You’re at the beach. You are walking on wet sand and enjoying the cool breeze. The waters are crystal clear and the sunlit blue sky is reflecting brightly off your glimmering face. Then it hits; you want to capture that moment…and that view, so you take a selfie. 

It’s fun, exciting and liberating. It’s the thrilling art of taking selfies. And in an era that’s dominated by capturing and sharing life on social media, it’s quite difficult not to ride with the craze. 

Today, millions of people post selfies on different socials especially Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Capturing great moments in life is beautiful, and nothing does that well than a selfie. Besides the ability to share such moments with the world, selfies increase confidence, they empower and they are also an act of self-appreciation, says Jamil Mutangana, a selfie enthusiast.

According to him, taking selfies is a mood booster. "They can improve the mood, so for me, posting a selfie is more of a feel-good factor.”

For others, however, the quest for the perfect selfie can turn into this thrilling adventure, which at times gets dangerous. 

Recently, Sophia Cheung, a Hong Kong-based social media influencer apparently died after falling from the edge of a waterfall near a renowned hiking destination there.

She was reportedly taking a photo near the edge of a waterfall, when she slipped and fell into a 16-foot-deep pool.

‘It’s not necessarily about the selfie’

Euronews quotes psychologist Dr Tracy Alloway noting that what drives an average person to take a risk for a selfie is dopamine. "When we see a ‘like’ or a positive comment on our feed or post, there’s a huge dopamine rush and that’s a feel-good hormone.”

The psychologist also explains that it’s not necessarily taking the selfie that leads people to lose their lives. According to her, most of the time individuals taking risky-selfies were already engaged in dangerous activities.

"It’s not the selfie-taking that led to their demise but the fact that these activities are already known to be risk-taking activities. This trend was linked to how a person acts online and offline. If someone is typically a risk-taking person or manifests those types of traits offline, they’re likely to exhibit the same risk-taking behaviour online,” she notes.

As far as she is concerned, Mireille Mbabazi, a student at University of Kigali, selfies create a sense of belonging. She says, a selfie is who you are in the picture, so it’s good to keep you and your moments in one. 

"I think good moments are meant to be memorable; taking a selfie, for instance in the middle of an event, is good because you like or want to keep it as a memory for you, which is good,” she says.

"People love and enjoy different things. I love taking pictures; it is a pleasure for me to take a picture whenever I want to. In fact when I am taking selfies, I am doing what I want plus what makes me be me. I also believe that posting these photos is a good way of seeking opportunities that could come from let’s say the look they find in your picture and the confidence you got, there’s a million offers that can be made,” Mbabazi adds.

Much as selfie-taking comes with lots of fun, Mutangana agrees that it also comes with its highs and lows, accenting how there’s potential damaging consequences, such as broken self-esteem, especially with social media trolls.

He also points to their ability to distract someone from enjoying the present moment and instead focus on the best angle they can take. 

Linah Ingabire, a university student, loves taking selfies. Whenever she is looking good or when in a good place, she always wants to take selfies to keep the memories, she says.

She thinks people who like taking a lot of selfies and post them on social media do it for different reasons. "Some want to get attention; some do it for business while others are merely confident about their looks and just want to share them with the world.” 

Blessing Batamuriza, a social media user contends that at times, when it’s overly done, selfies can lead to cockiness and narcissism. This, she says, is not a popular trait in society, yet too much selfie-taking can also become an obsession. "Personally, I think taking a selfie is therapeutic and it boosts confidence because whenever you take selfies, it makes you fall in love with yourself. This also means that whatever others think of you will not affect you. It’s that sense of feeling secure that helps you know more about yourself.”

Research traces the origins of a selfie back to past centuries, and going by the current trends, it might as well be here to stay.