VOA标准英语2014--Selfies: Taking Photos of Yourself More Popular Than Ever

 

Selfies: Taking Photos of Yourself More Popular Than Ever 

WASHINGTON — There’s a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. That may be especially true these days with the huge amount of what are called "selfies" on the Internet. This popular trend of taking a picture of yourself has become pervasive¹.

The pope’s doing it, President Barack Obama’s doing it, and celebrities² like singer Justin Bieber are doing it ALL the time. Selfies.

“I think a lot of people link it to their identity³ that a selfie is capturing⁴ something that they can show to the world that represents themselves,” said Nathaniel Herr, a psychology⁵ professor at American University in Washington. He explained why the younger generation, in particular, is taking and posting selfies.

“They’re more comfortable with seeing themselves and thinking about themselves than previous generations were,” he said.

College student Kaitlin Lehmann said they’re just another way her generation communicates. “Like today, I was pissed [angry] about being here at school because it’s Monday, so I sent a snapshot to my friend, and he responded with a similar face that he also did not like Mondays.”

Another student, Alyssa Jones, compares them to a conversation that has stopped in time. “Well, there’s the ‘it’s been a really long day’ so you do like the stare, and then there’s the excited like [shows excited face].”

Lehman said it’s important to her that she can control the images and decide when and where to post them.

“Like this past weekend, I just got this nose ring, and so I was really excited about it, so I sent everyone a picture of me and my new nose ring,” she said.

Some people think selfies are simply narcissistic⁶. A YouTube video by the Chainsmokers makes fun of them.

Lehman, however, looks at the selfie another way. “It could be a form of art. Van Gogh painted pictures of himself and so did Rembrandt,” she said.

A recent study on selfies shows that young people worldwide express themselves differently. Research at the City University of New York compared selfies in five cities -- Moscow, Berlin, New York, Tokyo and Sao Paulo. Lev Manovich, who headed the project, said the average person is about 24 years old.

“The strongest difference that we found was in the head turn, so is the head straight or diagonal? Look at the photos from Moscow, the way girls pose⁷ is very much like a fashion magazine. They look like models. In Brazil, they’re playing with the camera. It’s much more informal,” said Manovich.

But there’s also a downside to selfies, according to both Jones and Herr.

“I would not post anything that I wouldn’t want a potential employer⁸ to see,” said Jones.

“When young people see celebrities posting pictures that emphasize⁹ their attractiveness, they may get the message that's what they should be doing, that they should be emphasizing¹⁰ their own physical qualities over and above all these other qualities they may have, and that can really affect their self-esteem,” said Herr.

Herr doesn’t see selfies as a trend that will go away, even as the 20-somethings get older.

 

“I think as they get older you’re going to see less selfies among that specific generation, but right behind them there’s a younger group of kids waiting to come into that same phase,” he said.

1 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

2 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

3 identity   

n.身份，本体，特征；同一(性)，一致

参考例句：

• He never revealed his identity.他从未暴露过自己的身份。
• He showed his identity card and went in.他把工作证亮了一下就进去了。

4 capturing   

俘获( capture的现在分词 )； 夺取； 夺得； 引起（注意、想像、兴趣）

参考例句：

• Since when is capturing a felon considered interference? 从何时起抓住重案犯被认为是妨碍组员行动？
• Capturing the enemy-held towns is the pivot of our plans. 夺取敌人控制的城镇，是我们计画的轴心。

5 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

6 narcissistic   

adj.自我陶醉的，自恋的，自我崇拜的

参考例句：

• In the modern vocabulary, it was narcissistic. 用时髦话说，这是一种自我陶醉狂。 来自辞典例句
• This is our Nielaoshi, a dwarf has also grown narcissistic teachers. 这就是我们的倪老师，一个长得又矮又自恋的老师。 来自互联网

7 pose   

vt.造成，陈述；vi.摆姿势，装腔作势；n.姿势

参考例句：

• He sat in a relaxed pose.他轻松自如地坐着。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend.他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

8 employer   

n.雇用方，雇主

参考例句：

• My employer deducted ten pounds from my wages this week.我的雇主从我本周的工钱中扣除了十英镑。
• His monthly salary is paid into the bank by his employer.他的月薪由雇主替他存入银行。

9 emphasize   

vt.加强…的语气，强调，着重

参考例句：

• I must emphasize the fact that she is only a little girl. 我必须强调这样一个事实，这就是她只不过是个小女孩。
• I must emphasize the fact that they are only children. 我必须强调这一事实,即他们只不过是孩子。

10 emphasizing   

强调( emphasize的现在分词 )； 加强语气； 重读； 使突出

参考例句：

• The importance of electron spin in shaping atomic structure is worth emphasizing. 电子自旋在形成原子结构方面的重要性是值得强调的。
• A point worth emphasizing is that hydrostatic equilibrium is fulfilled with great accuracy in stellar atmosphere. 值得强调指出，在恒星大气中，流体静力平衡是非常精确地成立的。