I am not a selfie-taker. The last time I took one, it was to show off a new haircut. It wasn’t even a good selfie — upon showing it to my dad, he remarked, “That looks like a mugshot.”
It’s not that I don’t like selfies. I’m rather impressed by people who can take them. Turning the camera on oneself indicates a sort of open self-love that I wish I could have. Me and my self, we have a clandestine relationship. I love my self and she loves me, but we do it in secret, like Carrie and Mr. Big in the second season of Sex And The City.
Then there’s Kim Kardashian.
She’s basically the person who put selfies on the map. She released a whole book of selfies in 2015. And in September, Kardashian shared on her sister Kendall Jenner’s website that she took 6,000 selfies over the course of a four-day vacation in Mexico. 6,000 selfies in four days. I’ll do the math for you: that’s 1,500 selfies a day, roughly 100 selfies per hour.
What?! I was (and still am) pretty suspicious of these numbers — even with the technological boost of using a Burst Mode app, it's staggering. Kim Kardashian must spend more time taking selfies than not.
But it made me wonder if this kind of selfie saturation was key to being a good selfie-taker. Perhaps, if I could take 6,000 selfies in four days, maybe I'd become a selfie expert. So I decided to undertake this as a personal challenge: first, to see if it was actually possible to take that many selfies in such a short amount of time, and second, to see if I might actually start to be okay with taking photos of myself, and sharing them with the world.
Ahead, you'll find a photo-filled journey as I struggle to selfie like Kim Kardashian. Read on to find out exactly how many I was able to take in a four day period — and what I learned in the process.
Day 1
Wow, I really plunged in headfirst, right? This is literally #nofilter, #nomakeup. Actually, I take that back. There’s some makeup on my face from last night that I didn’t wash off. (Which is arguably even worse.) For some reason, I decided my first few selfies would be totally vulnerable, makeup-free adventures into selfie-land.
Looking at this photo now, I’m kind of okay with it. My hair looks crazy, but I look like I could be on the cover of a true crime novel, or at the very least on the back of a milk carton. And those people never look awful.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
This is me, three hours later, post-workout, post-shower, and post-makeup. At the moment I was feeling super fly, even though my hair was slightly damp, and I was on my way to improv class.
If I learned anything from this challenge, it was that the subways in New York have awesome lighting — it makes your skin look great.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Okay, here’s where things get wonky. I quickly discovered that if I wanted to take 100 selfies an hour, I had to multitask. I just don’t want to keep my face still for that long. Nor do I want to look at my face for that long. I started snapping pics while I did...other things. In this one, I’m pretty sure I’m discussing the merits of selfies with a classmate.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Notice how I’m not looking at the camera? Yeah, that’s because I didn’t want to. I really wasn’t that comfortable with the camera during all of this — especially at the start.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
This is my default expression: half-smiling, thinking about something I dislike. Probably talking about it, too.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
This is me, not wanting to take another selfie, but forcing myself to. This is my last photo from the first day. I made it 598 photos, which is paltry compared to the 1,500 I was trying to achieve. However, my iCloud library was already filled to the brim. My phone started complaining on the first day, urging me to buy more storage. I dumped all the photos on my computer at the end of the day, grateful to be rid of them for the moment.
Selfie count: 598
iCloud Storage Left: None!
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Day 2
First selfie of the day: I’m headed to the Staten Island Half Marathon. This was taken at 6:30am waiting for the Staten Island Ferry. Today, I made the decision to wear makeup for the race. I don’t usually wear makeup to run; this was purely in the interest of taking a better selfie.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Getting onto the Staten Island Ferry. Still not a fan of looking in the camera, but a part of me thinks this photo is artsy, with the mint green light and all that. Even if it still makes me uncomfortable, I'm getting better at this, right?
