Zjawisko selfie wśród nastolatków. Kontekst narcyzmu w dyskursie psychospołecznym, pedagogicznym i kulturowym

This article focuses on the selfie phenomenon among young people, presenting it through mechanisms described by culture experts, educators and psychologists. To this end, a systematic analysis of articles and reports on youth and young adults was carried out regarding self-portrait digital photographs posted on social networks. The text starts with the presentation of the socio-cultural background and the variable most frequently discussed in the context of selfies – their narcissistic quality. It became the key to reviewing international literature pertaining to the use of the most popular social networks sites (SNS), such as Instagram and Facebook. Social platforms have provided a convenient space for narcissists, enabling them to enter into qualitatively weak interpersonal relationships that don’t require emotional investments and are temporary, but which at the same time satisfy their need for attention. The text juxtaposes the use of these websites and the time that young people spend online, the popularity of selected websites and applications, and other concomitant variables related to the publication of selfies by young people. The analysis reveals that the selfie phenomenon is associated with the style in which young people use these SNS, results from young people’s developmental characteristics/interests (e.g. building one’s social position and self-creation), raises a lot of controversy, carries certain research inaccuracies, and is related to a key competence – digital skills.