This picture underscores the theme of the post. Two cameras were used to create this selfie. (At least, it has the virtue of being creatively inventive.)
Warning: This post contains some literary exaggeration.
One has reached the most vulgar level of cheap narcissism when one rues the end of the Bluetooth selfie remote's button cell battery.
I have reached that level.
This morning the remote's cell has run out. The green light blinks for a second then goes off. In that dying cell I see the last gasps of my self-absorption. I have been rummaging through various drawers like a frenzied junkie to find that one button cell battery to bring alive the remote. No luck yet. I am feeling withdrawal symptoms, which include blank-staring at my phone even though I can switch on the phone's camera with just one finger. I feel deprived. I told you it is vulgar.
This set me thinking how we now confront such 21st century problems. First we have mobile phones, then mobile phones with camera and then mobile phone with camera that switch views between front and back. Then there are selfie sticks. Add to those a Bluetooth remote with button cell battery to sync it with the phone. And finally, we take our video or photograph to post it on social media to garner some likes. I do it excessively and don't find it worrisome. That is worrisome.
There was a time when mirrors were the precursors to phone cameras. However, mirrors did not offer a shared experience, generally speaking. After all how many people could you gather in your bathroom or bedroom and pose in front of the mirror to earn some applause? Not many. And if it was just about posing, why would you need a mirror? You could do it directly in front of a group of people.
Compact mirrors can be and are carried in one's purse, of course, but they have mostly remained the domain of women. Perhaps there are men who also carry compact mirrors but I do not personally know anyone. In any case, phone cameras offer that facility as well.
I learned very early on that while taking selfies, either stills or videos, one should hold the phone higher than one's head in order not to show nostrils. Nostrils are never a pretty sight on almost anyone. I have seen some people, particularly, whose nostrils are a work of art but by and large they are an eyesore. Unfortunately, I am all nostrils. So even when I hold the phone camera right above my head they still show up. (Literary exaggeration.)
Coming back to button cell battery, I have not been able to find one as of writing this blog. I can always buy one but that costs money and who has that? I made the mistake of thinking that narcissism, even the cheap kind, pays. It does not.