Self-voyeurism and Hypocrisy

In a coffee shop in Korea you will hear many camera shutter sounds coming at you from all directions. These sounds are being emulated by cell phones which are being used prominently here as the new digital camera. It doesn't really matter which coffee shop you're in, Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Holly's, Tom N Toms the incessant sound is inevitable. Now, you may be thinking, "What's wrong with taking photos with your comrades in a shop every now and then?" if that were the case, I would be saying the same thing as well. However, they are not taking pictures with anyone. They are taking a picture of just themselves. Numerous ones at that.

In fact to market on these self-voyeuristic tendencies cell phone companies sell phones with a "self shot" camera feature. Where your cell phone has a double lens, one on both sides of the phone. This way you can look at yourself in the display screen as your taking the picture. Here's where the hypocrisy comes in. You would think that having this self-shot camera would allow you to take one photo and feel satisfied. This, again, is not the case. One must take at least 15 photos to feel fulfilled, and even then it's uncertain. They'll fix themselves repetitively in between shots, but never really change their smile or their pose.
Now, some may argue that perhaps these people are merely budding photographers. I beg to disagree, they lack gallimaufry in their shots. I will hand it to them though, they ace looking good in photos, and finding the perfect angle, to photograph themselves that is.

I can understand the want to present yourself well. It's a very necessary commodity in Korea. It's insanely competitive so you must be ready to compete with others appearance and intelligence.

To be continued...