter in homes, churches, and classrooms. Each chapter ends with discussion questions and a photo assignment for creating a selfie in response to the chapter.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this accessible book, Detweiler (iGods) skillfully navigates the complications of living a spiritual life in the age of social media. He begins with a discussion of how quickly "selfie culture" has taken over the word "selfie" was first used in 2002, and by 2013 it was named word of the year by the Oxford English Dictionary. In that short span, Detweiler writes, selfies have changed the way society works. Individuals now use photos not only for documentary reasons, but also as representations of who they think they are as people. Self-worth has been redefined, Detweiler writes, through the proliferation of images distorted to enhance qualities, giving people a false sense of how others see them. Although he is wary of the corrosive effects of distorting one's self-image to conform to external standards, he proposes stripping the veneer from self-portraiture in order to foster connection: "We elevate the selfie when we recognize how our failures and triumphs fit within a larger story and use that recognition to help someone else navigate the way." For Detweiler, "elevating" the selfie means reclaiming the stories behind the pictures. Detweiler's work also includes self-portrait photographs and artworks from the past in order to consider "modes of communication" across generations. Christian readers will appreciate Detweiler's detailed book on how individuals might best traverse social media with character and confidence.