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
At this point, I’m feeling self-conscious about all my selfie-ing. There are all these very serious runners around me, stretching and talking about their projected paces, and here I am, mooning about for the camera. I keep shoving my phone in my pocket and acting like I’m just a normal runner.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Oh, hey, Lady Liberty! Wanna take a selfie? Had to get this shot, naturally.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Playing the multi-tasking game again by casually taking selfies while I pick up my race number. I'm praying that no one will ask me what I’m doing. I check my phone in my baggage for the race — I think I can take two hours off while I run a half marathon (actually, it was 1 hour and 44 minutes, thank you very much).
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
This is the coldest I’ve ever been (or at least it feels like it). It’s 50 degrees outside and raining. I’m sopping wet, and I had to wait 30 minutes for the ferry. I have never had less desire to take a selfie. After this pic, I take a few more sleepy selfies at home, but they’re not worth sharing. I made it to 776 photos — at this rate I’ll have to take double the photos in the next two days to make it to 6,000.
Selfie Count: 776
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Day 3
Back at it. I’m up to my usual tricks, just doing other things while I selfie. At this point, I may as well be filming myself going about my day. (Hmmm — like reality television or something?) In this one, I’m chatting with my friend, who hopped on the train with me.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
I’m feeling very silly taking selfies at work. And my workplace supports selfies! We’re a selfie-loving company! Regardless, my coworkers don't seem to be taking selfies during the workday. Whenever I take a selfie, I’m very aware that I don’t look like I’m working very hard.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Waiting for the subway. I thought this looked artsy. I still can’t look at the camera, but I’m feeling decent about my face today. At least I don’t have to run a half marathon.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Normally, I would never take a photo in Times Square, much less a selfie. Selfies in Times Square are for tourists only, and I am a New Yorker, after all. I feel pretty silly taking a photo in front of all these lights. Nevertheless, I like the result. I call it "Portrait of a twenty-something in the Big City."
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Here, I’m inside a Broadway theater, chatting with a friend. This time, I’m actually trying to be stealthy — Broadway ushers really don’t like it when you take out your phone.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Last pic of the day guest stars Nick Kroll as Gil Faizon — or, at least, a cardboard version of him. (He’s in Oh, Hello on Broadway and I highly recommend the show.) I only made it to 628 pics today, which is pretty sad. Part of me is okay with that purely because I had to work. There are hours in the day when I just can’t look at a phone.
Selfie Count: 628
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Day 4
It’s the morning of the last day! I went for a mirror selfie today. I’m into my bangs today, too — possibly only because I'm feeling great about the end of this challenge. It feels stupid now, especially since I'm at work.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Back at my desk. This is the face of a woman who has shit to do. I literally don’t have time for selfies.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Who cares about posing for selfies? I can just selfie away while I talk about cheese (or whatever the topic was. Probably cheese.) with a coworker.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
So. Sick. of. Selfies. Also I’m no longer feeling great about my bangs. They're starting to look like a helmet.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Pretty sure I’m yelling at my phone, saying, “What do you want from me? More selfies?!”
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
Last selfie of the day. I’m headed to bed and I really, really, really, don’t want to look at my phone. I don’t want to look at technology. I’m so tired of thinking about my face and looking at my stupid face (sorry, face).
Selfie count: 550
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
The Conclusion
Well, I failed. I took 2,552 photos in four days, which isn’t even half of the projected goal. What began as a fun project quickly became a chore — work-week drudgery — and I hated it.
I went into the experience naively hoping that I would learn to like my face. That part worked: My face wasn’t even a factor after a while. I’ve become very comfortable with my face. And hey, now me and my self have a public relationship!
But to take that volume of selfies is a lot of work. I’m not sure if Kim Kardashian takes 6,000 selfies on every vacation. If she does, she must have a lot of storage on her phone. But also, taking selfies is part of her job — for Kim Kardashian, snapping a pic is like working in Excel, or fielding emails. Point is, the girl works hard. The act of putting your life on display is not as easy as it looks.
Pictured here is my favorite selfie. I like it because it's like me: blurry, windswept, a little confused, but fun, all the same. It's certainly not Kim Kardashian-level perfect, but it's perfect for me.
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Farley.
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