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(Move 1: Establishing a territory)

Because of numerous social networking services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and
Tumblr to name a few, the selfie which means a self-portrait photograph became a world
phenomenon that is greatly patronize by people in all ages and sizes. According to Wikipedia,
selfies are often informal or casual in nature and commonly taken with the use of hand-held
digital camera or camera phone.
This form of photograph has been making a number of news and headlines in the past few
years and even until now. Due to its tremendous popularity, it was even named by the TIME
magazine as one of the Top 10 Buzzwords for the year 2012 and it was officially included in
the Oxford Dictionary during the end of 2013. These photographs, although informal and casual,
are making immense impact in a person and in the society. Documentaries, studies and
researches were conducted to know its common impact. The findings were most of the times
connected to the words narcissism, addiction and self-obsession. On the other hand, others find
it as a form of self-expression, self-actualization and an instrument for advocacies. It certainly
gives us an idea that selfiehas its own purposes.
(Move 2: Establishing a niche)
Unfortunately, the vagueness and the uncertainty of identifying the effects of self-photographs
are well evident. Narcissistic personality is still a common perception in the community
regarding selfie (Collado& Garcia, 2014). In many cases, the positive reasons, as well as
positive effects, in taking a self-photograph were not further known or discussed in the public
compare from the negative ones which may cause misconception.

According to Maslows (1943) self-actualization theory, an individual desires to fully realize

ones potential and capabilities for own growth and motivation. In relation, an individual post or
share his or her photos in order to expose his or her traits or assets that can be possibly noticed
or magnified by other individuals. Because a trait or an asset can only be truly realized and
appreciated if it was recognized by other people.
Another theory to be considered is Kohuts (1968) narcissistic personality theory, a person is
excessively preoccupied with personal adequacy, prestige and vanity, mentally unable to see the
destructive damage they are causing to themselves and to others in the process. In relation, an
individual takes a selfie for he or she is addicted or obsessed to his or her own looks. Some
individuals may have an exaggerated view of their attractiveness and want to share it with the
world (Alloway&Alloway, 2014).
(Move 3: Occupyingthe niche)
The researcher seeks to contribute to an understanding of the interpretative schema underlying
such idea, particularly the causes and effects of selfie. The researchers goal in this study is to
determine if any of the two theories discussed earlier may provide a useful tool for understanding
and determining the different causes and effects of selfie. In addition, the researcher will explore
the usefulness of the narcissistic personality inventory (Raskin& Terry, 1988) for testing and
explaining the perceptions and the different causes and effects of selfie according to the answers
of the respondents.
The researcher will ground the discussion in the analysis of answers that will be given by the
selected respondents.